tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/online-teaching-3903/articles
Online teaching – The Conversation
2022-03-08T19:02:19Z
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/178292
2022-03-08T19:02:19Z
2022-03-08T19:02:19Z
Lessons from the pandemic on fairer and more caring uni teaching and learning
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450548/original/file-20220308-108911-16mfl77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=60%2C0%2C6720%2C4456&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The pandemic forced universities to rush out remote delivery of their courses online. Now we have had time to take stock of the impacts. <a href="http://refugee-education.org">Our</a> newly published <a href="https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/publications/covid-19-online-learning-caldmr-students/">Australia-wide research</a> investigated the challenges and opportunities of remote delivery for culturally and linguistically diverse migrant and refugee (CALDMR) students and university staff. </p>
<p>We identified many changes to teaching and learning that we should strive to keep. Students and teachers told us they got to know each other on a more personal, human level. Being essentially inside each other’s homes led to higher levels of care and engagement. </p>
<p>But the disruptions of COVID also highlighted existing educational disadvantage caused by “the digital divide”. Online delivery made it worse for equity cohorts, especially <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/07294360.2020.1824991">refugee students</a>. As one student recalled:</p>
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<p>“[…] at one point my laptop stopped working, and then I couldn’t do Zoom meetings. That was a bit of an issue, and then co-ordinating that with the university.”</p>
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<p>A lecturer told us: </p>
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<p>“[…] there’s that extra language barrier. I can’t see their confusion like I could see it in person.” </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/trauma-racism-and-unrealistic-expectations-mean-african-refugees-are-less-likely-to-get-into-australian-unis-121885">Trauma, racism and unrealistic expectations mean African refugees are less likely to get into Australian unis</a>
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<p>While looking to return to in-person learning, universities must still plan for possible disruptions in 2022. However, after two years of “pivoting” to emergency remote delivery, the time is right to proactively prepare for equitable online engagement.</p>
<p>We need to embed equity in our framing of teaching and learning to ensure we aren’t leaving groups of students behind. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fair-access-to-university-depends-on-much-more-than-making-students-job-ready-171674">Fair access to university depends on much more than making students 'job-ready'</a>
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<h2>Policies offered support but left gaps</h2>
<p>Our research explored the impacts of government and institutional policies and of the move online.</p>
<p>We reviewed national, state and institutional policy statements in the year to March 2021. A range of financial supports from <a href="https://www.englishaustralia.com.au/news/support-packages-for-international-students">governments</a> and universities provided a financial lifeline for many students. </p>
<p>However, our findings highlight the need to provide other resources to support culturally and linguistically diverse students in their studies.</p>
<p>Limited attention was paid to planning for equity in the sudden shift online. There was nothing that explicitly targeted the issues that migrant and refugee students faced, including limited access to technology and wi-fi. </p>
<h2>Care and engagement came to the fore</h2>
<p>COVID also exposed the stresses and workloads for staff who had to respond to CALDMR students’ needs during remote learning. They include lecturers and tutors, student-facing support staff (equity officers, student advisers, learning advisers, counsellors) and educational designers, who support teaching and learning design and delivery. One lecturer told us:</p>
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<p>“I just didn’t have any time or space to be able to make big changes to my approach. I felt really pressured […] stressed […] definitely a question of survival.”</p>
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<p>Despite the negative aspects, our research captured hopeful changes, which benefited culturally and linguistically diverse students in particular. </p>
<p>Emergency remote delivery led to a greater focus on the importance of more <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00131911.2021.2015293https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00131911.2021.2015293">caring and engaged</a> teaching and learning practices. Educators gained an increased awareness of students’ complex lives and needs. </p>
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<img alt="Student sitting in kitchen as he chats online with teacher" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450549/original/file-20220308-130118-1m2k0m1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450549/original/file-20220308-130118-1m2k0m1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450549/original/file-20220308-130118-1m2k0m1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450549/original/file-20220308-130118-1m2k0m1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450549/original/file-20220308-130118-1m2k0m1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450549/original/file-20220308-130118-1m2k0m1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450549/original/file-20220308-130118-1m2k0m1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Being essentially inside each other’s homes led to higher levels of care and engagement.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>However, this came at a cost for these educators:</p>
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<p>“I felt to give students a good experience I really had to over-service them - drop-in sessions [on Zoom] […] play the [pre-recorded] lecture and sit on Zoom and answer everyone’s questions over the chat box […]”</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/our-uni-teachers-were-already-among-the-worlds-most-stressed-covid-and-student-feedback-have-just-made-things-worse-162612">Our uni teachers were already among the world's most stressed. COVID and student feedback have just made things worse</a>
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<h2>3 recommendations</h2>
<p>Paying attention to students’ needs in ways that are reasonable for educators requires careful planning. Based on the experiences of the past two years, we make three recommendations for sustaining the gains in equitable student learning.</p>
<p><strong>Recommendation 1</strong></p>
<p>Course delivery must be more flexible. </p>
<p>Culturally and linguistically diverse students need time and space to manage the linguistic load of their studies. But many migrant and refugee students also have work and caring responsibilities. That leaves them with less time to engage with course materials. </p>
<p>One support staff member told us:</p>
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<p>“There were quite conflicting activities that they had […] Some of my younger students really struggled. I’m talking 18-to-20-year-olds with family responsibilities, not their own families, but looking after their parents because they were home, or they got thrown into domestic duties.”</p>
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<p>Hence the need to plan online or hybrid instruction that allows students to review learning materials at their own pace and enables meaningful interactions to build community.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-has-changed-students-needs-and-expectations-how-do-universities-respond-172863">COVID has changed students' needs and expectations. How do universities respond?</a>
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<p><strong>Recommendation 2</strong></p>
<p>Design online learning with CALDMR students in mind. </p>
<p>Successful and equitable online education is not simply a matter of uploading materials used in face-to-face instruction. Careful planning is needed to maximise interaction and support within the digital space.</p>
<p>This means taking care not to assume students have equal access to linguistic and cultural resources, including digital literacy. One lecturer said:</p>
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<p>“A lot of [CALDMR] students […] often, in the class, you could tell that they weren’t getting something. You can see. I miss that with the online. […] A lot of them are probably falling through the cracks because they don’t feel they could ask.” </p>
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<p>Explicit planning and modelling of literacy requirements – linguistic, academic and digital – will help ensure online learning is accessible and engaging for all students.</p>
<p><strong>Recommendation 3</strong></p>
<p>Support educators to embed inclusive practices in their teaching and engagement with students. </p>
