Halmos College Instructional Technology & Design Specialist Presents on BlendFlex Learning

On September 22, Halmos College Instructional Technology & Design Specialist Judith Slapak-Barksi, Ph.D. presented her talk, “A Hybrid First-Year-Experience Course with A Twist: Exploring Uncharted Territory”, at the National Society for Experiential Education’s (NSEE) 49th Annual Conference. The theme of the conference was “Hindsight is 20/20: Using Reflection for Assessment, Program Excellence, and Student Success”

The focus of  Slapak-Barski’s talk was on Blended Learning for a First-Year Experience course. First-Year-Experience courses are designed to support freshman students during their first semester in college. These students typically need a lot of support, so universities usually offer First Year-Experience courses in face-to-face modalities. Last winter, NSU piloted a hybrid First Year-Experience course with the requirement that students attended one face-to-face and one synchronous online session weekly, plus online learning activities. This session reported on the pilot project, discussing recommendations and feedback from the pilot instructors, students, and faculty coordinator.