Hyflex Reflections and Future Implementations.

Earlier this week, I started to research the mode of teaching known as hyflex. I didn't research this topic thinking I'd eventually have a blog post about it, but here we are. There are some wild things I noticed, and some fairly solid conclusions I've come to.

• I didn't do a proper dig into Google; therefore, I ended up with hyflex articles from 2020 about synchronous hyflex models and the technology needs to run that sort of classroom properly.
• Without seeking out more current articles, I wondered if those faculty who had tried the synchronous methods like I had in 2020 realized that asynchronous online was the best option online for hyflex.
• Yes, in Fall of 2020 and Spring of 2021, I recorded almost every class session, with or without students attending virtually. It was EXHAUSTING.
• With that last nugget in mind, I knew that when I was planning to use hyflex in two courses this coming spring (2023), I would create an online course shell that could run like a typical asynchronous course; my style of hyflex then would blend that content with "extras" in-person, so that both set of students were getting similar experiences.
• For example, if I go on a field trip with the in-person students, I should probably record that for the online students to view later. If we conduct a heavy discussion in-person, that should be recorded, too. 
• I'm perplexed by the idea that people would think online students would have the flexibility in their schedule to attend a class virtually at 2pm MW or TR (hybrid). Why not eliminate the stress on the teacher of trying to teach two audiences at once AND why not eliminate the stress on fully online students to Zoom in at certain times of the week?
• To wrap up this stream-of-consciousness thought process, I concluded for myself that I would create a list of possible in-person activities that would work for my sort of hyflex mode. I even tweeted out these ten possibilities (will place list below). 
• THEN I decided that the list was enough for now; I would create the online course shell and then wait it all out and meet with the in-person students to A) see how many of them would be attending f2f, and B) figure out what they wanted to use the in-person time for. I might not have anyone want to be in-person regularly; they might want to know that I will simply be around (f2f or available by text or available by Zoom) and that's enough for them. I'm ok with the "wait and see" approach.
• Right now, the hyflex in-person time slots are on a hybrid schedule: one meets at 2pm MW and the other 2pm TR. I may discover that students only need a one day in-person session; who knows!?

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1. Workshop Day - Use the classroom computers & space to give feedback or do so from another location; the drafts are online while Ss might be in-person or online 
2. 1-on-1 Conferences
3. Open Zoom Hour 
4. Writing or Reading Day in the Mildred Johnson Library
5. Field Trips to other libraries in town
6. Zoom Interviews w/Authors 
7. "Petting Zoo" w/Books 
8. Slack app Convos 
9. Audio Book Day - Students listen to the audio versions of the OER textbook & follow along on screen/paper 
10. Padlet Day, where we collect ideas/resources

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This image above from the BC Campus showcases the various modes; they, too, have hyflex linked with synchronous attendance, and I simply think that asynchronous is best or should at least be considered another way to do hyflex. Maybe some campuses - my boss/dept chair pointed this out - have asynchronous online courses separated from the in-real-time courses because they have the faculty to staff TWO different sections like that; I might be doing something that allows small campuses like us attract both kinds of students: those who want the in-person experience AND those who want the ultra flexibility of online!