<p>Universities need to invest in staff professional development, including casual staff. Around 90% of the educators in our study indicated they want to learn more about supporting CALDMR students. </p>
<p>Universities should also invest in dedicated liaison staff to help these students navigate university systems and assessment requirements. A developer involved in moving teaching online told us:</p>
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<p>“It’ll be good to have some greater understanding of their needs and ways to address them in teaching and learning, assessment design and emotional well-being.” </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/5-tips-on-how-unis-can-do-more-to-design-online-learning-that-works-for-all-students-144803">5 tips on how unis can do more to design online learning that works for all students</a>
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<h2>Let’s build on the lessons of the pandemic</h2>
<p>The disruptions of the pandemic added to existing educational inequalities. Left unaddressed, students from disadvantaged backgrounds, such as refugees, are more likely to miss out on learning. </p>
<p>However, the shift to online delivery has also highlighted opportunities for sector-wide commitment to teaching and learning practices that are more responsive to issues of equity.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/178292/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sally Baker works for the University of New South Wales. She received funds from the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education for this project, and has previously received funds from the NSW Department of Education, the Department of Education, and the (former) Office of Learning and Teaching. Sally is the Chair of the Refugee Education Special Interest Group (<a href="http://www.refugee-education.org">www.refugee-education.org</a>)</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joel Anderson works for Australian Catholic University and the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society at La Trobe University. He received funding from the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education for this project. Joel is a member of the Refugee Education Special Interest Group (<a href="http://www.refugee-education.org">www.refugee-education.org</a>).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa Hartley works for Curtin University's Centre for Human Rights Education. She received funds from the National Centre for Student Equity and Higher Education for this project, and has previously received funding from the Australian Research Council and the (former) Office of Learning and Teaching. Lisa is a member of the Refugee Education Special Interest Group (<a href="http://www.refugee-education.org">www.refugee-education.org</a>). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachel Burke works for the University of Newcastle. She has received funds from the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education (NCSEHE) for this project, and has previously received funding from Perpetual Impact. She is a steering committee member of the Refugee Education Special Interest Group (RESIG) and convenes the CALD Education Special Interest Group of the Australian Association of Research in Education (AARE).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tebeje Molla works for Deakin University. He receives funding from the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education for this project and has previously received funds from the Australian Research Council. Tebeje has published on refugee education and is a member of the Refugee Education Special Interest Group (<a href="http://www.refugee-education.org">www.refugee-education.org</a>)</span></em></p>
The switch to online delivery further disadvantaged students from migrant and refugee backgrounds. But a new study also finds many students and staff developed closer and more caring relationships.
Sally Baker, Senior Lecturer, School of Education, UNSW Sydney
Joel Anderson, Lecturer in Social Psychology, Australian Catholic University
Lisa Hartley, Senior Lecturer, Centre for Human Rights Education, Curtin University
Rachel Burke, Senior Lecturer, School of Education, University of Newcastle
Tebeje Molla, Senior Lecturer, School of Education, Deakin University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/167705
2021-09-23T03:24:44Z
2021-09-23T03:24:44Z
Beyond Zoom, Teams and video lectures — what do university students really want from online learning?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422549/original/file-20210922-13-1ursgb8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C0%2C5742%2C3811&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As any university student, lecturer or tutor can attest, the pandemic has turned learning and teaching upside down. So it’s important we understand what happens for students when their learning shifts online with little to no warning.</p>
<p>Since 2020, there’s been a growing body of important research into the impact of online learning for educators. But the student voice, which is essential to informing good design and facilitation of online learning, has been largely unexamined.</p>
<p>Our Student Online Learning Experiences (SOLE) <a href="https://studentonlinelearningexperiences.wordpress.com/">research project</a> aims to rectify this and give voice to those who are, arguably, at the heart of the COVID-19 education crisis. </p>
<p>The study uses data from nearly 1000 survey responses from students across all eight New Zealand universities. Through a combination of online questionnaires, individual and focus group interviews, we explored their experiences of online learning during the pandemic in 2020. </p>
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<h2>Challenges and benefits</h2>
<p>Students are not a homogeneous group and online learning is not the same for everyone. </p>
<p>Our research shows that, even in so-called normal times, students face multiple challenges, such as access to technology and online resources, financial hardship, family responsibilities and challenging study environments. The pandemic has exacerbated these challenges.</p>
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<p>A lot of my family members got [made] redundant, and they lost their house. There were 11 people staying in my house. I couldn’t study. I was also working at the same time. I had to pick up more shifts to help. Working more hours and trying to study on top of that was hard […] My house was always loud […] it was just hard for me.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/delayed-graduations-no-formals-the-class-of-2021-has-had-a-hell-of-a-year-they-need-mental-health-support-and-quickly-167187">Delayed graduations, no formals — the class of 2021 has had a hell of a year. They need mental health support, and quickly</a>
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<p>Among the challenges, however, there were some benefits. More than half the students acknowledged not having to travel and having the flexibility to learn at their own pace and place was positive. </p>
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<p>Being able to cut out travel time has given me pretty much three hours of extra study time in a day. The flexibility has enabled me to fit [study] around my daily life. It reduced stress and anxiety. I feel more in control of the work that I do. I definitely work better when I feel like I have to take charge of my own learning.</p>
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<p>They also appreciated “being able to access learning materials at any time and the ability to pause and continue” at their own pace. Students also reported they were able to “balance the children, household and study much more effectively”. </p>
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<h2>Support and communication key</h2>
<p>Though many students felt less motivated and less focused, they became more used to online learning. They discovered they could leverage the good aspects of remote learning when they had the right support or knew where to get help, such as financial assistance, extensions, and disability support. </p>
<p>Some students found online learning took them a lot longer to process and engage with. </p>
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<p>When it comes to posting something online, I like to make it perfect. Check my grammar, check my punctuation, and see if it makes sense. It’s like [a] mini assignment […] And then a tiny post might take forever for me to write, whereas in class we just have to say it.</p>
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<p>However, most students also said regular updates and clear communication were key to helping them learn online by reducing the sense of isolation and distance. </p>
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<p>It was good to see students/lecturers talking about their daily life before the online live lecture starts. This gave a sense of “interaction” rather than being talked at in campus lectures where I usually felt a bit of distance from lecturers.</p>
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<h2>Open-book versus closed-book</h2>
<p>Our study also highlighted the need to rethink university assessment practices.
