Breaking New Ground in Hybrid Learning Solutions

Through the height of the pandemic with fully online classes the norm, a spark was ignited for Dr David Kellermann, Associate Professor and Deputy Head of School at UNSW in Sydney. As he delivered online classes from his home studio, Dr Kellermann could see a fork in the road ahead.  

One path would lead to learning delivered with a technology first mindset as educators matched their learning design and delivery modality to the baseline of what technology solutions were offering – video stream, interaction through voice and chat, slides, and on-demand access.  

The other path would lead to learning delivered with a student and educator first mindset to amplify the potential of hybrid by creating a learning modality that enriches.  

Dr Kellermann took this path and resolved to develop a cutting-edge approach that, as he puts it, would embrace “the best of both worlds.”  

It was a complex process across two key steps:  

1. Learn from student modality experiences. 
2. Design a solution that bridges connection. 

The resulting insights and design principles led to the world-class and groundbreaking Digital Teaching Studio at UNSW in Sydney.  

Step One – Learn from student modality experiences 

Dr Kellermann examined the student modality experiences of the past and fed those learnings into his design.  

The past through to 2005 – the big lecture theatre 
The first small footsteps to hybrid learning began here. The introduction of lecture capture with video and PDF notes created a choice for students: will I attend the lecture? For those that opted not to, a cumulative delay built up with too many recordings to watch. Attendance in lectures started dropping and engagement went with it.  

2005 to 2019 – in-person + secondary live stream 
Recording improved with live multi-camera production and this phase saw Dr Kellermann discover Microsoft Teams in pre-beta phase – the very definition of an early adopter!  He experimented with real time closed captions, and the educator empowerment that came with “owning the platform” including analytics.  

2020 to 2022 – 100% online 
The status quo of online learning fast became PowerPoint delivered to students at home with a web cam at multiple bad angles. Avoiding this modality was the inspiration for Dr Kellermann to create his home studio. 

Learning insights 

Across all these modalities, Dr Kellermann distilled key insights to inform the design of a new approach to hybrid learning: 

• Choice creates engagement challenges – student drop offs in live lectures, educators delivering content to empty rooms, and fail rates increasing due to catch up tsunamis.  
• Real risk of losing the community – the behaviours driven by student choice pose real risks to the effectiveness of education. It can be demoralising for educators and raises questions around technology doing more harm than good.  
• A need to merge the modalities – synchronous mode (lecturer and students have direct engagement and connection) and asynchronous mode (students online having what Dr Kellermann describes as “an impoverished experience”) need to come together through solid lines of connection to form a true hybrid education solution.   

Step Two – Design a solution that bridges connection  

Establishing the lines of connection between educator and students in a physical and online classroom format was the next step to create a deeply student/educator-centric experience that integrates technology and immersive experiential principles.  

Dr Kellermann mapped the pathways required for the in-class and online audience to see, hear and interact seamlessly, and the form factors that would create a great teaching experience for the educator.  

This is where technology came to the fore, but not in a highly visible way. The design and functionality ensured there was no need for a producer, technical assistant or camera operator in the room. Much of the physical technology, outside of the tools needed to teach, were integrated into the room’s fabric.  

Above it all were two driving principles: creating a more natural immersive experience and empowering the educator. These resulted in the following features you see in the Digital Teaching Studio at UNSW today. All bridging the connection between the educator, in-class student, online student and asynchronous student.  

Matching the in-class and online “rooms”  

The in-class technology features like cameras, microphones, and wiring are hidden to help create a clean, immersive environment that focuses on the connection between humans, not drawing attention to the technology enabling the connection.  

Switching between the following features is at the press of a button for the educator. 

• The main camera has a straight line for the presenter/teacher mode and there is a confidence monitor including a reflection of what the audience sees so the educator is confident that the audience is seeing what they need them to.  
• The educator can switch from the main camera to an audience camera on the physical audience. Plus, there is always an online audience layer on a screen at the back of the room at the same head height and eyeline. This creates seamless interaction between the educator, in-class and online students.  
• The educator can switch microphones from the educator lapel mic to spatial microphones in the audience for questions/discussion to be captured clearly.  
• If an online student asks a question, the sound is balanced to the position of where the speaker’s head is on-screen, so they are properly embodied in the room. 
• The chat function is a critical part of the student experience. The educator has a direct eyeline on the chat to address it at the appropriate times.  

Dynamic form factors for the educator 

Using leading innovative form factors across Microsoft Surface Hub, Surface Studio and Surface devices, the educator can move easily between different form factors at the touch of a button. And Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 bring the experience together across the in-class and online “rooms”.   

• Toggle with a touch of a button between modes including 100% presenter, working documents with digital inking, and screen shares from Microsoft Surface Hub and a feed that combines both presenter and working document views.  
• Dr Kellermann uses Surface Studio at the podium with digital inking and can screen share.  
• OneNote Class Notebook is used to do the work live in the classroom with syncing straight to students’ notebooks.  
• Excel Live is used to do theory and prove calculations in class, with data coming in live for students to see in a pinned tab.  
• Digital inking proves useful across all live working form factors.  

Dr Kellermann feels that by dissolving the barriers to these different modalities, it’s far more enjoyable to teach and to learn as an online student. Analytics extend this. For example, by showing how students engage with OneNote work, the educator can see what is valuable to them and that can be factored into lesson strategy and planning.  

All recordings go into a Stream playlist to create a full list of lectures that deliver a vastly improved experience for the asynchronous student. And during class, these can be referenced via chapters in the recording and played in real-time.  

Compelling outcomes of the Digital Teaching Studio 

The outcomes are wide-ranging across the university, for the educator and the students.  

For UNSW, the footprint of running Dr Kellermann’s classes has shrunk dramatically. There’s no longer a need for a lecturer in a huge empty lecture room live streaming a poor experience. The new space has total utilisation for the in-class 45-seat experience with it being completely booked out every semester.  

For the educator, the teaching experience is enjoyable with a room full of students, a natural and integrated connection with online students, and the full spread of teaching modalities at their disposal with autonomous control.  

For students, those in-class have a great casual space that is enjoyable to be in and an easy connection with online students. The online students have a vastly improved integrated experience, and the asynchronous students receive a top-quality recording that reflects the immersive experience of those who attended live.  

When it comes to applying the lessons of the Digital Teaching Studio, it’s not reliant on having the resources to replicate it.  

Dr Kellermann’s work reminds us that while technology is no doubt a great enabler in the world of hybrid learning, it’s best used in an educator/student first approach. Applying that principle alone to the current state of hybrid education solutions is a great start.  

The goal is to give students the confidence in knowing their education will remain valuable and impactful regardless of their modality choice. And to give educators a platform that allows their skills to shine and their energy to be effectively shared with students. Because we all know that the best teachers teach and inspire, not just with knowledge and skill, but with their energy and passion for their discipline.  

Dr Kellermann is driving for these goals every day at the Digital Teaching Studio at UNSW as he embraces human-centred innovation. The next phase is exploring the application of Augmented Reality to deepen connections and deliver valuable learning outcomes in a hybrid learning environment.  

Learn more about Dr Kellermann’s work with the Digital Teaching Studio at UNSW in this webinar.