ActiveFlex: Engagement Beyond the Classroom (V)
Abstract: The spread of Covid forced institutions to shift instruction and meetings online where methods addressed disruptions using emerging tools: video conferencing, virtual tutoring, online software, and various apps became familiar and utilized. Studies indicate that technology can enhance learning and that this trend will continue long after the pandemic ends. Many institutions were equipped with collaboration accounts (Zoom or MS Teams) for their synchronous communication but the transition required changes in assessments and reduction of items as content shifted online. The most common strategy was to embed the existing course in a learning management system (LMS) while holding synchronous meetings (Lederman, 2020). Newer studies focus on the effectiveness of various meeting modes in achieving certain meeting objectives and engagement. Kuzminykh and Rintel (2020) found participants reported feeling less motivated to engage both behaviorally and cognitively when participating in a meeting remotely versus face to face. However, many favor convenience and multitasking in this platform and Gartner predicts that only 25% of business meetings will take place in-person by 2024 (Standaert, Muylle, Basu, 2021). This remote transition maintained the same teaching strategies but the engagement was still lacking. To combat this, courses were restructured and meetings were flipped using the ActiveFlex platform to engage all participants.