In the face of ongoing demands of family, work and lockdown life, many students found it challenging to sit an exam at a specified time. </p>
<p>They preferred time-based assessments (in which students complete an open-book exam or another type of assessment task within a specified time frame), rather than online exams at a fixed time. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/digital-learning-is-real-world-learning-thats-why-blended-on-campus-and-online-study-is-best-163002">Digital learning is real-world learning. That's why blended on-campus and online study is best</a>
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<p>One respondent questioned whether universities were “assessing students in a way that’s actually effective and beneficial for their learning”. </p>
<p>Asked what they would like to see continued in future course design and teaching, a majority preferred open-book exams “that assess the application of knowledge as opposed to a stressful closed-book memory test”.</p>
<p>Such an approach might also help minimise problems with cheating and <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018812317/online-cheating-up-458-percent-at-one-nz-university-in-2020">academic integrity</a> in the online environment. </p>
<h2>What do students say we should do?</h2>
<p>Fundamentally, we need to get to know and consult with the students we work with and understand their needs and circumstances. We need to provide choice and negotiate learning possibilities, including such things as:</p>
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<li><p>design more flexible and inclusive learning experiences (for example, allow students to choose from a selection of times to complete assessments)</p></li>
<li><p>develop student skills and competency online, provide video tutorials, allow time to experiment and have fun, give feedback and encouragement along the way</p></li>
<li><p>establish opportunities for students to give and receive self, peer and teacher feedback </p></li>
<li><p>foster social learning and social presence online by nurturing relationships and creating opportunities for group interaction</p></li>
<li><p>provide opportunities to participate in class or online workshops (post-pandemic), maximising the benefits of blended learning</p></li>
<li><p>inform students about the full range of support available and clearly communicate priorities for learning. </p></li>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-online-mindfulness-training-can-help-students-thrive-during-the-pandemic-166264">How online mindfulness training can help students thrive during the pandemic</a>
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<h2>Better design, better learning</h2>
<p>As pandemic conditions become the new normal, educators need to move beyond Zoom, Teams and video lectures to create inclusive learning environments. Using the <a href="https://www.cast.org/impact/universal-design-for-learning-udl">Universal Design for Learning</a> framework would be a good place to start. </p>
<p>Equity and diversity should be front of mind when we transition to blended, flexible or online modes of study. As one of our respondents aptly put it, we must </p>
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<p>[…] recognise inequities and students who may have all kinds of difficulties accessing online learning, who may have physical disabilities that make online learning difficult, who may be having to take care of people. </p>
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<p>Above all, we must listen more closely to those whose lives and learning are most affected by these changes — students.</p>
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<p><em>You can read the <a href="https://studentonlinelearningexperiences.files.wordpress.com/2021/08/sole-project-report_student-experiences-of-online-learning-in-covid-times.pdf">full SOLE report here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167705/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dilani Gedera works for and receives funding from Auckland University of Technology (AUT).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cheryl Brown receives funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dianne Forbes works for, and has received research funding from, the University of Waikato. She is a Governance Group member for the Virtual Learning Network Community in Aotearoa, New Zealand.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Maggie Hartnett works for and receives funding from Massey University. She has previously received funding from InternetNZ. She is a member of the Digital Equity Coalition Aotearoa (DECA). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ashwini Datt does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Research is now showing what works — and what doesn’t — for students forced online by the pandemic. Better course design should be the next step.
Dilani Gedera, Teaching and Learning Manager, Auckland University of Technology
Ashwini Datt, Curriculum Development Manager, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
Cheryl Brown, Associate Professor of e-Learning, University of Canterbury
Dianne Forbes, Senior Lecturer in Digital Learning, University of Waikato
Maggie Hartnett, Senior Lecturer in Education, Massey University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/166655
2021-08-26T18:13:19Z
2021-08-26T18:13:19Z
New Netflix drama The Chair is honest and funny, but it still romanticises modern university life
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417937/original/file-20210826-16-sospx0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C0%2C3578%2C2387&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Eliza Morse/Netflix © 2021</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The central theme of new Netflix drama The Chair is timely and gets a lot right about <a href="https://time.com/6092072/the-chair-netflix-academia/">racial politics</a> in modern American academia. Smart, incisive, nicely written and acted, it’s a genuinely rewarding binge watch.</p>
<p>As senior academic women ourselves, we were excited to see how aspects of our own professional lives might be reflected in the show, and we could relate to much of it. In particular, the deft commentary on the increasing commercialisation of academic life resonates strongly.</p>
<p>The drama revolves around Ji-Yoon Kim (played by Sandra Oh) who has just been appointed chair of a stuffy academic English department and is struggling to be heard by nearly all her colleagues. </p>
<p>She’s also struggling with her own complicity in a system rigged heavily in favour of older white men and against women — especially younger women of colour. As Kim quickly discovers, it can be lonely at the top.</p>
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<h2>Tensions ring true</h2>
<p>Without giving too much away, Kim’s first choice for a distinguished lectureship is a fellow woman of colour, but her decision is overridden in favour of inviting a celebrity with supposedly greater student appeal — and potential commercial dividends for the university.</p>
<p>The tensions between faculty and students also ring true. With university courses packaged into products and sold to students as paying customers, the relationship between staff and students has undergone a dramatic transformation.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/our-uni-teachers-were-already-among-the-worlds-most-stressed-covid-and-student-feedback-have-just-made-things-worse-162612">Our uni teachers were already among the world's most stressed. COVID and student feedback have just made things worse</a>
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<p>The show clearly demonstrates how course instructors of all levels and employment types are now subject to a battery of evaluations, including public reviews by students.</p>
