Online & Hybrid Learning Conference
Distance education and other modern learning tools are hard at work in legal education and have now been applied across a broad sampling of schools. Outcomes-oriented design, integrated formative and summative assessment, online simulations, asynchronous learning, and other hallmarks of distance education have demonstrated efficacy in law teaching for decades. But…a robust empirical research agenda is just beginning to develop. The interesting questions continue to center around how and where these modern learning tools and disciplines can be used to best advantage.
Bringing together leaders of legal education and law school innovation since 2019, “Online & Hybrid Learning Pedagogy: Toward Defining Best Practices in Legal Education” has nurtured the emerging consensus on best practices in a new era of change and challenge in legal education:
- For faculty looking to engage with tools now available to them to better their teaching and the students’ learning, there’s no better place to come and learn.
- For deans and administrators looking to encourage stronger academic performance and better outcomes for a new generation of law students -- and trying to predict what’s ahead for legal education -- the tools and approaches discussed at this conference will help.
- For the practice minded, experts on classroom and hybrid online applications will critically examine questions of balance, when live classrooms work best, and where teaching is better done in a hybrid or fully online learning environment.
So much has changed, but so much is still the same… This community of educators seeks to identify emerging best practices, derived from decades of distance learning in legal education. Join us to move this vital conversation forward as the conference ends its time at the University of Denver Strum College of Law and is welcomed by new host schools.
2026 Online & Hybrid Learning Conference
University of Dayton School of Law
September 17-19, 2026
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2024 Conference Agenda and Videos
2024 Online & Hybrid Learning Pedagogy
Conference Agenda, Presentation Videos and Slides
NOTE: Video sections can be watched individually after following the links below. Session details are available by clicking "Details" in the left column of the video page.
Thursday, September 26
Time Event Presenting Video Link 1:30 Introduction to the Online & Hybrid Learning Pedagogy Conference David Thomson (DU) Watch Video 1:40 Welcome to DU Sturm College of Law Roberto Corrada (DU) 1:45 Framing for the Conference & Opening Keynotes David Thomson (DU) 2:00 Evidence-Based Research to Guide and Shape Legal Education – Hybrid and Online Tiffane Cochran (AccessLex) 2:25 Residential Components of Hybrid and Online Learning – Theory-Informed Design and Programmatic Assessment
Megan Carpenter (UNH) 2:50 Online & Hybrid Pedagogy and AI: Intersections, Connections, and Opportunities
Jon Garon (NSU) 3:15 Q & A 3:40 Community Building: Reports from SEALS and Recent Distance Learning Working Groups Jon Garon (NSU) & William Byrnes (Texas A&M) 4:20 Listening to Learners: Panel Discussion and Q & A with Online and Hybrid Law Students Moderator: David Thomson (Denver); Students: Emily Gordon (S. Texas), Averee Richardson (Dayton), and Nick McGraw (Denver). Watch Video Friday, September 27
Time Event Presenting Video Link 9:00 In Defense of Asynch and A Comparative Analysis of Student Performance in Asynchronous Online and In-Person Legal Education
Kenneth Swift (U. of Houston), Cassandra Robertson (Case Western) Watch Video 9:40 How to Make the Synchronous and Asynchronous Components of Hybrid Learning Most Valuable and Effective
Vicki VanZandt (Dayton) 10:40 How to Make the Residential Components of Hybrid Programs Most Valuable and Effective Sophie Sparrow (UNH) Watch Video 11:20 An Approach to Monitoring and Assessing Online and Hybrid Programs
