MSU’s Academic Programs Catalog notes that a hybrid course must provide at least 50% of its instruction online. The technology installed in these classrooms should be applied to meet your intended learning outcomes and to encourage active learning. A hybrid course ideally combines the socializing opportunities of the classroom with the digital possibilities of the online environment, to create a symbiotic set of active learning activities.
The percentage of in-person instruction in a hybrid course should be driven by learning outcomes and how instructors can best meet them. For more detailed information, please review the course modalities document.
University hybrid technology classrooms are classrooms that are optimized with technology that assists in courses that have both online and in-person parts (hybrid courses). These classrooms are equipped with integrated, HD cameras that can pan, tilt, and zoom to meet a variety of needs. They also have a microphone and element integrated into the tech cart and room audio system. These updated classrooms are located throughout campus in the below list. Instructors wishing to utilize the hybrid technology carts in university classrooms for remote teaching may request a room and the recurring times through the Office of the Registrar. Requests should be submitted as an “event” request and not as a class scheduling. Should you need assistance, please contact Karen Tindall at: tindall@msu.edu.
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This workshop was created to help you better prepare to teach online. ASPIRE is entirely self-paced and will guide you through the process to develop an online version of your course. Since there is no one way to develop an online course or teach online, our goal is to help you make informed choices based on your own particular needs and contexts. Please enroll in ASPIRE if you haven’t done so.
The Blended Teaching Workshop was created to help you prepare to teach a blended or hybrid course. It is entirely asynchronous and self-paced and is focused on how you can make the most of in-person contact time and an online environment. We will help you focus your blended or hybrid course on the student experience and your learning objectives in order to best help your students reach their goals. Our goal for you is to help you make informed choices based on your context. Self-enrollment for 2021 Blended Teaching Workshop.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the increasing prevalence of multimodal classrooms—where teaching and learning occur through varying combinations of digital and in-person, synchronous and asynchronous experiences—has potential to create more accessible learning environments for students, but also presents challenges to instructors and students. To better support faculty interested in blended learning, EDLI, in collaboration with MSU IT, conducted an institutional research study on multimodal classes taught fall semester 2021 in the College of Arts and Letters and the College of Natural Science. This guide is informed by the study findings and intended to support MSU instructors in determining if and how multimodal course design may benefit their students.
Here is a detailed hybrid tech cart overview: Using University Hybrid Technology Classrooms at MSU.
Here you will find additional resources, including video and documentation, for using the hybrid tech carts.
We have also created a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document about the university hybrid technology classrooms, and will be frequently updated based on evolving questions and feedback.
If you would like a one-on-one consultation on course design or academic technologies, please submit a service request to the MSU Help Desk and ask for the Instructional Technology & Development team
MSU is committed to providing an inclusive learning environment that promotes success for all students. New services around closed captioning and course accessibility are being rolled out this fall to support teaching and learning efforts. Captioning instructional video is a necessity and has shown to be a tool of student success. MSU IT has hired student employees to help provide accurate closed captioning on instructional media that is 20 minutes or less. For more information about the student CrowdSourcing Closed Captioning program visit Webaccess.
A tool in D2L called Spartan Ally, supports faculty in creating more accessible classroom experiences, which advances MSU’s inclusive learning initiatives, promotes the campus digital accessibility strategy, and improves access to course materials delivered through our D2L BrightSpace learning management system. Spartan Ally is automatically activated for faculty and instructors in each of their D2L courses. We encourage you to investigate and identify steps for continuing to improve the accessibility of your D2L courses. A great place to start is with your course syllabi, or other frequently used course materials. A guiding principle for you to consider is “Progress, not perfection” as you get started.
Due to security and privacy concerns using Zoom to host synchronous classes, please refer to this guide for best practices. This will ensure that you are doing everything you can to create a safe and effective space for you and your students. This list is intended to strike a balance between privacy, security, and classroom management. When hosting a virtual meeting, it is incumbent upon the organizer to ensure a safe and productive place for those participating.
These Zoom links have been curated in the order of most important. Below we provide a walkthrough.
Keep Your Personal Meeting ID Private
Allow Authenticated Participants Only
Mute Participants Upon Entry Default
Mute Participants During Meeting
Disable Participant Screen Sharing
Disable Participant-to-Participant Chat (Or Disable the Chat Altogether)
It is challenging for remote and online learners to stay connected, leading to social isolation and increased stress in some instances. For reasons of equity and respect for privacy, students will not generally be required to turn on their webcams during online classes.
There are sound pedagogical reasons to ask students to turn on cameras for specific purposes. Faculty should consider whether asking students to turn on their webcam is necessary to accomplish a learning objective and explain to students why they would like for them to leave on their video feed, but must allow the student to make the final decision to do so based on their circumstances without penalties of any kind.
In short, the default would be for students’ webcams to be allowed to be off, with certain learning goals and instructional practices making it justifiable for the professor to ask students to turn on their webcams if they are willing and able after providing an explanation to the students of why. The only exception to this would be during assessment activities that require the use of a webcam.
The use of webcams in live online meetings can add to the educational experience in many ways. Some of these include:
Students may wish to not use or be unable to use their video feeds because:
Faculty members should be aware of the privacy, hardware, software, disability, and equity concerns and require the use of webcams or video feeds only when the educational value of requiring video supersedes those concerns. In such instances, there may still be students whose specific disabilities preclude the use of webcams. The Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities will work to assist students who have gone through the proper accommodation request process and for whom the use of webcams is not possible.
Temporary, periodic use of the webcam can be much more amenable to students with privacy and technology concerns.
Yes, but you should inform students of this practice as soon as possible. Ideally, this should be in the syllabus so that students can make an informed decision about their ability to effectively participate in required course components. Students should also be able to consult with a faculty member if new concerns arise where faculty could provide an alternative approach.
No, unless departments or programs have an established policy of more stringent hardware requirements that students have been informed of, students are only expected to have the university required laptop/desktop, which does not require a webcam. Here is more information on alternatives to webcams for assessment.
Restrictions on instructors requiring students to turn on their webcams is supported by MSU’s Student Rights and Responsibilities, Article 2.II.B 8 (The student has a right to protection against improper disclosure of his/her education records and personal information such as values, beliefs, organizational affiliations, and health) and Article 2.III.B 10 (The student and the faculty share the responsibility for maintaining professional relationships based on mutual trust and civility).
Related to requiring the use of webcams is the proper use of video recordings of the synchronous sessions and how to deal with these files in light of the Family Educational Records Protections Act (FERPA). MSU’s Office of General Council recently put together this guide.
The MSU Policy Library is the official location for policies and regulations approved by the university’s Board of Trustees, the President, and Executive Officers. This resource provides convenient access to university-wide policies, by-laws, and ordinances as well as academic and administrative procedures, practices, handbooks, and guidelines that govern the university’s many programs and services. It is the responsibility of all individuals affiliated with the university to identify and familiarize themselves with all applicable university policies.