You may decide that all students will complete the same work asynchronously, and you will design one face-to-face session per week that will be repeated for each of your sessions with students. In this case, the session should be one that adds value each week, and is not dependent on a strict sequencing of instruction. The advantage to this is that you do not need to simulcast your class or create both digital and analog content for the same day’s work.

Examples of the kinds of activities that occur in the face-to-face sessions of an Asynchronous Plus class include: 

• working on problem sets

• analyzing case studies

• viewing/critiquing film clips

• peer assessment of assignment drafts

• working on group projects

Any opportunity to practice relevant skills and receive instructor feedback in the moment is a strong candidate for your face-to-face session. The key is that new content is delivered completely asynchronously online; face-to-face sessions are devoted to student activities. 

Examples

In a literature course, the students watch pre-recorded lectures, read the text, and participate in discussion board activities as the asynchronous component of the class. The value-added piece for the in-person sessions take the form of small group activities where each group is given the task of glossing and/or interpreting specific passages from the assigned text, mapping out concepts on whiteboard, doing gallery walk activities, etc.

For a math course, students might also have asynchronous lectures and readings. The asynchronous activities could focus on process-oriented “think-aloud” discussions where students focus on how to solve various problems. The value added in-person piece could take the form of students working in pairs or in groups on problem sets while the instructor moves about the room, checking in with each group and helping when needed.

This model is much like the previous ones, capitalizing on in-person time to do the same kinds of activities described above. However, it adds a synchronous element. 

Structure: In this scenario, the entire class would meet together synchronously once a week (say, Monday). Then groups would be split to meet in-person one of the other days of the week (one group on Wednesday and one group on Friday) to do interactive work as described above. Asynchronous work is provided to round out the week’s work. Again, the asynchronous work in general is the presentation of new content or engagement of students in activities that either prepare them for the in-person/synchronous work or follow up with content that reinforces the in-person/synchronous work. 

Examples

For a literature course, the entire class would meet together synchronously once a week (say, Monday). Then groups would be split to meet in-person one of the other days of the week (such as half of the group on Wednesday and half on Friday) to do interactive work as described above. Asynchronous activities, such as reading responses, are provided via Canvas to round out the week’s work. Again, the asynchronous work in general is the presentation of new content or engagement of students in activities that either prepare them for the in-person/synchronous work or follow up with content that reinforces the in-person/synchronous work.

For a math course, the structure could be similar to the literature course. The main difference would be the asynchronous activities, which would focus on problem sets and quizzes. This allows the instructor an opportunity to provide individual feedback to give students time to rework or redo the problem sets.

In a modified form of the above, students might complete the same assignment in different ways based on their physical or digital location. You might provide both digital and analog ways of completing the work in ways that still accomplish the same goals. For example, while you lead a discussion with your Monday in person group, the rest of your students at home will participate in the same discussion asynchronously on a discussion board or VoiceThread platform. This option will provide maximum flexibility if the university must pivot to fully online instruction during the semester by providing options for students who may not be able to come to class due to self-isolation or illness. 

This approach does require significant work for faculty. When planning lessons for this modality, each activity needs both an in-person and asynchronous method of delivery: 

• A lecture you deliver live, for example, should also be recorded and placed on Canvas. 

• A short writing activity that you don’t normally collect from students in a face-to-face class could be a discussion board prompt as well. 

• One element that might support this approach is a general rubric that emphasizes the particular skills or concept mastery you hope students obtain, regardless of modality. This approach supports equity across comparative assignments and assessments for students by ensuring all activities remain focused on the same goals.

Examples

In this model the literature instructor would design both face-to-face and asynchronous versions of all learning activities. The student would have the option to attend the live lecture or watch the prerecorded version, to participate in the face-to-face small group activities or to work on a discussion board, etc. At every step of their learning journey, they could move from in-person to asynchronous learning and back again.

Under this model, the math instructor would probably want to create two problem sets for each lesson. One set would be worked on during the face-to-face session, while another would be available for asynchronous learners. Both would cover the same concepts, but we recommend different problem sets to reduce the possibility of sharing answers from one group to the other.

Please note: many instructors have attempted simulcast teaching and found it quite challenging. It requires a significant commitment of time and effort to be successful. The equipment needed to be both in person and have an online presence at the same time requires significant resources. And the multitasking required to execute learning activities and manage discussions between two different populations (those in the room and those at home) can increase instructor’s cognitive load. In fact, instructors report having to focus on either one population or the other, as they are otherwise not able to manage the class session effectively. The instructor might want to have the Zoom meeting projected using the classroom A/V equipment so that the students in the classroom can see their colleagues at home during whole class discussions. (To make sure the students at home can see the students in the classroom would require moving the camera in the classroom or setting up a separate camera to video capture the students.)

You may choose to stream in-person sessions so that students are attending both in person and at home at the same time. Group work and general approach in these sessions has to be managed to allow for all students to participate. : 

• Pay particular attention to ensure students attending from home can hear what happens in the classroom. 

• A “check” at the start of class to ensure all students -- physically and digitally present -- can hear and see you will support all student access, and welcome all students to the session. 

• To the extent possible, strive to treat all students equally in the class by treating your webcam / computer kiosk as a live student (be sure to make occasional “eye contact” with the device, position it near physical students if possible, keep an eye on raised Zoom hands, call on digital students as well as physical students).

• Essentially, if you have students Zooming and in person during the same class, design and emphasize the shared spaces AND the added value of separate spaces simultaneously. First, find places where all students can collaborate in class together like a Google Doc, Canvas Discussion Board, or taking turns commenting on visual media (your in-person students likely wouldn't be doing physical group work anyway, so the digital space actually draws students together). Second, design and articulate distinct and equal values for synchronous students in class and on Zoom. What can the Zoom students do that physical students cannot, and vice versa? For instance, can you run a fishbowl discussion with each set of students? Can Zoom students do some research while in-class students discuss a topic? Articulate "added value" for being on Zoom, and help students understand that their synchronous Zoom time is not "my turn to be sidelined," but rather a rich and fully different way of engaging the same class.

• Check out our handy guide to simulcast learning.

Examples

A simulcast literature course would probably rely on collaborative spaces such as Google Docs where students in the classroom and at home could both work together on the same learning activities. Canvas Groups and Discussions would also support these cross-collaborations.

A simulcast math course might use Microsoft OneNote or Google Jamboard for collaboration, as the drawing tools these options provide will make equations easier. The comment feature available in both tools will allow students to communicate even when not on the same Zoom call.