Delivery methods

For many institutions and teachers, hybrid-flexible teaching is increasingly a way to develop distance learning while continuing to offer in-person classes. Since spring 2020, some teachers have developed new teaching practices as well as new skills in the use of digital tools.

In the same way, having invested in equipment and training, some institution managers may see distance learning as a necessary and useful avenue of development during particular situations such as health crises or waves of a pandemic, or if students need to learn from a health care centre or from home. Offering distance learning can also be seen as a way to reach more students, in Quebec, the rest of Canada, and even around the world. It can also be seen as a way to better meet the current needs of our students.

For institutions, developing hybrid-flexible courses comes with a hefty price tag and requires a clear implementation strategy. For faculty, hybrid-flexible teaching has a number of fundamental implications for the pedagogical and technological components of a course. Neglecting either of these aspects can cause problems for learners and teachers down the road. In this paper, we will discuss how to implement hybrid-flexible teaching with regard to best practices, as well as risks that are well known and documented in literature.