<p>We also see how students are quick to record and share out-of-context excerpts of lectures to social media, where snap judgments are made with far-reaching consequences. Video recordings of lectures became standard even before COVID required the rapid transition of campus courses to online “offerings”, increasing the risk for teachers.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Holland Taylor, Nana Mensah and Sandra Oh in a scene from The Chair" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417938/original/file-20210826-28-1gnq6ao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417938/original/file-20210826-28-1gnq6ao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417938/original/file-20210826-28-1gnq6ao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417938/original/file-20210826-28-1gnq6ao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417938/original/file-20210826-28-1gnq6ao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417938/original/file-20210826-28-1gnq6ao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417938/original/file-20210826-28-1gnq6ao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Age, ethnicity and gender in the frame: Holland Taylor, Nana Mensah and Sandra Oh in The Chair.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Eliza Morse/Netflix © 2021</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Reality versus fantasy</h2>
<p>In reality, though, the true nature of work and life in the modern <a href="https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9781137579089">neoliberal academy</a> is far more difficult, complex and brutal than in The Chair. It has become a place where managerialist and PR concerns trump academic ones, where academics are encouraged, if not coerced, to publish in journals that allow universities to claim world rankings, irrespective of whether they’re reaching the right audience.</p>
<p>It’s also a place where scholars are held accountable to numerous metrics that are demonstrably faulty and <a href="https://theconversation.com/should-female-faculty-get-bonus-points-to-correct-for-gender-bias-in-student-evaluations-43166">work against women</a>, people of colour or working-class academics; where we are encouraged to limit our research to areas that can bring in “alternate revenue” sources, which often means not doing research with poorer communities.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dependent-and-vulnerable-the-experiences-of-academics-on-casual-and-insecure-contracts-118608">Dependent and vulnerable: the experiences of academics on casual and insecure contracts</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>It’s a place where we are encouraged to “engage the public” but cautioned not to be <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/feb/12/naked-intimidation-how-universities-silence-academics-on-social-media">too controversial</a>; where promotion increasingly rests on remaining ideologically mainstream enough to bring in large amounts of money; where we spend large chunks of our time-poor lives competing fiercely with each other for fewer grant opportunities.</p>
<p>And it’s where work of cultural and social value is rendered largely useless if it is not quantified, packaged and taken to market, including the growing private health, education and welfare markets; where there’s growing pressure to “find what the funders are looking for” or risk future contracts.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417941/original/file-20210826-19-1e6cywo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417941/original/file-20210826-19-1e6cywo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417941/original/file-20210826-19-1e6cywo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417941/original/file-20210826-19-1e6cywo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417941/original/file-20210826-19-1e6cywo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417941/original/file-20210826-19-1e6cywo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417941/original/file-20210826-19-1e6cywo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The risks of teaching: Jay Duplass as Bill confronts a group of angry students.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Eliza Morse/Netflix © 2021</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Class, poverty and powerlessness</h2>
<p>There’s also no mention of class inequality in The Chair, but this still pervades the academy. There are no references to the poverty so many university students face, especially international students, whether from expensive tuition fees, exorbitant rent, low wages from casual jobs, or <a href="https://theconversation.com/god-i-miss-fruit-40-of-students-at-australian-universities-may-be-going-without-food-156584">food insecurity</a> — all evident in the US and Australia.</p>
<p>Nor is there any discussion of the casual employment of the vast <a href="https://theconversation.com/more-than-70-of-academics-at-some-universities-are-casuals-theyre-losing-work-and-are-cut-out-of-jobkeeper-137778">majority</a> of academic staff, which effectively gives them little or no say in university governance and subjects them to levels of financial and professional precariousness that is <a href="https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/10527/Casualised-staff-are-second-class-citizens-warns-report">damaging to their well-being</a>.</p>
<p>And there is barely a nod to the fact that across the higher education sector the mantra of “cost-effectiveness” is applied to all requests for teaching and research funding, while <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-australian-vice-chancellors-pay-came-to-average-1-million-and-why-its-a-problem-150829">vast sums are paid to vice chancellors</a> and their entourages, including their many consultants.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417939/original/file-20210826-25-lk37c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417939/original/file-20210826-25-lk37c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417939/original/file-20210826-25-lk37c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417939/original/file-20210826-25-lk37c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417939/original/file-20210826-25-lk37c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417939/original/file-20210826-25-lk37c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417939/original/file-20210826-25-lk37c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The idealised class: Nana Mensah as Yaz, star teacher in The Chair.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Eliza Morse/Netflix © 2021</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>In search of the ‘good university’</h2>
<p>As if all this isn’t enough, teaching has become more treacherous. Classes in The Chair are depicted as intimate and manageable, but our reality is a far cry from that. First-year courses commonly have upwards of 700 enrolments, making it impossible to forge the relationships of trust needed to discuss difficult and confronting ideas.</p>
<p>Student anonymity and their customer-reviewer status mean staff can be <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/waikato-university-professor-apologises-after-using-n-word-in-lecture/AYIKUFZ6DYPJJWPMGBGZZKQQDM/">policed</a> (rightly or wrongly) for their teaching content, physical appearance and presentation. Opening up spaces for critical discussion can be difficult, if not downright scary.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/rating-your-professor-five-myths-about-university-teaching-quality-36129">Rating your professor: five myths about university teaching quality</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>For all of its humour and clever lines, we came away from The Chair feeling dispirited. In part this is because the show lays bare the huge challenge of effecting real change in the face of hard-to-swallow compromises and lack of solidarity.</p>
<p>But it’s also because, as sad as it sounds, the series depicts a version of modern academic life that is far more positive than our reality. Even with its problems, we’d still take The Chair’s version over its real-world counterpart, notwithstanding that it’s far from the “<a href="https://www.nteu.org.au/nt/article/Brisbane-Declaration-against-privatised-universities%3A-A-Commentary--18988">good university</a>” we’d like to see.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/166655/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Even though The Chair confronts some of the tougher realities of higher education, the world it depicts is still rosier than the reality.
