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A logo of a human silhouette, one arm lifted. Text appears.

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SPEAKER 1: OTAN Outreach and Technical Assistance Network.

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Text, Leading adult education through support for and the effective application of technology. A graphic displays OTAN's services-- professional development, news and social media, teaching with technology, annual technology and distance learning symposium, OTAN digests and newsletters, online resources and video presentations. OTAN dot U.S.. 916 228 2580.

OTAN Online, Technology and Distance Learning Symposium. HyFlex, Guidance and Discussion on Implementing Innovative Instruction. Presenters, Destiny Simpson, EdTech Center at World Education, T.I.U. 11. David Rosen, Newsome Associates. Ely Freedman, Sweetwater Schools. March 1, 2024.

A slideshow begins with a video conference screen in the top-right corner. A title slide with speaker names appears.

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DESTINY SIMPSON: Welcome. And thank you for coming to our session. My name is Destiny Simpson. I'm a consultant with the EdTech Center at World Education. And my co-presenters today are--

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Slide change. The three speakers' names appear with headshots.

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I'll let them introduce themselves. So, David, would you like to introduce yourself first?

DAVID ROSEN: Hi. Sure. David Rosen. I'm in chilly Boston, Massachusetts, which is why I have on this vest here.

ELY FREEDMAN: I'm Ely Freedman. I'm in not so chilly, Chula Vista, California. I took my vest off.

[LAUGHS]

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Slide. IDEAL Consortium, Innovating Digital Education for Adult Learners, A Project of the EdTech Center at World Education. A map of the United States depicts almost 20 current members and about 10 former members.

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DESTINY SIMPSON: So we are so thrilled to be able to talk to you a little bit more about HyFlex. It was interesting to see the session this year. I think we may be the only HyFlex session-- and I know last year, there were several of them. And so we'd love to hear what you're doing in terms of HyFlex.

The ideal consortium is one of the opportunities that states have as a way to share, and network information about digital education and learning. And your state, California, is one of the members. And they help support the HyFlex guide, that was one of the resources that we're going to be sharing today.

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A QR Code appears, labeled poll ev dot come slash Destiny Simpson.

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So we're going to start off with a Poll Everywhere. I'm going to ask you all, if you're in-person, to get out your device, if you can, if you're not in-person, what I'll do is put a link in the chat here for you to access the Poll Everywhere. Or you can also use your device to scan the QR code with your camera.

But we're just trying to get a sense of where everyone is in terms of HyFlex adoption.

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A question, which best describes you, with four options, ranging from, I am new to HyFlex, 0 percent, to I have taught or currently teach HyFlex, 56 percent.

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We hope that regardless of where you fall on the continuum, that you find a resource or something that you can use for your teaching.

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Slide. A QR code appears, Presentation Resources, Padlet, with a screen shot of several clickable links.

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So at this point, I want to share a Padlet, which is a resource that's available for you all after the presentation.

This has not only the links to the guide, which we're going to be talking about and some videos, but also some other teaching resources that we'll talk about, and other resources you might find interesting as you talk and explore using technology with your learners.

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Slide, Agenda. An arrowed line spans from Intro to Questions and Closing Thoughts.

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So our agenda today is really just to give you a brief overview about HyFlex, to have Ely talk about her experiences teaching HyFlex at Sweetwater Adult School. We'll talk about some benefits and some data that's out there and some tips and resources and, hopefully, have some time for some questions and sharing of what's happening in your programs as well too.

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Slide, What is HyFlex? Text, Hybrid, combines online and face-to-face teaching. Flexible, Students may choose with no learning deficit. A book cover appears, Hybrid-Flexible Course Design, Edited by Brian J. Beatty.

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So at this point, I'm going to turn it over to David to talk a little bit more about what HyFlex actually is.

DAVID ROSEN: Hi. Well, thanks, Destiny. HyFlex stands for Hybrid and Flexible. And as you might have guessed, it's a model that has three modes. If we can go on to the next slide,

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Slide, Three modes, with text. An illustration depicts a connection between In-person and online learning, joining them with an illustration labeled synchronous.

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the model was developed by Brian Beatty, who is a professor at San Francisco State University, in about a decade and a half ago. And it's been used in higher education ever since. And since the pandemic, it's increasingly being used in our field, adult foundational education.

