Flexibility Finds A Way: An ActiveFlex Journey

Concurrent Session 4
Blended

Brief Abstract

ActiveFlex expansion occurred at our university in Fall 2021.  As Ian Malcolm said, “preoccupied with whether we could, we didn’t stop to think if we should”.  Positive early results overshadowed development issues.  Our journey describes ActiveFlex challenges, solutions, and future concerns.  Although challenges arise, resilience and flexibility find a way.

Presenters

Lead Presenter: Mark Gale, Athens State University

I have worked in the area of information systems and technology for the past 15 years. I have worked in areas related to Web design and development, multimedia production, and instructional design. For he past 7 years, I have also served as an instructional designer. In this role, I have researched various emerging technologies and evaluated their potential in an educational setting. Lastly, I have nearly 5 years of teaching experience in higher education related to the incorporation of technology and design principles in the classroom. This experience has given me a good blend of theoretical and practical knowledge in terms of incorporating technology in higher education. With the rate of technology change in the world today, it is an exciting time that hardly ever has a boring moment.

Co-presenter: Morgan Stanford, Athens State University

Additional Authors

Extended Abstract

The concept of ActiveFlex evolved from a HyFlex pilot at Athens State University in early 2021.  With the help of a FIPSE grant, rapid expansion of the format occurred in the Fall 2021 semester.  Early results from both students and faculty were overwhelmingly positive.  However, in the words of Ian Malcolm, we were preoccupied with whether we could that we didn’t stop to think if we should.  This excitement  the grant and the positive early ActiveFlex results had us unintentionally overlooking development issues.  Much like the scientists at Jurassic Park wanted to push the boundaries of science, our push for maximizing flexibility and student engagement regardless of chosen modality had us overlook development concerns such as ADA considerations, synchronous security, and facilitation of the classes for instructors.  Each challenge required us to make adjustments so that the live classes could survive.  Follow our journey through a Jurassic Park / Jurassic World theme as we describe the various challenges we faced, solutions to the problems, and future considerations to address.  Although challenges arise, resilience and flexibility find a way.