Nik Taylor, Professor in Sociology, University of Canterbury
Heather Fraser, Associate Professor, Queensland University of Technology
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/161866
2021-07-27T03:54:08Z
2021-07-27T03:54:08Z
Indonesia’s ‘Freedom to Learn’ movement at risk as students lose attention amid digital learning: how do we reclaim their drive to learn?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412378/original/file-20210721-13-8c1j9b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/IzmdWT2lW5Q">(Unsplash/Josefa Ndiaz)</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In late 2019, Indonesia sought to revolutionise the country’s education system – long criticised for its focus on rote learning – through a series of ongoing policies dubbed the “<a href="https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/01/16/freedom-learn-needs-more-teachers.html"><em>Merdeka Belajar</em></a>” movement, or “Freedom to Learn”.</p>
<p>Some programs developed under <em>Merdeka Belajar</em>, such as <a href="http://lpmpjatim.kemdikbud.go.id/site/detailpost/kemendikbud-luncurkan-merdeka-belajar-episode-7-program-sekolah-penggerak"><em>Sekolah Penggerak</em></a> (Initiator Schools) collaborate with schools and teachers to promote progressive learning practices, customising students’ experiences, rather than learning everything by sheer memorisation.</p>
<p>However, both supporters and critics have doubts about how the Freedom to Learn mindset will fare amid the rise of digital learning due to COVID-19. </p>
<p>The main problem faced during the pandemic, for instance, has been that many teachers <a href="https://theconversation.com/for-online-teaching-to-succeed-train-educators-to-embrace-uncertainty-in-learning-135570">merely moved traditional face-to-face teaching methods</a> online, with disastrous results.</p>
<p>Many of them <a href="https://theconversation.com/jangan-hanya-bebani-guru-pemerintah-harus-gandeng-universitas-dan-orang-tua-untuk-sukseskan-online-learning-138653">have not been trained</a> to give students full learning responsibilities within a normal classroom, never mind in an online environment. They have struggled to gain students’ attention over time – through Zoom classes and sometimes only messaging apps. They have found it <a href="https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/ve4z7/download">even more challenging to assess</a> whether students have been learning.</p>
<p>As a result, many teachers have chosen to simply set students weekly assignments to give them room to learn by themselves.</p>
<p>But can they?</p>
<p>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.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Baca juga:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/in-a-world-of-digital-bystanders-the-challenge-is-for-all-of-us-to-design-engaging-online-education-147195">In a world of digital bystanders the challenge is for all of us to design engaging online education</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Even offline, most students struggle to take control of their learning</h2>
<p>Indonesia’s Freedom to Learn movement is not the first of its kind. Norway, for instance, implemented similar policies on customised learning. Its experience may offer valuable lessons.</p>
<p>In 1994, Norway launched <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED425529.pdf">Reform94</a> to give teenage students more control of their learning. The policy focused on regularly giving students more choice and responsibility to work with teachers in designing their learning activities.</p>
<p>However, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.2304/pfie.2011.9.5.631">national evaluations</a> found stronger students possessed sufficient self-motivation to learn by themselves. Most other students did not. The policy’s good intent failed to be realised. </p>
<p>The students had become reliant on teachers deciding what and how to teach. </p>
<p>When online learning surged due to COVID-19, we recognise a similar pattern of students becoming even more isolated and left without guidance.</p>
<p>Even Norway – often regarded as having <a href="https://theconversation.com/which-country-is-best-to-live-in-our-calculations-say-its-not-norway-99921">one of the best</a> education outputs – still faced challenges of <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/118/17/e2022376118">knowledge loss</a> and lack of student engagement with repeated waves of local and regional online schooling.</p>
<p>So, in a world where teachers and students grow increasingly distant, how do we get students to take charge of their learning?</p>
<h2>Designing an online-first environment</h2>
<p>The pandemic has taught us <a href="https://theconversation.com/in-a-world-of-digital-bystanders-the-challenge-is-for-all-of-us-to-design-engaging-online-education-147195">the importance of digital learning environments</a> that are well designed to retain students’ attention. Students won’t bother to actively learn on their own if they’ve already lost interest in the first place.</p>
<p>This requires shorter periods of teaching, combined with similarly shorter periods of practical learning and feedback activities. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412381/original/file-20210721-27-na2vqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412381/original/file-20210721-27-na2vqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412381/original/file-20210721-27-na2vqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412381/original/file-20210721-27-na2vqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412381/original/file-20210721-27-na2vqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412381/original/file-20210721-27-na2vqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412381/original/file-20210721-27-na2vqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412381/original/file-20210721-27-na2vqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The pandemic has taught us the importance of digital learning environments that are well designed to retain students’ attention.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/focused-ethnic-girl-studying-on-laptop-5905886/">(Pexels/Katerina Holmes)</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For some teachers, this might mean breaking up sessions that usually last for hours into 30-minute bursts of lessons and activities across a week of learning. This way, students get to engage with digital learning resources to learn about DNA, for instance, at their own pace throughout that week.</p>
<p>Practices like these have been long employed in New Zealand’s largest school, called <a href="https://www.tekura.school.nz/about-us/who-we-are/about-te-kura/">Te Kura</a>, and are cornerstones of a well-designed online learning environment.</p>
<p>Te Kura was founded in 1922. In these pre-digital times, teaching resources and assignments were sent to and returned by students via mail for grading and feedback.</p>
<p>This means that, long before the pandemic, Te Kura had adopted teaching models varying from fully online to face-to-face sessions when required or possible. The learning resources and platform were tried and tested – teachers already knew how to manage the difficult task of engaging students when COVID hit and, with the flick of a switch, they moved fully online.</p>
<h2>Connectivism – the clue is in front of us</h2>
<p>Moving forward, however, helping students become “digitally connected” to each other and the world around them will be most essential as they take charge of their own learning.</p>
<p>Education psychologist George Siemens explains this best through his theory of <a href="https://lidtfoundations.pressbooks.com/chapter/connectivism-a-learning-theory-for-the-digital-age/">connectivism</a>. It’s a concept of learning that involves many at-times-overlapping networks of digital sources for learning and assessment.</p>
<p>This is basically a fancy way of saying that, in an increasingly online world, we learn best through spontaneous and enjoyable acts of reading and consuming information. We could be glancing at news articles, watching TED Talks in our free time, reading e-books on a variety of topics, or even catching up with a colleague or fellow student over Zoom – sources of expertise that have already been accumulated by other people for years.</p>
<p>As these sources offer the opportunity of “any time, any place” learning and teaching, they are ideal teaching methods for any digital learning environment.</p>
<p>It is not enough for Indonesia’s Freedom to Learn movement to merely give room for students to shape their own education. Schools and teachers must also design digital learning environments that are actually able to retain their attention, motivation and drive to learn.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/161866/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Para penulis tidak bekerja, menjadi konsultan, memiliki saham atau menerima dana dari perusahaan atau organisasi mana pun yang akan mengambil untung dari artikel ini, dan telah mengungkapkan bahwa ia tidak memiliki afiliasi di luar afiliasi akademis yang telah disebut di atas.</span></em></p>
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.