The three modes-- traditional in-person, synchronous online, and that is synchronous with the in-person. So it's really one class that's delivered at the same time online and in person. And then the third mode is asynchronous. In other words, you can log on at any time.

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Slide, Use in adult education programs, with text.

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And since the pandemic, this has really accelerated in a number of states. California is one. Another is Illinois, but it's growing in states that we don't even know about at this point. We just know that it's happening.

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Slide, Beatty's Four Key Values. Four boxes are labeled with text.

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Let's go on to the next slide. When Brian Beatty wrote the first book about HyFlex, and the focus was, as I mentioned, higher education, he identified four key values or key principles. Learner choice, equivalency, reusability and accessibility.

And I'll talk about each of those. Let's go on to the next slide.

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Slide, Fundamental HyFlex Principles According to Beatty. Text appears, describing Leaner Choice.

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First of all, learner choice. This is really a very important principle. Of the four, I would say it's the most important. And the most flexible situation is where learners can choose one of those three modes literally on a daily basis. Now, that's not always the way it works, but that is ideally best way that it works.

Let's go on to the next slide.

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Slide, Learner Choice Example. What might this look like in an adult education class? The same illustration depicting the three modes appears. Bulleted text describes options for when learners might choose each mode.

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So there are lots of ways in which that plays itself out. There are students who choose in person all the time. There are students who choose in person whenever they can, but when they can't, and that may be because there's an emergency, for example, they choose one of the two online modes, synchronous or asynchronous.

There may be students who prefer the synchronous online mode, particularly, if they have a long commute to class. In some cases, because the students may have complicated lives, they may prefer all or, mostly all, asynchronous mode learning. And also some students may choose their mode based on the topic of the lesson. So they might say, for example, I know that. I don't need to really go to a class in-person today. I could just brush up by looking at the asynchronous mode.

And there might be other reasons that they choose a topic. In some cases, students do have a choice. But the school, the adult school, for example, or program requires them to choose one mode for the whole semester. So decide, are you going to go in person? Or are you going to be online? And if you're going to be online, is it synchronous or asynchronous?

Let's go on to the next one.

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Slide. Text appears, describing Equivalency.

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So another very important principle, equivalency. And that basically is that it doesn't matter which mode you choose on any given day. You're going to get the same opportunity to learn and to attain the intended outcomes or the learning objectives of the course as it's designed.

So all three modes are designed to be equal, but not identical in terms of how instruction is delivered.

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Slide, Equivalency example. What might this look like in an adult education class? The same illustration depicting the three modes appears.

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The modes have different affordances or opportunities for learning. And as a teacher, you want to take advantage of those. And they will be different for synchronous online versus in-person versus asynchronous.

But it shouldn't really matter for the learner, whether or not they can attain the objectives for that lesson, regardless of the mode.

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Text boxes flash by listing examples for each mode.

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Let's go on to the next example, reusability.

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Slide. Text appears, describing Reusability.

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Reusability, in my view, is important, but not nearly as important as the first two. And the idea is very simple. It's that as you're designing a HyFlex course, and, for example, if you started with the asynchronous mode first, and it was based on a set of learning objectives, and you're creating activities, what some people refer to as artifacts or learning objects, they might be, for example, a game, a video or other kind of learning, an opportunity to practice enrichment and assessment activity,

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Slide, Reusability example. What might this look like in an adult education class? The same illustration depicting the three modes appears. A button appears labeled "Watch the Class Recording."

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you design it in such a way that it can be reused in all three or all two of the other modes.

There's another sense in which reusability can take place. You design the whole course. You deliver the whole course. And then you offer that course again. And so you're reusing those learning objects. Or maybe you are not the teacher who uses the course again. Maybe, it's a different teacher, again, reusing the same learning objects or artifacts that you have designed, those games, videos, or other learning activities.

Let's go on to the next one.

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Slide. Text appears, describing Accessibility.

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So the last one is accessibility. And it literally can mean physical accessibility. So, for example, for students who are physically handicapped, they have access to the building in which the in-person class takes place through ramps or elevators or other devices that make it accessible.

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Slide, Accessibility example. What might this look like in an adult education class? The same illustration depicting the three modes appears. Text: Programs assess and mitigate lack of digital access. Pre-teach how to use key digital tools tso that they all participate.

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It could also mean accessible in the sense of moving a class off of the campus and into the neighborhood or community in which the student or students live. So, for example, offering it in an affordable housing residence, making it super convenient for the learners.

