The Hybrid class format is new for UNW and is being introduced at many schools in response to COVID-19. In this approach, the class is divided into assigned, rotating groups of students that alternate between attending the class in-person and virtually. Live instruction continues to take place in the classroom but is also streamed to students participating remotely. For example, a class scheduled on T/Th could require half the students to attend in-person on Tuesdays, while the other half attends virtually; on Thursdays, the groups would switch. Likewise, a class scheduled on M/W/F might have one-third of the students attend in-person each day, while the other students attend remotely. Below are some resources to help you plan your Hybrid class.
Lecture Capture Overview (11:49)
Click on the image below to watch a short video overview of the lecture capture technology.
Elements of a Hybrid Classroom with Recommendations
Element | Recommendation(s) |
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Dividing Your Class into Groups | ManualYou can divide your class list manually. Examples for how to do this include:
Using MoodleYou could also create random groups in Moodle. For instructions on how to create and use groups in Moodle, go to the Creating and Using Groups page in Confluence. Using groups in Moodle can also allow you to release resources and activities in Moodle to specific groups throughout the course. Student Sign UpYou can also let the students self-select to be remote for a given number of times in a semester. You can use SignUpGenius to give students options or simply sharing a Microsoft Word document through Office365 that includes the dates for your course. |
Letting students know which class they should attend | Students will need you to tell them which class period they should attend in person before the first day of class. You can let students know which class to attend through a number of ways:
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Distributing Zoom Link to Students | MoodleYou can set up a Zoom activity through Moodle that will show up on your Moodle course page. You can set up a meeting for a specific time, or you can set up a recurring meeting that can be used for multiple class sessions. Students can access Zoom through Moodle. Emailing a LinkYou can also email a link for your Zoom meeting to your students. Please do not distribute a link for a Zoom meeting on a public social media platform since Zoombombers may use the link to disrupt your meeting. |
Distributing Handouts | You can post your handouts in Moodle for students to access and download. |
Distributing PowerPoints | The lecture capture equipment may not clearly show your PowerPoints to your students if you do not share your screen. You can post your PowerPoint slides in Moodle for students to access and download. |
Tracking Attendance | Using MoodleMoodle offers a few ways for you to take attendance. With Moodle, you can take attendance yourself or allow students to self-report their attendance. For more information on how Moodle can help with attendance, visit this Confluence page. ManualTaking roll can be done similarly to your current method with the addition of looking at the Participants list in Zoom. |
Covering Content | Handling all of the technology and interacting with different groups of students will take some time. Plan for that. You will likely not be able to cover everything that you would normally cover in the classroom. For some topics, consider whether another way of presenting the information would work as well as spending time in class covering the same information. |
Monitoring Questions from Students | There are a few techniques that can help you monitor student questions.
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Handling Small Group Discussion | When you break your students up into small groups in the in-person classroom, divide your remote students into equivalent-sized Breakout Rooms in Zoom. Make sure to allow the remote small groups to participate in the larger debrief just like your in-person students. That will help your remote students feel more a part of the class. Taking time to work together on larger team projects is probably best handled outside of class time. |
Using Your Own Laptop/Computer | If you are using your own laptop, you will need to host the meeting from the computer cart and log into your Zoom meeting again with your laptop just like a remote participant. If you want to share the screen from your laptop, you will need to allow screen sharing to participants from the computer on the computer cart. Remember to turn off your sound and microphone on any device using Zoom in the same room. |
Using a Doc Cam | Our recommendation would be to digitize your content and add it to a PowerPoint. That might be the simplest way. You can use the Doc Cam, but you cannot use it in the normal way by switching the Extron device. Remember, everything in the Zoom meeting is going through the computer, so you must choose the Doc Cam as a second camera. Fortunately, the Doc cams are also tied into the computer through a USB port. In Zoom, choose Share Screen->Advanced tab->Content from 2nd Camera. Zoom should now show both your face and the content under the Doc Cam. |
Recording | You can record your Zoom session to the Cloud. Once the recording is complete, you will receive an email that the recording is complete with a link to view and download the recording. You can then upload your Zoom recording to Microsoft Stream. Remember that your course recording is FERPA-protected and should only be shared with participants who are already in the class. |
Resources for Getting Started
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
Resources for Hybrid Learning
Note on resources: The term "Hybrid" can have many different definitions. The articles below are not chosen because they are a complete match with our definition of Hybrid at Northwestern, but because they have ideas that would benefit our faculty as they think through developing Hybrid classes here at Northwestern.
- Yael Grushka-Cockayne, "Designing a Curriculum for Hybrid Classes" The Faculty Lounge, July 28, 2020, Harvard Business Publishing Education
- Derek Bruff, "Active Learning in Hybrid and Physically Distanced Classrooms"
- Beth McMurtrie, "Your Questions around Hybrid Teaching Answered, Part II," The Chronicle of Higher Education Newsletter, August 6, 2020