Muhammad Zuhdi, Head of the Quality Assurance Institute, Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta
Stephen Dobson, Professor and Dean of Education, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/158217
2021-05-20T19:52:44Z
2021-05-20T19:52:44Z
Good riddance to boring lectures? Technology isn’t the answer – understanding good teaching is
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/401467/original/file-20210519-23-e9scot.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C0%2C4315%2C2866&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bored-male-student-listens-lecture-university-1077839498">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>With some universities returning to face-to-face teaching this year, ANU Vice Chancellor Brian Schmidt <a href="https://campusmorningmail.com.au/news/lets-it-hear-for-live-and-in-person-lecturing/">noted</a> that, while his university was one of them, lectures would be much less common and not a “crutch for poor pedagogy”. Since then many have <a href="https://www.aare.edu.au/blog/?p=8996">discussed the issue of lectures</a>, including the deputy vice chancellor of University of Technology Sydney and the director of the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education in Western Australia, with ideas ranging from <a href="https://www.aare.edu.au/blog/?p=8377">embracing the lecture to removing it entirely</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1361073268451463171"}"></div></p>
<p>Condemnation of lectures is <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/blog/2014/may/15/ten-reasons-we-should-ditch-university-lectures">nothing new</a>. However, the sudden, massive shift to reliance on technology due to COVID has brought increasing calls for ending the venerable lecture. Lectures will, we are told, be replaced by superior, <a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-killed-the-on-campus-lecture-but-will-unis-raise-it-from-the-dead-152971">technology-enhanced substitutes</a>. </p>
<p>Underlying these messages are two tacit assumptions: that lectures make for bad teaching and that using technology improves it. But are these reliable assumptions? Rather than simply rejecting lectures and embracing technology, perhaps we should be looking more closely into both, and their relationship to each other.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-killed-the-on-campus-lecture-but-will-unis-raise-it-from-the-dead-152971">COVID killed the on-campus lecture, but will unis raise it from the dead?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Our love-hate relationship with lectures</h2>
<p>Discussions about getting rid of lectures follow predictable patterns. The most common complaints centre on lectures as <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2014/05/lectures-arent-just-boring-theyre-ineffective-too-study-finds">didactic, learner-passive and boring</a>. Accompanying these critiques is the oft-cited rule that students’ attention span has a limit of <a href="https://resilienteducator.com/classroom-resources/short-attention-span-class-structure/">10-18 minutes</a>. </p>
<p>While there is <a href="https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/advan.00109.2016">little to no evidence for this claim</a>, we can all identify with struggling to remain awake as we are droned at from a lectern. But most of us can also recall times we were spellbound by a lecture. Anyone who has attended a great TED Talk or even watched one on YouTube knows what it’s like to be captivated for that <a href="https://www.ted.com/participate/organize-a-local-tedx-event/tedx-organizer-guide/speakers-program/event-program">3-18 minutes</a>.</p>
<p>Can lectures hold people’s attention beyond 18 minutes, though? The late Professor Randy Pausch was well known for the power and quality of his lectures, especially his final one, “<a href="https://www.cmu.edu/randyslecture/">Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture</a>”, which he delivered after receiving a terminal diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. That lecture comes in at a little over one hour and 15 minutes, and many consider it to be a masterwork of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/08/health/08well.html">powerful teaching and communication</a>. </p>
<p>Clearly, extended lectures can have great impact. Achieving that impact, however, requires understanding what makes for good lecturing and then committing to improvement. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ji5_MqicxSo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/videos-wont-kill-the-uni-lecture-but-they-will-improve-student-learning-and-their-marks-142282">Videos won't kill the uni lecture, but they will improve student learning and their marks</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Push the boundaries and reflect on your practice</h2>
<p>Pausch challenges the stereotype of what a lecture is. He uses <a href="https://www.talkingaccounting.com/2019/01/07/using-props-in-the-classroom/">physical props, multimedia and other resources</a> to push the boundaries of the lecture beyond a typical, didactic engagement. The result is a lecture that periodically shifts how the audience is engaged and, in doing so, captures and keeps the audience’s attention.</p>
<p>Lecturing at this level requires more than just experience. We must <a href="https://poorvucenter.yale.edu/ReflectiveTeaching">reflect on our teaching practice</a>, evaluate the quality of our lectures in relation to our intentions, and then commit to developing both our lectures and ourselves. </p>
<p>Professor Eric Mazur describes how, while teaching physics at Harvard in the 1990s, he came to the painful realisation that <a href="https://harvardmagazine.com/2012/03/twilight-of-the-lecture">his lectures were failing</a> to keep his students engaged or serve the educational objectives of the subject. He used this realisation as a springboard to improve his lectures and develop his pedagogical knowledge and skills. </p>
<p>Since then, Mazur has become a recognised expert in improving student engagement. He has created a variety of solutions for academics to keep students actively engaged in lectures, even those that go beyond the apocryphal 18-minute limit. The techniques <a href="https://mazur.harvard.edu/presentations/keynote-twilight-lecture-peer-instruction-active-learning">Mazur advocates</a> range from <a href="https://youtu.be/Z9orbxoRofI">integrating peer instruction into lectures</a> to <a href="https://youtu.be/iisnPrQLcNU">using a high-tech, collaborative platform</a> to promote students’ pre-lecture preparation.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/5-tips-on-how-unis-can-do-more-to-design-online-learning-that-works-for-all-students-144803">5 tips on how unis can do more to design online learning that works for all students</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Lose the assumptions, not the lectern</h2>
<p>So then what about the claim that technology is making the lecture obsolete? This seems doubtful for a couple reasons. </p>
<p>Pausch and Mazur’s methods can be transferred to an online space, even if we don’t label the result a lecture. We see many examples of how this works in well-regarded online learning platforms like <a href="https://www.khanacademy.org">Khan Academy</a> or <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/learning/">LinkedIn Learning</a> (formerly <a href="https://www.lynda.com">Lynda</a>). However we label these engagements, it’s obvious technology can actually help lectures rather than just supplant them.</p>