It could also mean digital access. That's really important for all of the students. And that could take different forms. It could be a digital boot camp, for example, before the course begins. It could be access to a program-focused digital navigator that you have at your program or adult school. It could be a digital help button that leads to a well-organized set of how-to videos and many other ways to provide that accessibility.

Next slide, please.

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A slide depicts the illustration labeled "Equivalent Learning Outcomes."

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So just to reemphasize, all three modes need to lead to equivalent learning outcomes so that it doesn't matter, which mode on any given day, the learner chooses. And that's it for my part. I'll talk to you a little bit later. Let's go and hear from Ely. Ely?

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Slide, Who's Afraid of Hyflex? An illustration of a wolf appears, puffing air at a screen depicting a frog.

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ELY FREEDMAN: One of the reasons I think I was chosen to do this is I'm not very technological, as you can see. And so if I can do this and make it work, I think anybody can.

I am at Sweetwater Union High School district. It's the adult division. We have four adult schools. I'm in the flagship school, Chula Vista Adult School. What is important about our school is that our students are not at all digitally literate. And we also have open enrollment. So we can prepare people for a HyFlex class. And then the next day, five new students come in. It's a challenge. So let me start this.

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Animation: the wolf blows the screen out of view.

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So who's afraid of HyFlex? A lot of the teachers in my school are. I'm one of the few that are actually using it. I have four classes. The participation ranges from maybe one to three per class to one of my evening classes, in which more than half of the students are online.

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The wolf chases the screen away. The character CatDog appears, a cat and dog sharing a body.

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So when I first heard of hybrid, I thought, this is a terrible idea. The skills involved in teaching in-person are almost incompatible, it seems, with online teaching. I've done all of it in person. I've done synchronous. I've done asynchronous. And merging them together just didn't seem like it was going to work. And I won't lie. It does take some pivoting.

But I figured it's going to be implemented, whether I like it or not. So I volunteered to participate in the pilot in our school. And I'm now teaching it every day. And, hopefully, I'll be able to help other teachers.

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Slide, Contents. A wolf waves a wand at the onscreen frog. Bulleted text appears in three categories.

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So I'm just going to go over this quickly. I'm going to do the advantages, disadvantages in a few slides that show activities in my class.

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The wolf does a cartwheel. Then, slide: Advantages. Bulleted text appears.

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So advantages to the class in general-- students, obviously, can participate even when they cannot attend in person, which happens a lot. We had a bus strike last semester and attendance school-wide plummeted. But my students were able to not even miss a beat. They were able to continue to attend.

They can keep up with the class. They won't miss quizzes. They won't feel left out, which means they're likely to continue to attend. So our numbers stay up, which is very important to admin.

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Slide, Additional bulleted text appears with a smiling wolf.

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The advantages to the individual student-- they develop improved academic skills. They need technology. If they want to get better jobs, they have to have technology. So even this little bit of technology helps them. And it ensures access to the materials that are posted on Google Classroom.

In my college class, we use Canvas, which I prefer. But in the adult school, we use Classroom. So if they attend every day in person or online, it fosters a strong student work ethic. And it serves as an antidote to lame excuses. I'm sure you've all heard them. My pressure's up. My husband has a hangnail. I just say, so HyFlex in.

You can hold your husband's hand while you take the class online. I do not accept excuses. I tell them if you're in the hospital, OK. And one girl is actually going to be in the hospital next Tuesday. She plans to attend. So it really works.

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Slide with bulleted text. A teacher-wolf indicates the screen, depicting a frowning man with an oral thermometer holding tissues.

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Advantage to the teachers-- well, the number one advantage-- we started this right after the pandemia-- It protects our health students and teachers health. So if someone is sick, they can stay home without missing anything. And the other students and the teachers don't have to worry.

For the teachers, my experience is it helps me think more creatively. It improves our tech skills. And I'm not techie, but some of our teachers really don't have tech skills. This will help them be better teachers, and it helps our problem solving abilities, which I'll get to on another slide.

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Slide with bulleted text.

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As far as the curriculum, I find that most [AUDIO OUT] except the final exam, which is the prerequisite to their certificate, must be in person. Most screen-based lessons, whether you're using a book that has a screen component, film, PowerPoint, games are actually better on HyFlex because the material is close up on the screen. For the at-home student.

Classroom work-- if I've got a lot of physical activity in the classroom, it is going to feel watered down, but it's visible.

