Education strategies are quickly evolving. But while technology has changed how we connect and work, teaching models haven’t kept up. Instructors have largely continued teaching as they always have - delivering long lectures that prioritize content delivery over engagement. During the pandemic, they adapted those methods to virtual formats. Same lectures, same passivity, just delivered through a screen. Then many returned to traditional classrooms, sticking to the same live or hybrid models.
It’s time to ask harder questions: Are we thinking too narrowly about modality? Are we missing an opportunity to create more enjoyable and effective learning experiences by blending AI with asynchronous, virtual, and live classrooms?
Too often, multimodal learning gets treated as a checklist: X number of videos, Y virtual sessions, Z in-person classes. And while small-group interaction is widely recognized as one of the most effective forms of active learning, it’s still viewed as difficult to scale. To move forward, we need to shift the conversation, starting with the most important questions:
For Engageli's co-founder Daphne Koller, this challenge is personal. As the co-founder of Coursera, she saw how even the most widely accessed online courses struggled to keep learners engaged. Students would start strong, only to disengage in the face of passive video lectures and limited interaction. The technology scaled didactic delivery, but not connection or collaboration.
That insight sparked the creation of Engageli – a platform built not to replicate lectures, but to change how learning happens across modalities. The flipped classroom model offers a proven path for this transformation. By shifting content delivery outside the classroom and using live time for deeper engagement, it creates space for the kind of active learning that consistently improves outcomes.
But making this work, especially online, requires the right infrastructure. That’s where Engageli’s integrated platform comes in, combining course delivery, live learning, and analytics. For institutions ready to evolve beyond traditional approaches, Engageli offers the tools to fundamentally change how learning is delivered and experienced.
Traditional education prioritizes in-class lectures, with practice or review assigned as homework. But research shows this model often results in passive learning. Students spend live class time listening rather than interacting, leaving little room for collaboration.
The flipped classroom reverses this structure:
By introducing concepts through short, digestible learning chunks before class, this model frees up live class time for active learning. The result is greater participation and stronger knowledge retention. And when supported by the right tools, flipped learning can deliver measurable gains:
A 2020 meta-analysis published in Educational Research Review found that flipped classrooms led to a significant improvement over traditional lecture formats, with an average effect size of 0.50 – equivalent to moving a student from the 50th to the 66th percentile in performance.
Research shows that active learning drives significantly better outcomes than passive instruction. Consider the difference:
And these numbers aren’t just theory. One university compared the same instructor teaching the same course across two platforms. Students using Engageli were twice as likely to earn A grades as those on a standard video conferencing tool. They were more engaged, more collaborative, and better prepared for assessments.
Despite the clear benefits, many institutions still default to lecture-first models. That’s not because they don’t value engagement – it’s because they face real obstacles:
Add to that the pressure to “get through the syllabus,” and instructors often feel stuck. There’s a perceived trade-off between deeper engagement and content coverage:
Engageli resolves this dilemma – not by asking instructors to choose, but by making learning more efficient. When students arrive to class already familiar with key concepts, instructors spend less time re-teaching and more time applying. When AI tutors provide just-in-time support, fewer learners fall behind. And when analytics pinpoint areas of confusion, class time becomes more focused and productive.
The result isn't a trade-off between coverage and depth. It's multiplying the impact of both.
Here’s a quick preview of how Engageli supports each stage of the flipped model:
Before class: Instructors use Engageli Studio to transform existing videos into interactive, bite-sized modules. AI tools automatically segment content, embed quizzes and prompts, and provide real-time insights into comprehension and engagement. Students interact with the material on their own schedule and arrive prepared.
During class: The virtual classroom supports active learning with built-in tools like collaborative tables, live polling, real-time analytics, and AI-generated content. Instructors can tailor instruction based on what students struggled with in the pre-work.
After class: Students can review recorded sessions in interactive playback rooms with persistent notes, AI-generated summaries, and ongoing support from AI tutors. Instructors can create highlight clips and embed additional quizzes or discussions to reinforce learning.
Download the full white paper to explore a real-world example of flipped learning with Engageli - including detailed use cases, platform capabilities, and the measurable results institutions are already seeing.