Papua, one of Indonesia’s most rural provinces, struggled with online learning during the COVID-19 crisis. Interestingly, it may just be the right moment to invest in Papua’s education technology.
Community-run centres in regional and remote Australia are having positive impacts on students who were historically under-represented at university and at high risk of dropping out.
If you think the ‘digital natives’ have better online search skills than their parents, you’d be wrong. But simply telling students what to do isn’t the best way to improve their skills.
T.J. Thomson, Queensland University of Technology; Glen Thomas, Queensland University of Technology, and Lesley Irvine, Queensland University of Technology
We live in a world of spoken, visual and written communication, but the third mode continues to dominate teaching and assessment in university communication courses.
A study of Australian students affected by COVID restrictions found the more adaptable ones had more confidence about online learning and made greater progress. So how can this skill be taught?
Some promoters of educational technology see COVID-19 as a ‘tech reckoning’ for professors who refused to accept progress. But before the pandemic, many students also preferred in-person classes.
Sue Thomson, Australian Council for Educational Research
The evidence clearly shows one-on-one tutoring improves disadvantaged students’ skills. An Australian pilot program has now shown the benefits of online tutoring that supports students in their homes.
Online learning during the pandemic gives students more autonomy. For high-achieving students, especially those in academically mixed classes, that’s an advantage, whereas others might struggle.
Demand for professional development has grown but the pandemic has forced it online. Decades of evidence from online education tells us how to ensure professional development remains effective.
People living outside our big cities face many obstacles to going to university, but the innovations during lockdowns have opened a door to permanently improving their access and experience of study.
Muhammad Zuhdi, Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta and Stephen Dobson, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
As the saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. Just because students are given the freedom to learn, it does not mean they will.
The pandemic education shock has raised five critical issues that demonstrate how student learning and achievement and social well-being are far from mutually exclusive.
Deputy Associate Dean (Academic), Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; Associate Professor of Educational Psychology, School of Education, The University of Queensland