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Slide, Disadvantages, Problems, with bulleted text.

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Annoyance factors-- for me, I just have to remember to log in every day. I turn it on every class. Even if I know I see everybody physically present, I still turn it on to stay in the habit. There are days I forget. Students bombard me with questions. And five minutes into the class, someone has to remind me, but they're helping me, so it feels good.

Since I have a lot of full-screen activities, something like this PowerPoint, I have to remember, I can't see the people out there, but they're there. I shouldn't forget.

And I'll tell you, it is tricky because I've got to be engaging the students who are physically in front of me. But there's a whole virtual group, either behind me or to the side, on the box light. So there's a lot of physical movement to make sure that I'm eye to eye with everybody.

We use the Owl. So I'll have to just keep every few minutes, turning around, looking right at the Owl to make sure I have eye contact with the people at home, even though I can't see them.

This was counterintuitive, but the convenience of HyFlex can actually deter some students from attending in person. So on a rainy night, I may have a handful of people in the class, but a large group online.

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Slide. A grimacing wolf with a thought bubble, Grr.

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Other disadvantages-- so occasionally, the Wi-Fi goes out in our entire district of 32 schools, and there is nothing I can do about that. The students may phone in and have a buddy in the class turn on their phone, and they listen that way.

On occasion, the audio fails or the video fails, or both. So I like to turn this disadvantage into an advantage. The other day, my audio went out. I fixed it, so the video went out. I fixed it, the audio-- it was like, whack-a-mole. And I, finally, got all of it working. The whole class applauded. And I show them, you know what, you can all do this. I'm the oldest teacher in my school. And if I can do it, you guys can do some technology.

And when it totally fails, that's also good because the students who are afraid of technology can see that, you know what, it happens. And the world won't end. So it works. It's kind of like CPR. If I've got a person who's a minute from death, it's OK if I'm stumbling and fumbling around. It's OK if I break some ribs. It's better than letting them die. So it's the approach I take.

However, at least in my district, I believe, and I think all of the teachers who are using HyFlex believe that we need more troubleshooting, training. We know how to teach, but we may not know how to fix a complicated technical problem. And also, the students need digital literacy support.

I think David mentioned something about that, but since we have open enrollment, digital literacy has to be ongoing.

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Slide, additional bulleted text.

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In terms of teaching, it can be hard to be spontaneous. I used to use the pencil function on the Boxlight to make quick notes, but that's not visible to HyFlexers. So I've switched to PowerPoint, which I, obviously, love. I just have an open PowerPoint that I can write on, draw graphs, use my finger to draw. I can draw cartoons. So this is visible to the people who are at home.

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Slide, additional bulleted text.

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You can't use the dry erase board in the class, because everything appears backwards. I haven't used my dry erase board for probably two years now. There is an app on the phone, but it's too much. I want to teach, not be fooling around with devices. So I do like using PowerPoint. And what I've started to do is just open a blank PowerPoint at the beginning of class, have it just a click away in case I want to spontaneously draw a cartoon to explain what I'm talking about.

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A smiling wolf appears, juggling balls.

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So I do feel like a juggler sometimes.

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Slide. An animated car crashes into a tree.

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This was a strange problem.

[TIRES SCREECHING]

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A thought bubble appears above the car, Oops.

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Sorry I love making that slide. Some of my students log in while they're driving to work. And I'll ask them a question. They turn on their camera, I see their driving, and I just tell them, no, no, no, just listen. I don't want to be responsible for your death, but I've had probably three in one class who were actually in their cars.

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Slide. A group of children play happily. A remote student watches from home with a thought bubble, I wish I were there.

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Another disadvantage is major activities. And I do a lot of skits and very physically active lessons. I can't include the people at home, but they can see it, which is better than nothing. And if it looks like fun, it'll encourage them to come back to class.

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Slide, Demo. Bulleted text appears.

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So I've got just a few demos here. I'm going to go over them quickly. I want to mention in one of the photos and little video, one of my students is in Atlanta, Georgia. She used to be here. She moved. And she's just continuing in my class. So she was able to participate with her classmates. And she probably is on line three or four days a week.

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Text, the following slides show. 1, a student in her car participating in our certificate ceremony. 2, Students playing a Citizenship board game. 3, Video of the same game. 4, Jeopardy game. 5, Kahoot game. Then, slide: A classroom photo appears.

