SOFLA - Synchronous Online Flipped Learning Approach

Online teaching can take a lot out of instructors.

There are materials to prepare.
Links to organize.
Activities to design.
Directions to clarify.
Reminders to send.
And then, the next class comes — and it can feel like you have to build everything all over again.

One reason SOFLA® is different is that it helps online teaching become more sustainable.

The eight-step cycle gives instructors a repeatable structure. Once that structure is in place, teachers are not starting from scratch each time.

Pre-Work materials, synchronous activities, assignment structures, and reflection routines can be reused, revised, and refined.

That matters.

Because effective online teaching should not depend on endless reinvention.

SOFLA® gives instructors a way to build reusable teaching assets while still keeping the live session interactive and responsive to students’ needs.

It is structured enough to save time — and flexible enough to keep improving.

Learn more in SOFLA®: The Synchronous Online Flipped Learning Approach by Helaine W. Marshall and Ilka Kostka.

Use discount code UMWEB30 for 30% off your order.

Order here: https://press.umich.edu/Books/S/SOFLA-R

Many educators had to move their teaching online quickly — sometimes overnight.

But moving a class online is not the same as designing an online learning experience.

And online learning and flipped learning are not the same thing.

You can teach online without flipping.
You can flip a class without being online.

SOFLA® brings these two powerful approaches together.

It gives instructors a way to move foundational learning into the asynchronous space, then use synchronous class time for interaction, application, clarification, collaboration, and reflection.

That is what makes SOFLA® distinct.

It is not simply “put the lesson online.”
It is not simply “send students to breakout rooms.”

It is a model for designing online flipped learning with intention.

For educators who want online classes to feel active, structured, and connected, this distinction matters.

Learn more in SOFLA®: The Synchronous Online Flipped Learning Approach by Helaine W. Marshall and Ilka Kostka.

Use discount code UMWEB30 for 30% off your order.

Order here: https://press.umich.edu/Books/S/SOFLA-R

7 Reasons SOFLA® Is Different — Part 1 of 7

One of the biggest misconceptions about online teaching models is that they are rigid.

But effective online learning does not need a script.
It needs a structure.

SOFLA® gives instructors a clear eight-step cycle they can adapt to their own content, context, and learners — whether they teach in higher education, language learning, professional development, or corporate training.

That is what makes it practical.

SOFLA® provides the framework, while leaving room for the instructor’s expertise.

This is one of the reasons SOFLA® is more than a set of activities.
It is a flexible instructional approach for designing meaningful online learning.

Learn more in SOFLA®: The Synchronous Online Flipped Learning Approach by Helaine W. Marshall and Ilka Kostka.

Use discount code UMWEB30 for 30% off your order.

Order the book here: https://press.umich.edu/Books/S/SOFLA-R

Follow along for the full 7 Reasons SOFLA® Is Different series.

Today’s LinkedIn newsletter explores an important idea at the heart of SOFLA®:

The real power of the framework is not found in any one strategy alone — it’s found in how the steps work together.

Over the past several weeks, we’ve explored each step of the SOFLA® learning cycle individually:
✨ Pre-Work
✨ Sign-In Activity
✨ Whole Group Application
✨ Breakouts
✨ Share-Out
✨ Preview & Discovery
✨ Assignment Instructions
✨ Reflection

But SOFLA® was intentionally designed as a connected instructional system where each step supports the next.

The result is a more engaging, interactive, and sustainable online learning experience — for both students and instructors.

In today’s newsletter, we explore:
✔️ how the steps support one another
✔️ why intentional structure matters online
✔️ how SOFLA® helps reduce cognitive overload
✔️ why the complete cycle creates deeper learning

And now that the new SOFLA® book is officially available, this is where the full picture really comes together.

You can read the full newsletter on LinkedIn today!
Subscribe on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7419818583184027648

SOFLA® is here! 📘

Over the past week, we’ve been sharing some of The Problems SOFLA® Was Built to Solve — online classes that feel disconnected, tools without a clear teaching framework, engagement that stays on the surface, and strategies that don’t always add up to a complete learning experience.

Today, we’re excited to share that the new SOFLA® book is officially available.

SOFLA®: The Synchronous Online Flipped Learning Approach gives educators a complete framework for creating online learning that is structured, interactive, multimodal, and learner-centered.

Inside the book, readers will find the full 8-step SOFLA® learning cycle, classroom examples, implementation guidance, professional development applications, and ideas for enhancing SOFLA® with AI integration.

This book is about more than online teaching tips.

It’s about designing meaningful online learning experiences with purpose, structure, and connection.

Thank you to everyone who has supported SOFLA® along the way.

To celebrate the launch, you can receive 30% off your order with the discount code UMWEB30.

📘 Get your copy here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0472040251?utm_source=chatgpt.com

SOFLA® was never created simply to make online classes “more engaging.”

It was built to solve a deeper problem:
how to design synchronous online learning so students actively participate, interact meaningfully, and take ownership of their learning — instead of passively sitting through screen-based instruction.

What began as a question eventually became a framework built to create fertile spaces for learning: structured, multimodal, interactive spaces where learners engage, collaborate, reflect, and grow.

Tomorrow, the SOFLA® book officially arrives.

We’re deeply grateful to everyone who has supported this journey along the way.

As Memorial Day weekend begins, a lot of educators are also beginning something else:

thinking ahead to summer planning, course redesign, and the next academic year.

In this week’s series, *The Problems SOFLA® Was Built to Solve*, we’ve been reflecting on some of the ongoing challenges in online learning — from tools without pedagogy to engagement without real learning objectives.

SOFLA® was created to help educators move beyond disconnected online activities toward more intentional, engaging, and learner-centered instructional design.

Because meaningful online learning is not built through random strategies alone.

It grows through a connected framework where each part of the learning experience supports the next.

For educators preparing online summer courses, redesigning online instruction, or planning ahead for fall, the new SOFLA® book offers practical guidance, implementation ideas, professional development applications, and strategies for integrating AI into meaningful online teaching.

📘 The SOFLA® book becomes available next week.

Teaching tips can be helpful.

A new activity, a breakout room idea, or a discussion strategy may improve part of a lesson.

But meaningful online learning requires more than isolated techniques.

This is one of the reasons SOFLA® was developed as a complete instructional framework rather than simply a collection of teaching tips.

What makes SOFLA® powerful is not any single activity. It’s the intentional design of the full learning cycle and the way each step supports the next.

In this week’s series, The Problems SOFLA® Was Built to Solve, we’ve been exploring challenges many educators still experience in online learning — from tools without pedagogy to engagement without structure.

Another important challenge is this:

isolated strategies do not create cohesive learning experiences.

Social media posts can introduce ideas and spark reflection.

But the SOFLA® book explores how the entire framework works together — from Pre-Work to Reflection — through pedagogy, sequencing, implementation, real classroom application, professional development use, and even strategies for enhancing SOFLA® with AI integration.

Because meaningful online learning is strengthened through comprehensive, connected instructional design rather than disconnected strategies alone.

📘 The new SOFLA® book becomes available in 5 days.