HyFlex First Week Lessons Learned  

During the first week of HyFlex instruction, students and faculty utilized the latest hybrid learning technologies. Despite an extensive overhaul of classroom technology and the implementation of temporary learning spaces, we experienced minor issues. The most common issues included forgetting to include audio when sharing the screen, difficulty getting PowerPoint out of presenter mode, missing meetings due to classroom assignment and instructor changes, and some sound glitches. Overall, most issues were resolved quickly by the technicians we had stationed in the academic buildings.

The following “tech tips” may make your next class go even smoother:

In HyFlex Classrooms:

• To avoid speaker feedback and echo in the classroom, all students in the classroom must mute the microphone and speakers on their laptop if they are joining the virtual meeting too. Instructor microphone and speaker should not be muted.
• If you only hear your remote students through the laptop speakers, check the device settings in Teams by going to the three dots … and click Show Device Settings. Change the selected speaker option to the speakers in the room instead of your laptop speakers. Follow steps #6 and #7 in the HyFlex Guide.
• If you are sharing a video with sound, make sure to select the “include computer sound” checkbox before sharing your content. Please note this is not available on Mac laptops yet.

In Teams HyFlex Classrooms:

• To avoid speaker feedback and echo in the classroom, any students in the classroom and the instructor should mute the microphone and speakers on their laptops.
• If you do not see your class on the Teams panel in the classroom, you may start a channel meeting from Teams on your laptop and invite the room in the participant section of your meeting. To invite the room, start typing the location in the invitation box (e.g. Fahy 131). This will invite the room by calling it. Next, go to the Teams panel and accept the call on the panel.
• In rooms with a second display, the projector in the front will remain blank until you share content. To share content to the projector, click the share button in your meeting control bar in Teams. If you intend to share audio from a video, check the “include computer sound” checkbox.
• If you have clicked the share button but the projector is not showing the content, double check that you are in the same meeting as the room. The classroom will appear as an attendee in your participant section of the meeting.
• To avoid students joining multiple meetings, ensure your course Team and calendar are only showing one meeting. In some cases, faculty created their own class meeting in addition to the automated IT meeting.
• If you accidentally deleted your IT generated calendar invitations, please email [email protected] and provide the classroom and course code (e.g. Fahy 123, CORE1001 AB)

General Tips:

• If you would like to schedule on-site support with a Media Services technician, please use this form to make an appointment.
• Review the HyFlex and Teams HyFlex videos. If you haven’t had a chance to do a “test drive”, these videos will give you the basic idea of what you need to do in your assigned room. 
• Arrive to the classroom early, when possible, to better familiarize yourselves with the available technology. If you have an issue, contact (973) 275-2222 and press #option 1.
• For those teaching in a room without a secondary display that allows you to see your remote students, you can use your laptop screen to ensure you always have an eye on those joining remotely or your PowerPoint presenter notes, follow this guide.
• If you are using a Mac laptop, you can only share your screen. The ability to share computer sound, like a YouTube clip, is not yet available.

Thank you for your patience as we smooth out the bumps and continue to make the Fall 2020 semester a great success!

Categories: Science and Technology