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So here I am, giving an award to a student in her car very quickly. So that I wouldn't kill her.

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Slide, A classroom photo appears.

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This is a group activity. It's a little board game that I created. So the two ladies at this table are online with three students, one of whom is the one in Atlanta.

So whenever we're doing a group activity, I have a table in the front. We push it up against the Boxlight and right next to the Owl so that it feels like they're all in the same group, even though they may be thousands of miles apart.

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Slide, A video.

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So here's very quickly--

[VIDEO PLAYBACK]

[CHATTER]

SPEAKER 2: Elena, how long have you been a permanent resident of the United States?

SPEAKER 3: Nine years.

SPEAKER 2: OK.

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Slide, a Jeopardy game board appears.

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ELY FREEDMAN: So it's a US citizenship class, in case you were wondering. I also have Jeopardy games, which we play in groups. And the online people are assigned to a group. They can answer questions as individuals, or if there's any group consultation, then we have a member of the in-class group move up to the Owl so that everybody feels like they're equally participating.

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Slide, a Kahoot question appears, State your full name, please, with four options.

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Kahoot works really well because what the students in the class see is exactly what the at-home students see. And they love this.

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The Kahoot scoreboard appears, with one entrant, HyFlexer.

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Sometimes, I forget which one is in class and which one is online.

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Slide, Conclusion, with bulleted text. A wolf wags its tail, regarding the onscreen frog.

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So in conclusion, although I thought I was going to hate HyFlex, I really love it because it's helping my students. It's easy to learn. The benefits outweigh the disadvantage. You don't need to be a techie at all, and the more you use it, the easier it gets. It's like driving a car. If I described everything involved with driving a car, a non-driver would think it was impossible. But once you've been doing it, it's mindless.

So my advice is just do it. So Thank you.

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Destiny's video screen appears.

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DESTINY SIMPSON: Thanks so much, Ely. One of the things that I love, how you found ways to really use this as an opportunity to support your learners and also to help it be a way that you are a learner as well, too, and learning new technology, learning new creative ways to help engage your learners. And

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The agenda appears. The arrow labeled "Benefits of HyFlex" is highlighted.

(SPEECH)
I think you mentioned a lot of the benefits.

And so for most of the teachers, David and I are co-authors of a guide, which we're going to talk to you a little bit about for HyFlex. And one of the things that in talking with the teachers, most of the teachers started HyFlex not because they were like, how can I try something new and different? It was more because it's the question was, how can I make sure that my students are engaged and are learning and are able to participate, even when all those challenges that we know our students have come up?

And so, Ely, I think you're a true testament of somebody that really embraced something that may be very new and maybe wasn't your first choice, but you found ways to see the benefits of how it's helped your learners. And so, in the chat, I put in a question to ask, why you might even consider offering HyFlex for your learners or why have you. But we're going to talk a little bit about the benefits that we've heard from HyFlex.

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Slide. What does this model offer to our field? A list of five bulleted elements increased in learner.

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This model offers really a the strong possibility for increased learner attendance, because they have multiple options now that they can work towards their learning goals. Retention-- it helps learners that, oh, I used to come to class, but now, I have to take care of my sick child. So maybe in the past, they would have had to miss it. Now, they can still participate. Or the bus strike that Ely mentioned.

There's always things that happen for all of us in our lives that break up our normal routine or makes doing something a little bit more challenging than how it could be. But HyFlex really offers that opportunity for our learners to stay engaged and to help with retention.

Teachers have found that course completion has really been a benefit. It keeps learners there. And we're going to talk a little bit about some post testing and learning gains.

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Slide, What is the evidence that it works? Preliminary data from CASAS HyFlex Instruction, Kay Hartley, CASAS. A text box, Does the HyFlex Instructional model result in measurable continuity of participation and improvements in student learning gains? Four school names are bulleted below.

(SPEECH)
And so I'm really happy that Kay Hartley is here with us. She's from CASAS. And Kay, if your microphone is working OK, I'd love for you just to take, maybe a couple minutes, just to share a little bit about the study that you did with students and teachers that were in California. I'm not sure if you're able to unmute or not as a participant. Let me see.

