Hybrid Teaching (multilocation teaching)


Hybrid education, also called multilocation teaching, is where simultaneously part of the students follow their class online via Zoom and part follows the class physically in the hybrid classroom. Lots of teachers choose to teach this way because some students can't make it to campus. They might have Corona, they need to take care of others or they are in different country. These students can participate online and won't miss any of their classes. The VU has upgraded many classrooms with a camera and microphone to make hybrid education a possibility. Do you want to teach hybrid? This page will tell you all about it!

Teachers are scheduled in the hybrid classrooms via the faculty led scheduling process.

List of all hybrid classrooms and lecture halls Links to an external site.

The way to do this #1: Contact the VU Education Lab student-assistants via this form Links to an external site. as soon as possible to set up an appointment to help you set up and operate the camera, microphone and Zoom in the hybrid classrooms. Full = full.
The way to do this #2: Use the Canvas groups functionality to organize who will attend the class physically and communicate this clearly with your students. See these instructions on how to organize your groups.
The way to do this #3: Start up the equipment in your hybrid classroom 30 minutes before the start of your class. This way, if anything doesn't go as planned, you still have enough time to call the AVC to fix it. 
The way to do this #4: Make sure all students are seen and heard. Assign a (student-)moderator to keep track of the chat, repeat the questions and answers from the students that are physically attending, display the online students on the main screen, use Mentimeter to poll your students.
The way to do this #5: Prepare yourself by reading the Hybrid Teaching Guide Links to an external site.:

How to use the hybrid equipment?

 

Pitfalls

  • Focussing on only one of the two groups. You need to divide your attention equally to the physical present and online present students. Otherwise students will simply 'switch off'. Make sure to practice this. It helps to project the online students on the screen, so it's like they are actually in the room.  
  • Do not forget to repeat questions and answers from students in the classroom. Especially in the large lecture rooms, it can be difficult for the students online to hear what the students physically present are saying.
  • Thinking hybrid teaching is the same as teaching online or offline. When teaching both the students physically present and online simultaneously, you need to divide your attention, which is something you need to get used to. Make sure to prepare and practice. 

Hybrid teaching is different from teaching just offline or online. You need to be able to do 2 things at once: both teaching the students physically present and the ones online. Both groups need to feel like they were given attention to. For example, the students who enter the class online expect the class to start right away, the students who follow the class on campus might still be chatting. The online students don't have this option, so they might be waiting around, while if the entire class was given online this would not have been the case. Think about how both types are experienced by your students, and don't forget that you can also just ask your students how the hybrid class is going. They might have great advice you might not have thought of yourself. 

We have developed a guide full of teaching tips to help you make the best of your hybrid classes. You can find them in the Hybrid Teaching Guide: