Online Instruction and the “Hyflex Teaching ‘Shock Doctrine’”

Abstract

In this chapter, we argue that the ongoing transformation of American higher education by educational technology, finance, and management corporations to establish and expand online instruction is a key ingredient of the toxic soil in which so-called pandemic necessary responses took root. We look closely at one of the most widely promoted educational technology products during the COVID-19 pandemic, namely what is known as the “hyflex” or “blendflex” modality of instruction. One of the most profound transformations of teaching in the remote learning era, the hyflex modality has crept into the higher education pandemic restart plans of some state legislatures, and suggests a disturbing synergy between educational technology firms, enrollment management firms, online program management corporations, college and university presidents, and state legislators.