<p>Now let’s turn the question around: does using technology guarantee or even increase the likelihood of good teaching? Technology can make good practices easier, like the use of <a href="https://elearning.uq.edu.au/guides/virtual-classroom/using-zoom-tips">polls and break-out rooms and timers</a>. Technology can even <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6798020/">open new possibilities and paradigms</a> for teaching. But there are no guarantees. </p>
<p>The list of ed tech failures is <a href="http://hackeducation.com/2019/12/31/what-a-shitshow">long and dismaying</a>. Examining what goes wrong, we see some <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/higher-ed-gamma/why-most-ed-tech-fails">common misunderstandings</a>. </p>
<p>One of these is that adding technology equals enhancing teaching. Technology carries no inherent pedagogical value. Swapping an iPad for a lectern does not, in itself move learning from a boring, didactic experience to interactive, lively engagement. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Distracted student struggles to watch an online lecture" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/401465/original/file-20210519-3808-mr67wn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/401465/original/file-20210519-3808-mr67wn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401465/original/file-20210519-3808-mr67wn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401465/original/file-20210519-3808-mr67wn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401465/original/file-20210519-3808-mr67wn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401465/original/file-20210519-3808-mr67wn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401465/original/file-20210519-3808-mr67wn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A didactic, boring lecture is poor teaching whether delivered online or in person.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bored-unhappy-woman-watching-lon-online-1873189777">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Just like lectures, our uses of technology and the resulting impact must first come from thoughtful commitment to improving both teaching and teacher.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-unis-eye-more-instagram-worthy-campus-experiences-they-shouldnt-treat-online-teaching-as-a-cheap-and-easy-option-156585">As unis eye more ‘Instagram-worthy’ campus experiences, they shouldn't treat online teaching as a cheap and easy option</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Be critical, be reflective, be better</h2>
<p>Technology can never substitute for critically reflecting on the pedagogical value of our practice. And while technology can assist a major transformation, it should never be a requirement for improving how we teach. Whether you’re a high-tech or low-tech teacher, you can give a good lecture or find useful alternatives if you remember to put the pedagogy before the technology.</p>
<p>We need to reject the notion that lectures will sink our students and technology will save them. Instead, let’s dig deeply and critically into both, reflect upon how to improve our practices, and apply sound teaching methods and practices to create learning engagements that are captivating and profound.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/158217/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Some students may wonder why they bothered returning to campus. Others are struggling online. But lecturers who do engage students think deeply about how they do it, using all available tools.
Christopher Charles Deneen, Senior Lecturer in Higher Education Curriculum & Assessment, The University of Melbourne
Michael Cowling, Associate Professor - Information & Communication Technology (ICT), CQUniversity Australia
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/156585
2021-04-04T20:35:36Z
2021-04-04T20:35:36Z
As unis eye more ‘Instagram-worthy’ campus experiences, they shouldn’t treat online teaching as a cheap and easy option
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/392686/original/file-20210330-21-19kg2l8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3000%2C2002&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/group-students-sitting-cafe-bar-taking-407648185">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The times they are a-changin’ for higher education. Or so say a growing number of commentators. They see COVID-19 disruptions as a tipping point for universities, accelerating <a href="https://theconversation.com/online-students-need-more-face-to-face-time-not-less-12631">sweeping changes</a> across institutions. These include not just a shift to online teaching and learning, but also a greater <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-get-the-most-out-of-research-when-universities-and-industry-team-up-156590">focus on industry links</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/1-in-4-unemployed-australians-has-a-degree-how-did-we-get-to-this-point-156867">employability skills</a>, and accompanying <a href="https://www.cisco.com/c/dam/global/en_au/solutions/industries/resources/education/the_tipping_point_for_digitisation_of_education_and_campuses.pdf">campus design upgrades</a>.</p>
<p>Many of these changes are arguably necessary in a world in which digital connectivity is the expected norm. It is crucial to understand what these changes involve for universities themselves, and what they mean for the next generation of students. For instance, online education, if done properly, isn’t necessarily cheaper or easier. </p>
<p>With many still in crisis mode, universities <a href="https://journals.sfu.ca/jalt/index.php/jalt/article/view/191">might not be ready</a> for these predicted changes. Despite a touted recovery in Australia as COVID vaccines roll out across the globe, the higher education sector isn’t out of the woods. Some expect the impacts will be <a href="https://theconversation.com/2021-is-the-year-australias-international-student-crisis-really-bites-153180">even greater in 2021</a> as job losses persist and international students stay away. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/2021-is-the-year-australias-international-student-crisis-really-bites-153180">2021 is the year Australia's international student crisis really bites</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Universities suffered the double whammy of a <a href="https://www.vu.edu.au/mitchell-institute/tertiary-education/australia-to-lose-half-its-international-students-by-mid-2021">huge decrease</a> in international student revenue as borders closed, and a federal government that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/may/04/australian-universities-angry-at-final-twist-of-the-knife-excluding-them-from-jobkeeper">stubbornly refused to support</a> the higher education sector and its workers. COVID restrictions have forced university teachers to make often radical shifts in their curriculum and teaching practices while implementing broader changes, all with <a href="https://theconversation.com/which-universities-are-best-placed-financially-to-weather-covid-154079">reduced budgets</a>. And that’s if they are lucky enough to <a href="https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/media-item/17000-uni-jobs-lost-to-covid-19/">keep their jobs</a>.</p>
<h2>Collaborative, evidence-based approach is vital</h2>
