Hybrid by Design: New Student Orientations and the Value of Asynchronicity

Abstract

Covid changed our lives, our campuses, and how we connect with students. In-person activities were replaced with virtual ones and library events had to be reimagined digitally. With vaccinations on the rise and universities hopeful for a more in-person fall, what did we learn from online events that we can apply in the future? This poster will present our experience transitioning the library’s annual graduate student orientation from in-person to virtual and hybrid events. First, we will discuss how we moved orientation online in 2020 and the challenges we faced, including teaching staff how to use new video conferencing software to record accessible videos, collaborating with campus partners, and how to best present the event with existing learning management platforms and the library website. Next, we will detail how we incorporated these lessons into a hybrid orientation in 2021 that will continue to use asynchronous recordings on an event landing page. Finally, we will discuss the benefits of asynchronous orientation elements and compare attendance outcomes from 2019 (in-person), 2020 (virtual), and 2021 (hybrid) to determine which format produces the most student engagement, answering the question, “Should we continue asynchronous opportunities at new student orientations when in-person learning fully resumes?”