KAY HARTLEY: OK. There, I got it unmuted. Thank you very much. I have been working with-- and it's a very, very small group. And we'd love to add other school. Maybe I'll talk to Sweetwater about joining us for this year, but I've worked with three different schools in the California area, Merced Adult School, Acalanes Adult School, and Vallejo Adult School. And, initially, we also had Garden Grove Adult School with us. But the last year, Garden Grove didn't have any HyFlex classes.

And what we have done is we have, periodically throughout the school year, reviewed student learning gains in the HyFlex classes. And then done-- look at it at the end of the school year.

(DESCRIPTION)
Slide. Year 1, All HyFlex classes in the study exceeded California NRS Goals. A chart lists classes and compares goal and performance percentages.

(SPEECH)
And in each case, we compared the learning gains in the HyFlex class to learning gains in classes that were offered face-to-face only.

And HyFlex had significant learning gains. And in two of the schools, their learning gains were higher than the face-to-face classes only. And because the students have the opportunity to go like Elizabeth said, at times when they're unable to attend, otherwise, it has helped a whole lot with young moms that have children at home and maybe a baby sick that day.

One school said that transportation to their school was a real issue. And they were able to make available the ability for students to stay connected. So I think that the combination of options that give them the chance to attend school regularly, and the passion that the teachers show for student success combines to make the HyFlex model extremely successful.

(DESCRIPTION)
Slide. Year 2, All HyFlex Classes exceeded CA NRS goals, with several classes showing even higher learning gains. A chart compares goal and performance percentages.

(SPEECH)
And it's just-- my recommendation always is that administrators consider it, and consider the option of providing additional support for the teachers as they get started so that they learn how to do it well. Thanks a lot.

(DESCRIPTION)
A paused YouTube video appears, CASAS Promising Practice Presentation, HyFlex Instruction at Merced Adult School. Yesica Tello, ESL Instructor.

(SPEECH)
DESTINY SIMPSON: Thanks so much for all your work and leadership in gathering data for HyFlex. It is such a newish modality for us to offer an adult foundational education that it's great to have organizations like CASAS collecting data so that we have some evidence of, is this working? And how well is it working? And so that's great information.

So thanks for taking the time to share that with us, especially on the fly. In the chat, I put a link to CASAS's video that shares information about the data that they collected and also featuring two teachers that participated in their study. And so I encourage you to check that out as you can.

(DESCRIPTION)
Slide, Agenda. "HyFlex Tips and Resources" is highlighted.

(SPEECH)
The other thing that we wanted to try to talk about now are resources, because Ely's mentioned it, Kay mentioned it. Making a shift to HyFlex really requires support.

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Slide, New HyFlex Resources from EdTech Center. Two graphics appear, labeled IDEAL Hybrid Flexible Instruction Guide, and HyFlex Video Series.

(SPEECH)
The teachers that did this in the pandemic on their own are amazing that they were able to figure out a way to make this work with very little to no resources that were targeted for adult foundational education.

What we realized is at World Education EdTech Center, is that we wanted to provide resources and learn from what those that are doing HyFlex in the field across the country have learned. So that for new teachers who are interested in doing it, or for those that are interested in saying, like, OK, this is how I'm doing HyFlex, but what's it look like in other places? Or how can I take my teaching to the next level? We wanted to make sure there were resources for them.

So David put a link in the chat for the HyFlex guide. And we also created a YouTube series that features information about HyFlex in adult foundational education. So

(DESCRIPTION)
Slide, HyFlex Guide. Three bulleted phrases appear beside a book cover, Guide for Design and Implementation of Hybrid-Flexible Models in Adult Education.

(SPEECH)
the HyFlex guide is available. There's a link to this on our Padlet. So if you have the Padlet, that'll have all the resources there. If you're online, you'll be able to click on the link that David put in the chat. There's also a QR code here.

We interviewed 17 teachers and program administrators all across the country to find out how they were offering HyFlex.

(DESCRIPTION)
Slide. HyFlex Guide Sections. Bulleted text lists chapter topics.

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We also featured each program that we interviewed, a vignette that shares what their experiences were, what drove them to try HyFlex and what lessons that they've learned.

So in the HyFlex guide-- and this is available online for free, you can read it online or download it as a PDF-- we have chapters on program planning, instructional planning, teaching in HyFlex class, evaluation, and of course, technology. One of the things that we really encourage programs to do when possible is to take almost like a program-wide approach to HyFlex, in that it's not just one teacher trying to do this on their own, but rather it's either a group of teachers, or if it is one teacher, that they have a program-wide support for it. So that their IT department is involved and knows what's happening and can offer support.