Tiffany Cochran (AccessLex)
Nicole Tate (RTI)Room 165:
1:00 Plenary: Regulations Affecting Distance Learning Moderator: Greg Brandes Watch Video • Online and Hybrid Learning in Law School
Jennifer Rosato Perea (ABA) • Higher Education Funding and Access Chris Chapman (AccessLex) • Q & A 2:00 Pedagogic Resilience and Resistance in Times of Disruption: Reflections on the Benefits of Being Vulnerable Svetlana Tyulkina (U. of New South Wales) 2:40 The Delicate Balance Between In-Person and Online Learning in a Hybrid JD Program
Andrea Funk (Colleges of Law), Brandy Price (Colleges of Law) 3:20 Consecutive Presentations: • From Start to Finish: Empowering Pedagogy with Student Feedback Throughout Online Course Delivery Ginger Hunt (U. of Arizona) • Balancing Act: Maximizing the Benefits of In-Person Components of Legal Education
Gary Craig (LMU Loyola), Aimee Dudovitz (LMU Loyola) Room 170:
2:00 Best of Both Worlds Jessica Williams Schnekler (UI McKinney), Sarah Parks (UI McKinney), Alex Penn (Harmonize), Kathy Sekiguchi (UI) Watch Video 2:40 Online Learning in Law Schools – the Pandemic Experiment
Victoria Sutton (Texas Tech) Watch Video 3:20 Stuck in the Past, or Stuck in Neutral: Instructional Design Process Points for Preparing First-time Online Instructors Ian Kollar (Drexel), Nicholas Brooks (Drexel), Mischa Wheat (Drexel) Watch Video Room 155:
2:40 Teaching Legal Technology Skills to Online Learners Gabe Teninbaum (Suffolk) Watch Video 3:20 Prepare & Prevent Don’t Repair & Repent Vonda Laughlin (Lincoln), Bill Hall (CAP), Krystal Norton (CAP) Watch Video Saturday, September 28
Time Event Presenting Video Link 9:00 Lessons from the Trailblazers: Bar Passage Data and Analysis from the Nation’s First Hybrid JD Program
Maggie Eilertson (Mitchell Hamline), Mehmet Konar-Steenberg (Mitchell Hamline) Watch Video 9:30 Program Assessment Design Workshop Andrea Funk (Colleges of Law) 10:30 Finding Synchronicity Between Thoughtful Hybrid Pedagogy and a Hybrid Professional World Moderated by Sara Berman (USC), with Patricia Roberts (St. Mary’s), Hon. LaQunya Baker (18th Dist.), Amanda Sholtis (Widener). 11:50 Concluding Remarks Greg Brandes, Tiffane Cochran, Sara Berman, and David Thomson (Conference Co-Chairs) -
2022 Conference Agenda and Videos
2022 Online & Hybrid Learning Pedagogy Conference Agenda and Presentation Videos
Thursday, September 22
1:30 p.m. Welcome to the Online & Hybrid Learning Pedagogy Conference (David Thomson, Denver, Dean Bruce Smith, Denver) Watch Video 2:00 p.m. Evidence-Based Research to Guide and Shape Legal Education - Hybrid and Online (Tiffane Cochran, AccessLex) Watch Video 2:25 p.m. Empirical Designs in Efficacy Research on Hybrid and Online Education (Vicki VanZandt, Dayton) Watch Video 2:50 p.m. International Perspectives on Regulators, Professionalism, and Legal Education (Paul Maharg, Newcastle) Watch Video 3:40 p.m. Community Building: Reports from Recent Distance Learning Working Groups and Q&A (Jon Garon, NSU, Rebecca Purdom, UNH, William Byrnes, Texas A&M) Watch Video 4:20 p.m. Listening to Learners: Panel Discussion and Q&A with Online and Hybrid Law Students (Moderator: David Thomson, Denver, Students: Kelsey Wilcox, Denver, Ali Stillman, Dayton, Ken Richard, UNH, Tammie Ton, St. Francis) Watch Video Friday, September 23
9:00 a.m. Evidence-Based Design: Learning from the Past and Workshopping the Future (Concurrent & Consecutive Sessions) Lesson from the Data – Legal Education Responds to the Pandemic (Moderator: Vicki Van Zandt, Dayton) Watch Video
Featuring:- Pandemic Empiricism: What the Data Says Worked and Didn’t During the COVID Crisis (James Levy, NSU)
- Successful Synchronous Sessions: Using Synchronous Classes and Office Hours to Connect Material and Build Rapport (with student perspectives) (Anna Elbroch, UNH)
