This chapter examines recent educational advances in light of equal educational opportunities. HyFlex's technology-based teaching was selected. Given the pandemic's impact on digital education, this form of education is nascent. Due to worldwide accessibility regulations and the COVID-19 pandemic, technology-based educational techniques are needed to diversify the student population and digitalize higher education. This chapter addresses the following question: Is the Hyflex model suitable for creating an inclusive and effective learning environment for underprivileged students? This new model's influence on educational equality has been extensively discussed. The HyFlex approach fits students' learning demands due to its flexibility, temporization, and highly organized online and offline learning environment; however, it is not the great equalizer it is portrayed as. HyFlex can improve higher education access for diverse students if the technology employed is UDL-based.
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This chapter examines the most recent changes to education by discussing them in terms of equal educational opportunities. We look at one of these “new” educational approaches, the hyflex model, from the point of view of digital transformation and inclusiveness. To ensure proper reading, equal educational opportunities are conceptualized based on the ideas of Brighouse (2003) and their principle of respect: “social and political institutions must be designed in a way to realize equal respect for the value of all individual persons” (Brighouse, 2003, p. 116). Applied to education, it concerns the right to education for every pupil as an essential aspect of inclusion, as stated in (inter)national legislation. Inclusion thus goes beyond integration and is more ambitious than only making adjustments so pupils can access education as is still often applied in practice (Harman, 2016).
“Never waste a good crisis” is a saying in the management sector, and it seems to apply to education as well. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the true metamorphosis in educational models that began in the past decade (Barrot et al., 2021; Pathak & Palvia, 2021; Perera et al., 2021; Turnbull et al., 2021). Completely offline education has become almost unthinkable today and possibly undesirable. Colleagues Pathak and Palvia (2021) show that alternatives in higher education are no longer limited to online classrooms and online asynchronous modes: the scope today extends from completely offline classrooms to fully online education and everything in between (Pathak & Palvia, 2021).
The response to the pandemic addressed long-standing challenges such as focusing on more accessible education through the use of technology (Turnbull et al., 2021; Farrell and Brunton, 2020). Innovations happened at breakneck speed, and while the transition was not always a smooth one, several studies followed to measure the impact of these major changes (Barrot et al., n.d.; Turnbull et al., 2021). The sudden shift to digital distance learning during the pandemic, aptly termed emergency remote teaching, meant that educators had to adapt quickly to online education rather than purposefully design online courses to be accessible and inclusive. This forced both educators and students to work harder (Hodges et al., 2020). Educators and students were forced to move to digital distance learning, but research indicated that many of them felt ill-prepared and lacked ICT skills (Nationaal Regieorgaan Onderwijsonderzoek, 2020). Furthermore, both educators and students raised another issue, namely the inability to ‘shut off’ (Carretero et al., 2020).
The online learning environment is not quite the same as the on-campus one This, amongst other things, is due to the lack of one-on-one interactions in most online course set-ups (Buck, 2016). Meydanlıoğlu and Arikan (2014) state that communication in traditional classrooms is mainly verbal and supported by visual cues and body language transmitted in real time, whereas online communication takes place through written text and without the aid of any body language. Let that not be the only concern, it is crucial to examine the pre-existing challenges surrounding synchronous and asynchronous learning. In higher education, synchronous and asynchronous learning modes present a number of challenges. For instance: Students in different time zones, scheduling issues, or students having to work in addition to their education may find synchronous learning challenging. Asynchronous learning does not require students to be online at the same time and may be more suitable for independent study or self-paced learning, despite the lack of consensus in the scientific literature. However, it might be more difficult for students to remain motivated and interested without the rapid feedback and interaction of a live class. In addition, synchronous learning can be more effective for specific forms of instruction, such as lab work or interactive discussions and. as it involves specific technology and technical assistance, synchronous learning might be more expensive to deliver. Students with impairments who require different accommodations to fully engage in a live, online class may find synchronous learning less accessible. And it is precisely these last students that we prioritize.