So that their front office staff, who may be, fielding phone calls can let learners know that HyFlex is an option for them. And so the guide really helps look at taking a programmatic approach to integrating HyFlex. But there's also information and strategies from teachers that are doing HyFlex. If you are in your classroom and maybe you're the only HyFlex teacher at your program, that you can hopefully glean some information as well too.

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Slide, HyFlex Video Series. A screenshot depicts a YouTube Playlist from the user, World Education, beside a QR code.

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The HyFlex video series is on YouTube. And the YouTube information, we created a series of five videos, because what we found is that HyFlex is something that for most of us, we probably experienced or grew up doing, either as a student or as a teacher. And so the idea of how in the world do you manage having learners in person and online at the same time? How do you have learners that might be doing something asynchronously? It's just hard to, at least for me, to wrap my head around at first.

And so what we did is we worked with a teacher in Arizona. Her name is Vi Hawes and had her film her classroom while she was doing some HyFlex teaching. So we have videos that show how she-- teaching activity that she did. We have how she sets up her classroom every day. And we also gave a couple classroom tours, because one of the other common questions we find is like, OK, well, what technology do I need to do with HyFlex?

And so we have two classroom technology tours. These are not the only way that you can do HyFlex. But we wanted to give people an idea of different ways that you might want to set up your technology. So there's a link to this in the playlist. There's also, if you have our link to our Padlet, you'll be able to access the videos there as well too.

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Slide, HyFlex Support from OTAN. OTAN's logo appears with an email address, support at OTAN dot U.S..

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The other thing I want to mention is that there's HyFlex support from your friends at OTAN. So we've been working together to offer support to Sweetwater Adult School this year. They're taking a whole school-wide approach to getting all their teachers more familiar with HyFlex and helping them learn about how they might use the technology and the teaching strategies, and build on teachers, like Ely, who have been doing it, build on their successes and help train other teachers to do that.

But if you're interested in getting more support, specifically, for yourself or for your classroom, you can contact OTAN at this email address, and share your request with them.

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Slide, Presentation Resources, Padlet. A QR Code appears beside a screenshot of a list of presentation links.

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So this link to the Padlet, I'm going to put in just one more time, just because it really does have so much information from our session in here. That's another resource that you can use and gather from to get more information with the resources that are available to you. And we really hope you check them out.

If you're interested in getting a copy of our slides,

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A slide appears briefly, Sharing From the Field.

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if you either put a message in the chat or if you contact me, I'd be happy to share that.

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A computer web browser appears. The mouse clicks several tabs.

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Since we do have some HyFlex teachers that are here, I did want to share one of the links that's available on our Padlet.

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The desktop settles on the same Padlet home page from the PowerPoint slide.

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This is a HyFlex teaching strategies for all three modes.

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The mouse indicates a link labeled "Other HyFlex Resources."

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When you click on this, it's going to take you to this resource. And if you scroll down,

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A table appears full of 34 boxes, each labeled with a learning opportunity, like 3-minute quiz, jigsaw, Team Jeopardy, et cetera.

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this is a great tool for whether you're getting started or if you're already doing HyFlex. In order to learn more about-- it's like a how-to guide for this.

I think that sometimes these are things that we do in our in-person classrooms or maybe during the pandemic, you're like, OK, I figured it out how to do this with my online students. But thinking about how to do this between both groups sometimes or and also the asynchronous learners can sometimes be a little more challenging. So this takes something like a jigsaw, for example.

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The mouse clicks Jigsaw. Text appears, labeled description.

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And when you click on it, it describes what a jigsaw is.

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The mouse clicks a button labeled "Next." Text appears, labeled "How to."

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In addition to that, it also gives you some how-tos in general.

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The mouse clicks a button labeled "Next." A table appears, labeled "Delivery Modes," with three columns. Additional text is labeled "Bloom's connections."

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But then they talk about, OK, how could you do a jigsaw for the people that are in person? How could you do a jigsaw for students that are online, but they're joining the synchronous class? And then the last thing was, how can you find this for the learners that are asynchronous? What would that look like, if they're participating in a jigsaw?

So let me show you how to get back to this again.

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The Padlet home screen reappears.

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So from our Padlet here, it's under other HyFlex resources. And you'll have to scroll down. It's the third one here. It's called HyFlex teaching strategies in all three modes.

