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they preferred to attend class in person. These mothers explained the reason they attended online
was as working mothers in graduate school, time was a very limited resource, and by attending
online, they were able to gain some extra time in their days.
They did express, however,
interactions with peers were important, and they appreciated every opportunity to engage with
their peers either synchronously or asynchronously as long as they could have some degree of
socialization in the course.
Vasiliki explained the importance of personal connection with other
students in HyFlex by saying:
We have digital tools that we can collaborate . . . collaborate together easily, but this can
happen you know? When you’re in face-to-face setting . . . but let me think of other so I
can definitely see
the disadvantages, it’s very tiring being in front of the computer and
how not having this connection, personal connection with the other person is very tiring
sometimes. Sometimes, you may lose connection and miss something that someone says
of these minor things. By connection I mean, internet connection, yes . . . and of course,
the personal connection that you build with someone when
you are in face-to-face
communication. It’s totally different. I think having personal connection with people is
quite important. It helps when you work together with someone to know a little bit about
them and not feel that you are, you know? So far away from that person. It’s not nice
when a screen separates us. It’s totally different.
Having personal connections with peers was also important for Isabel. Concurring with Vasiliki,
Isabel mentioned how spending a lot of time on the computer can
be tiring and how lack of
interaction with peers can exacerbate exhaustion. She said:
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I think . . . I think the length of HyFlex . . . and I mean, I see the point you only meet
once a week. So that’s good. Oh, and this in my classes is one time a week, 2 hour is a
long time to be in front of a computer. You get brain . . . your brain gets more tired when
. . . it’s in a computer that when it’s face-to-face. I don’t know why it is really, but it is
much more tiring in my opinion. I also get a lot more out of small group discussions. You
know? Where two or three students talking in a very direct task. Sometimes when they
throw up
questions that are very vague, we find ourselves like . . . oh . . . what is it that
we have to discuss here? Like, do you understand? You know, like, he [the instructor]
wasn’t very specific. But when the questions are very well-formed and very specific and
you are in a small group, I actually learn a lot. Especially because the power thing we
were talking about is gone.
These participants pointed out the importance of designing HyFlex
courses with built-in
opportunities for interaction and collaboration among the learners in a manner that brings
students together regardless of chosen participation mode. Although this is a fundamental aspect
of current HyFlex design guidance, it is not always done enough or consistently well. This need
to design and deliver HyFlex course content that has,
among other features, built-in engagement
and socialization among students by design, not by accident, points to the importance of training
faculty how to design and implement HyFlex effectively.
