Hybrid teaching
Hybrid teaching is currently understood to mean all teaching formats that are based on the fact that a subgroup of students does not participate in the course on site. Some of the course participants are given the opportunity to participate virtually, either synchronously or asynchronously, as an alternative to the face-to-face sessions.
It is important that the students who cannot be on site are not disadvantaged. Hybrid teaching poses new organisational and technical challenges for teaching staff and students alike. The particular challenge of the hybrid format is to enable online participants to participate equally, as they can easily be forgotten or feel left out.
Technical support
Various hybrid teaching scenarios are described below.
The three course types considered are lecture, seminar and laboratory. Simply click on the corresponding keyword to access the scenario.
In a lecture, the content is predominantly conveyed by the teaching staff. Interactions are mostly limited to answering questions from the auditorium, regardless of whether this is available on-site or digitally. In addition to classroom teaching, content is provided in digital form. This offer can take place synchronously in the form of a livestream and/or asynchronously in the form of a recording of the event.
The following is required for a hybrid lecture:
Notebook, external microphone/speaker, projector, (external) webcam, video conferencingtool/panoptorecorder software.
Lectures are transmitted to the digital room via videoconference if they are provided synchronously. The teacher shares the camera image with the participants and the digital materials such as presentations are shared with a screen share. The projector of the meeting room is used to make presentations or students connected online visible to the participants in presence. Questions from the digital space are perceived via the chat of the video conferencing system or directly via requests to speak. The use of a plate microphone or a wireless microphone ensures good sound quality of the presentation.
Alternatively, if the lecture is offered asynchronously, it can be recorded with the Panopto recorder and made available via the video platform. Thanks to the direct connection to the Moodle platform, publishing the recordings is particularly easy.
Seminars are usually characterised by a high degree of interaction. In contrast to lectures, interaction between the participants plays a particularly decisive role here. Therefore, hybrid seminars rely on the use of a video conferencing system. The desired content is developed by the participants in individual work, in working groups or in plenary sessions.
Unlike the hybrid lecture, there is no "one" technical implementation due to the various interaction possibilities in seminar-based teaching. Depending on the application scenario, different emphases are set and correspondingly different aids are needed.
However, the standard equipment here also consists of the technical aids that can be used in the hybrid lecture:
Notebook, plate microphone/speaker, projector, external webcam (recommendation: 360° meeting camera), video conferencing tool.
360° meeting cameras can be used in many ways in hybrid seminars. They are suitable for transmitting lectures to the video conference and for enabling communication in the plenum. The complementary use of plate microphones with loudspeakers can ensure communication in small to medium-sized meeting rooms. 360° meeting cameras can also be used to create working groups. In the video conferencing system, these are integrated within the breakout rooms.
Hybrid lab practicals require a very individual approach. The possibilities here are so diverse that no general recommendation for implementation can be made.
The e-learning lab develops individually tailored solutions for the implementation of hybrid lab events together with the teaching staff. Contacting the experts for media production is therefore recommended.
Didactic aspects
In the following, didactic aspects such as motivation, collaboration and feedback in hybrid teaching-learning scenarios are examined in more detail.
Materials and activities are provided in accordance with the didactic concept of the learning units via Moodle, Mahara or as video-on-demand via the Panopto server. Including the interactive elements of H5P, there are about 80 different possibilities for implementation on Moodle. Mahara also allows students or groups to create e-portfolios. For the pre-production of video content (e.g. screencasts), teachers can use their own PCs in combination with the Panopto-Recorder software. For the online work phases of hybrid teaching, it is also necessary to have collaborative tools (e.g. Etherpad) and corresponding communication channels for the entire course or individual groups (e.g. video conferencing system, audio conferencing system, messenger) to enable joint work.
Even in hybrid teaching/learning formats, the activation and motivation of students must not be neglected. Learning units must be designed to promote learning. It should be noted that both groups of students (those in attendance and those connected online) must be equally addressed and integrated into the course. Many didactic methods that have long been established in face-to-face teaching can be transferred to hybrid teaching. A selection of didactic methods and a description of how to carry them out in presence and online can be found in the method case on the website of the Teaching and Learning Services Department.
In synchronous teaching/learning formats, pay attention to digital tools that allow interaction in real time: audience response systems such as Pingo, for example, can be used for learning stops in the form of votes, surveys and quizzes by both groups of students.
Likewise, an Etherpad can be offered for the joint processing of topics. In the Etherpad, students can collect their knowledge collaboratively - both in a synchronous and in an asynchronous setting. For example, it can serve as a technical basis for an ABC list or a silent writing conversation.
In asynchronously conducted hybrid teaching, the learning management system offers a variety of activating activities to digitally enrich the teaching: If instructional films were made available to the students for the development of a topic, quizzes can be integrated into the videos with Panopto, for example, which check the knowledge created and stimulate transfer. However, such interactive videos can also be created via the H5P activity, which is integrated directly into Moodle. H5P provides a number of other activating tools: Crossword puzzles, hotspot tasks, interactive books or presentations, virtual 360° tours and much more can be designed.
In order to promote cooperation among the students, the teaching staff can define specific tasks as well as guide and accompany group work. For communication among the students, a distinction can be made between asynchronous and synchronous support offers.
On the learning platform, students can communicate asynchronously in forums. Due to the possibility of detailed rights and group assignments, the system offers the advantage that the teaching staff can keep an overview of all forum activities, but the visibility for the different groups can be restricted.
Asynchronous communication is also supported by the personal university email address that every student at Fulda University of Applied Sciences receives when they start their studies.
Synchronous communication in hybrid learning settings is made possible at Fulda University of Applied Sciences by the video conferencing systems used; specifically, image and sound transmission can be used here; if there is a lack of Internet bandwidth, the chat function is suitable as an alternative.
Another option is the cooperative tool"Etherpad", with which students can work synchronously and collaboratively on texts and use the chat available there for communication in parallel.
Learning progress assessments serve to measure the learning status as objectively as possible and to ensure that the defined learning objectives have been achieved. The determination of the learning status can take place during the semester (formative) or at the end of the semester (summative).
The EvaExam examination system can be used to carry out learning success assessments. This enables both online examinations and scanner examinations (paper examinations that are scanned in) (summative). In addition, the system offers the possibility of formative online exercises and online quizzes during the semester.
It is also possible to conduct tests as formative learning assessments within Moodle.
Creating a positive feedback culture is an essential factor for an atmosphere conducive to learning. Regular feedback creates transparency and helps both the learners in their individual learning process and the teaching staff to reflect on their own teaching and, if necessary, to adapt it to the needs of the students. Constructive feedback has a motivating effect and reveals personal development potential.
A number of tools are available to cover the different types of feedback in hybrid teaching:
Audience Response Systems (ARS)
Pingo
Automated feedback
various activities in Moodle (such as H5P, test)
Peer feedback
Moodle (mutual assessment), TaskCards, Etherpad
Self-reflection
Mahara e-portfolio, reflection sheets -> Moodle (survey)
Teaching staff feedback / feedback from teaching staff to students
Moodle (e.g. annotations in submission, feedback in forums), comments (Word), video feedback with Panopto, Webex / BBB (online) office hours
Student feedback / feedback from students to teaching staff
Moodle (feedback), Webex / BBB (online) office hours, evaluation forms -> EvaSys, Moodle (survey)