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The mouse clicks the heading as described. The top of the new web page is labeled Unit 3, Learning Activities for HyFlex Courses.

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When you click on that picture, it'll open up the page. You have to scroll all the way down to here.

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The mouse drags the scroll bar to the bottom of the page, where the table of activities appears.

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And you'll see this table in here.

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The mouse hovers over an enlargement icon.

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And when you click on that, this will open up the resource. So yes, we'd be happy to share the slides with you. And let me put a link to the Padlet and bring that back up again, as we talk about some just general tips that we learned in co-authoring the guide.

So David, I'm going to turn it over to you. And I'll be adding some links into the chat in just a minute then.

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Slide, Sharing From the Field. Some tips gathered from the HyFlex Guide interviews. Six boxes are labeled with text.

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DAVID ROSEN: Thanks, Destiny. When we interviewed people, we asked them, what would you advise your colleagues, whether they're teachers or administrators doing or beginning to do HyFlex? And so here, a summary of some of the more important or more frequently suggested tips.

First one is start small with early adopters, that is, people who are already comfortable with technology and who do not have a huge hurdle in using a HyFlex model. And that's both teachers and learners.

The second is-- and this is whether you have early adopters or not-- provide professional development and planning time for teachers who are piloting HyFlex. And pilot is really an important part of this. Don't start with 10 HyFlex classes, start with two or, at the most, three and pilot and see what some of the challenges are and what kinds of professional development needs to be provided.

The third is, and this goes for all of us under all circumstances, expect uncertainty and change. It's a little more uncertainty and change when you're using technology and, particularly, when you have people in online situations, as well as in-person situations. The technology could be a challenge in either of those environments.

Take the time to identify the best technology for your class. And I'm often asked, OK, what hardware should we buy? And that's not an easy thing to answer, except to say, as you're exploring it, try it out. Literally try out the hardware because somebody else has it. And you can go into their classroom and see how it works. Or because the manufacturer will let you have the hardware for a trial period, 30 days or something like that.

But, actually, trying it out is very important. And that's even more the case, the more expensive the technology is. I'm also, sometimes, asked, well, should we buy inexpensive or expensive? And it depends on your budget is really the answer to that question.

But if you have access to more funds, I have found that the higher, more expensive technology is, actually, not more complex for teachers to use. It's simpler. And I've had teachers say to me who have really HyFlex classrooms really set up with really good sound and video. I just walk into the classroom and push a button and everything happens for me in terms of the technology. That would be an ideal situation, but it's possible to do a HyFlex model with as little as $1,000.

And the last one is ongoing tech support. And this can be a challenge. If you're in, let's say, a community college situation or even in an adult school situation, you may have a very competent tech person who, however, knows nothing about HyFlex models. And so it's not just the technology. What you really need, ideally, is an ongoing tech support person who really is experienced with HyFlex and who has a sense of what you're trying to do with HyFlex in your classroom.

So those are, I guess, the highlighted tips. In the guide itself, you'll see lots of advice throughout the profiles that we include and, of course, the videos. I would add one more thing. One of the most frequent questions that I think-- well, I certainly get-- Destiny, maybe you do too. And it has to do with the challenge of meeting both the needs of the online and in-person people. And how do teachers do that?

So the first thing I would suggest is take a look at the Vi Hawes video in which she does that. And one of the things that she does, and, I think, other teachers have discovered is important to do is design the learning experience for the online synchronous learners first. So that you really favor them so that you don't forget them.

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Slide, Wrap-Up and Questions. A QR code appears with text. Email Destiny Simpson Consulting at gmail dot com for a copy of the slides or with questions.

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So that's it for the tips. We're eager to hear from you in the, I think, 11 minutes that we have left with your questions.

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Slide. OTAN Online, Technology and Distance Learning Symposium. HyFlex Guidance and Discussion on Implementing Innovative Instruction. Presenters, Destiny Simpson, EdTech at World Education, T.I.U. 11. David Rosen, Newsome Associates. Ely Freedman, Sweetwater Schools. March 1, 2024.

An OTAN graphic appears with a list of their offerings as well as social media links. Twitter, Follow Us, slash OTAN. Linked In, slash Company slash OTAN underscore 2. Facebook, Like Us, slash OTAN Serves Adult Education. YouTube, subscribe. slash OTAN Serves Adult Education. OTAN dot U.S. 916-228-2580.