Online Learning Spectrum

Online Faculty Development Course

Play the Audio Clip to the Right. Again, a transcript is available below

OFDC 1.1.1.mp3

Even with a online course that is asynchronous, you can incorporate one or even a few synchronous elements. This can be one or two class web meetings, web-meeting office hours, or if it's possible, perhaps a F2F (Face-to-Face) meetup or two on campus. This may not always be possible, and if you cannot add in a synchronous component for specific reasons, be sure to have strong asynchronous elements (message board discussions, discussions, regular webcam or screencast videos, individualized feedback) to ensure teaching and social presence in the course.

Multi-Modal Teaching

In the 2020-2021 school year, Canisius offered Multi-Modal courses in response to social distance requirements during the COVID-19 Pandemic. These were a peculiar form of hybrid and usually synchronous course, and feature two core aspects:

  1. Students can choose, at least at the beginning of the semester, to attend class online or in the classroom.

  2. The course is ready to become an online-only course if conditions require it, and classrooms are no longer available.

This course structure, while obviously employing pedagogies common across online and face-to-face teaching, was and is not otherwise typical of online, hybrid, or face-to-face courses.