HyFlex Course Delivery

Keywords: Technology, Pandemic, Hybrid

Abstract: The pandemic both revealed weaknesses and created challenges for faculty seeking to create interactive, current, and career-related content. Many higher education institutions offered “hybrid” or “blended” course offerings pre-pandemic, yet the definitions, parameters, and technology varied widely despite shared terminology. At the University of Houston – Downtown (UHD), there is an entire landing page dedicated to defining a term new to UHD faculty: “HyFlex.” UHD has removed the fully asynchronous component of this term, and only considers instructional approach that allows choice by students between in-person and synchronous electronic engagement in the same class section.

How can our hybrid, blended, and HyFlex course offerings best deliver content and experiences to students participating virtually and in-person? Are there methods and technology options to provide asynchronous value of comparable quality to synchronous offerings? In this discussion we will review practices that have resonated with students, such as guest speakers, site visits, and facility tours, and consider how these experiences can be delivered or replicated in hybrid, blended, and HyFlex courses. Our focus will be on the 1) technology tools, 2) funding sources, 3) partnerships, and 4) impediments associated with successful delivery of hybrid, blended, and HyFlex courses.