Online and Hybrid Student-Centered Learning Workshop (Consecutive Sessions and Q&A) (Moderator: Sara Berman, Touro) Watch Video
Featuring:- Building Community to Enhance Learning (Sophie Sparrow, UNH)
- Improve Summative Assessment and Learning Outcomes by Using Online Tools to Create Purposeful Formative Assessments (Elena B. Langan, Touro, Patricia Baia, Touro)
10:00 a.m. Plenary: Regs Affecting Distance Learning (Moderator: Greg Brandes) Watch Video Featuring:
- The Impact of Changes in ABA Standards (William Adams, ABA)
- Higher Education Funding and Access (Chris Chapman, AccessLex)
- Q & A (Moderator: Greg Brandes)
11:15 a.m. Plenary: Evidence-Based Learning Design for Online Programs (Nicole Noël, NESL, Chance Meyer, NESL) Watch Video 1:00 p.m. Looking Ahead: Improving Pedagogy from Experience (2 Concurrent Sessions; No Moderators) Taking Stock: Applying Lessons Learned from Emergency Online Teaching to “Normal Times” Remote Education (Cindy Thomas Archer, UCI, Aimee Dudovitz, Loyola LA, Amy Levin, Loyola LA, Hillary Reed, U of Houston) Watch Video The Next Chapter: The Empirical Journey Through a School-Wide MBE Project… And How the Pandemic Changed Our Path Forever (Elizabeth Xyr, Monterey) Watch Video 2:10 p.m Online Pedagogy: Regulation and Design (Concurrent Sessions) Watch Video Teaching a Hybrid Administrative Law Simulation Class Using Jurassic Park (Roberto Corrada, Denver) Watch Video Proposals for Post-Pandemic Regulation and Curricular Reform Workshop (Moderator: Greg Brandes) Watch Video Distance Learning in Law Schools: Why It’s Time to Permanently Remove Restrictions (Kandace Kukas, Northeastern) Panel Discussion: Curriculum in the New Era of Legal Education (Jon Garon, NSU, Sophie Sparrow, UNH, Vicki VanZandt, Dayton, Elena Langan, Touro) The Student Experience The Importance of the Student Experience in Online Education (Catherine Schenker, AUWCL) Expanding Accessibility to Legal Education through Deliberate Online Design Choices (Susan Landrum, U of I Urbana-Champaign) Watch Video 3:15 p.m. Plenary: LSAC Assessment Workshop – Assessments and Learning: Unlocking the Potential in all Law Students (Moderator: Zach DeMeola, LSAC) (Panelists: Lily Knezevich, LSAC, Jeremy Sakovich, LSAC, Michele Pistone, Villanova) Watch Video Friday, September 23
9:00 a.m Research & Assessment: Partners in Pedagogy (2 Concurrent Workshop Sessions) Featuring:
- Empirical Research Workshop Watch Video
- Teaching Online Advanced Legal Research – Optimize Student Learning Experience Watch Video
- 2019 Conference Materials
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Additional Resources
Resources Contributed by Conference Attendees
Articles
Alternative Methods of Teaching and the Effectiveness of Distance Learning for Legal Education
Assessing Online Learning in Law Schools: Students Say Online Classes Deliver
Books
Distance Learning in Legal Education: Design, Delivery and Recommended Practices
Higher Education in the Digital Age
Make it Stick, The Science of Successful Learning
An Urgency of Teachers: The Work of Critical Digital Pedagogy
Organizations
DU’s Office of Teaching & Learning experts
International Society for Technology in Education
Advice
- Work with Online Course Developer at your institution
- Use "Main campus" advice, training, support, resources (for law schools that are affiliated with a university), provided by a Center for Advancement of Teaching and Learning or similar office. They've been at this for much longer than we have, typically, and can offer a substantial head start. Also, there may be better continuity between college and law online courses if we are conforming to college models (where appropriate of course).
- Talk to a faculty member who has developed and taught an online course before to determine if online teaching is a good fit for you and your course.
