Frequently Asked Questions

It is when teachers deliver the same course via multiple modes of delivery at the same time.

Students can choose how they wish to participate.

It provides students with flexible course participation options – depending on their learning needs and life circumstances.

The two most common multi-modal delivery formats include BlendSync and HyFlex. 

It is recommended that you start with adopting a BlendSync format before considering a HyFlex approach. This will provide an important foundation for undertaking the considerable course re-design and planning required for successful HyFlex delivery.

Learn more about these two Flex formats.

View video case studies of what a BlendSync format of multimodal delivery can look like.

The two most common Flex (multimodal) delivery formats include BlendSync and HyFlex. 

Learn more about these two multimodal formats.

How Flex delivery happens will differ depending on:

• technology available in the classroom
• learning activities planned by the professor
• teaching style of the professor

View video case studies of what a BlendSync format of multimodal delivery can look like.

Flex (Multimodal) delivery is when the professor is teaching to two student audiences at the same time – students who attend class on-campus and students who attend via Zoom.

Virtual delivery is when all students attend class virtually via Zoom. Therefore the professor is teaching to one (virtual) student audience.

Hybrid delivery is course is comprised hours dedicated to both scheduled class sessions and asynchronous online learning activities.

For example:

• A student may attend a 2 hour scheduled class on-campus or virtually through Zoom – depending how the program and professor has decided to deliver the face-to-face class hours.
• They will also spend 1 hour per week working through online learning content and activities.

A key characteristic of successful Flex learning experiences is student engagement.

Virtual students are not just observers of in-class activity – both student groups are active participants.

Some considerations include:

• Remember to treat all students – regardless of whether they are in-person or virtual – as a single learning group rather than two separate ones.
• Re-thinking how things are usually done – to simultaneously engage both in-person and virtual students
• Activity design that works for both in-person and online students
• Comfort with using Zoom and audio-visual equipment
• Comfort with multi-tasking
• Managing the audio experience – repeating in-person questions and re-phrasing comments

Read more about these learning design and facilitation considerations.

For Spring 2022, several programs will be piloting Flex delivery within 5 new enhanced classrooms at the Perth (1), Pembroke (1), and Ottawa (3) campuses.

Each enhanced classroom will be outfitted with the following equipment:

• video camera(s)
• document camera
• array microphone
• additional monitors to display remote students

Additional classrooms will be equipped with a camera and microphone. In addition, mobile kits will be available. These options will support the evaluation of scalable technical options for Flex delivery.

View the technology solutions available for Flex delivery.

Expectations for participating in the pilot include:

• faculty participate in data collection (e.g. faculty and student surveys, tracking how students choose to attend class week to week)
• faculty participate in multi-modal delivery training sessions

For Fall, 2022, several programs are piloting multimodal delivery. They include:

• Event Management (Ottawa)
• Therapeutic Recreation (Ottawa)
• Business – College Diploma Program – Co-op and Non-Co-op (Pembroke)
• Pre-Health (Pembroke)
• Police Foundations (Pembroke)
• Business Agriculture (Perth)

In addition, courses in several programs have temporarily adopted multimodal delivery to accommodate needs of international students.

These programs delivered multimodal courses for Spring, 2022:

• Office Administration – Executive (Pembroke)
• Bachelor of Public Safety (Ottawa)
• Interactive Media Management (Ottawa)
• Event Management (Ottawa)

The following programs offered specific courses via multi-modal delivery in Winter 2022:

• Business Agriculture (Perth)
• Office Administration – Executive  (Pembroke)

These programs were early multimodal pilot participants who began in Fall 2021:

• Business Agriculture (Perth)
• Office Administration – Executive  (Pembroke)
• Business – College Diploma Program – Co-op and Non-Co-op (Pembroke)

The Language Institute also delivered some courses via multimodal delivery in Fall 2021, Winter 2022, and will offer some select courses in Spring, 2022.

If you are not teaching in a multimodal pilot project, other options are available for you to explore.

1. Review teaching considerations for Flex delivery. This will help you think through whether this option is a good fit for the program, your course and your students.
2. Talk to your academic chair.

If you are interested in exploring equipment and receiving multi-modal training, please contact Louisa Lambregts at lambrel@algonquincollege.com

Professors will need to manage more audio-visual tools to make sure that both in-person and virtual students are seeing and hearing what is happening.

Students can help by supporting professors with communication. This involves:

• Following question and answer protocols established by the professor – to help with the flow of discussion through Zoom
• Avoiding unnecessary noise at home or in the classroom
• Muting microphones until called on to speak

To learn more about multi-modal delivery, contact Louisa Lambregts (Learning and Teaching Design Strategist) at lambrel@algonquincollege.com

Are you considering multi-modal delivery for courses in your program?

Contact Jessica Brown (Acting Chair, Learning and Teaching Services)  at brownj1@algonquincollege.com