<p>Proposed <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/feb/11/instagram-worthy-covid-19-predicted-to-change-design-of-australian-universities">“Instagram-worthy” campus infrastructure projects</a> aim to provide more flexible learning and study spaces, immersive classrooms equipped for virtual reality experiences and remote teaching, and “industry precincts” that encourage collaborations. These are worthwhile, forward-looking innovations. But these goals cannot be achieved without a deeper, <a href="https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20210115123736954">evidence-based</a> conversation about how this will be done in practice. </p>
<p>And this transformative work must be done <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/how-our-university-won-praise-its-reaction-shift-online">in partnership</a> with teaching academics. The very real challenges they face must be taken into account.</p>
<p>Some assume online learning and teaching are <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/confessions-community-college-dean/assumption-online-teaching-cheaper">easier or cheaper</a>, but that isn’t always the case. Teaching well online requires at least as much effort as face-to-face, and potentially more. </p>
<p>Academics require <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2020/09/04/advice-academic-administrators-how-best-support-faculty-during-pandemic-opinion">both initial and ongoing support</a> to build their capacity in <a href="https://theconversation.com/universities-need-to-train-lecturers-in-online-delivery-or-they-risk-students-dropping-out-133921">using online tools</a> and adjusting their teaching practices. If this isn’t done, universities risk <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/mar/19/student-satisfaction-at-australias-universities-drops-to-all-time-low-in-2020">students disengaging</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="student yawns during an online learning session" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/392687/original/file-20210330-25-9bs8xv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/392687/original/file-20210330-25-9bs8xv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/392687/original/file-20210330-25-9bs8xv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/392687/original/file-20210330-25-9bs8xv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/392687/original/file-20210330-25-9bs8xv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/392687/original/file-20210330-25-9bs8xv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/392687/original/file-20210330-25-9bs8xv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Those declaring the death of the in-person lecture need to be aware of the challenges of engaging students online.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/beautiful-bored-tired-somnolent-student-yawning-357510296">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/universities-need-to-train-lecturers-in-online-delivery-or-they-risk-students-dropping-out-133921">Universities need to train lecturers in online delivery, or they risk students dropping out</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Not everything works well online</h2>
<p>The online/digital space can adequately replicate only some face-to-face interactions. Others can be difficult to reproduce. These include activities that develop manual and psychomotor skills, such as laboratory and field work in the sciences, and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00377996.2014.951471?casa_token=H0TZj0HitDAAAAAA%3AnQYmFm2zE4JNtPstP83oCxuXkZCmhDbiJcHmO6P1rmuCTVz4zvKuwEjxghB1_oOJeJcr3XkoZ7IZ">kinesthetic skills in the performing arts</a>. </p>
<p>Even the robustness of tutorial debates might be altered as students move from a shared physical space to one dominated by the “<a href="https://reallifemag.com/the-zoom-gaze/">Zoom gaze</a>”. </p>
<p>Teaching academics will likely need extra support to implement such activities online or to <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c00620?casa_token=Ctj_ZTIDtBsAAAAA%3AmO4LRy4YapEI7epPbkC2g6-kmZgr5N8GSaTjo_nIKS64oN1TiniuzBjXvOWHI_JancyrprQ3ljihjAY&">find creative solutions</a>. For either approach to be successful, institutions will have to invest more in appropriate technologies.</p>
<p>We are seeing an <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00220272.2020.1764627?casa_token=9tuRD351MFoAAAAA%3AY24IG-Qq05d1ZUt558_vJm9UrP4MhWQiKr_D51gqcVG65bteOW909ejsINTunm8CbyhFWEE1tOkG">increase in the use of technology</a> in teaching and learning at Australian universities. By necessity, the pandemic <a href="https://www.itnews.com.au/news/online-mass-exodus-how-australian-unis-are-coping-with-the-covid-19-pandemic-539630">rapidly accelerated</a> this trend. But an increase in online learning does not necessarily equate to a decrease in costs, or in the need for specialist staff. </p>
<p>Staff and students will likely <a href="https://www.futurelearn.com/info/thefutureoflearning?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=organic_social&utm_campaign=fl_trendreport&utm_content=report&utm_term=cold_210222feed&utm_source=RakutenMarketing&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=3784704:Admitad&utm_content=10:1&utm_term=USNetwork&ranMID=44015&ranEAID=UM10QjVr*8Q&ranSiteID=UM10QjVr.8Q-HZ0NP.Nps2ZeNn.K0EXVaw">appreciate the flexible learning</a> offered by the predicted digitised future campus. But it is important to remember the benefits of in-person and on-campus interactions. </p>
<p>For students, these include fostering a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07294360.2019.1666256?casa_token=_1QEiq9ZPogAAAAA%3A-aIOa9FB4J-TIKNVjJt9CpS6ZHLSnguJw1jDDrTixaiZImnOFSIde4SHRVxW1bZXLy3uVUxhkXml">sense of belonging</a> to the university, which can increase resilience and retention. And the benefits for academic teaching staff include, for example, the fruitful conversations about teaching and learning that so often <a href="https://learningteaching.ethz.ch/index.php/lt-eth/article/view/165">take place in informal settings</a>. </p>
<p>With universities welcoming staff and students back to campus as COVID restrictions ease, many are seeing the value of the <a href="https://www.afr.com/work-and-careers/education/campus-life-is-here-to-stay-20210312-p57a21">on-campus experience</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="group of young academics laughing and chatting" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/392693/original/file-20210331-15-bn1nfh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/392693/original/file-20210331-15-bn1nfh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/392693/original/file-20210331-15-bn1nfh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/392693/original/file-20210331-15-bn1nfh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/392693/original/file-20210331-15-bn1nfh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/392693/original/file-20210331-15-bn1nfh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/392693/original/file-20210331-15-bn1nfh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Teaching and learning both benefit from the many informal interactions that come from being on campus together.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/happy-multiracial-millennial-people-sit-shared-1401390491">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Transition will take a lot of time and effort</h2>
<p>Digitisation and flexible learning models can help both students and academics collaborate with others across the sector. However, these changes won’t be instantaneous. Nor can they be driven solely by upgrades to campus infrastructure. </p>
<p>We also won’t see, in the near future, a complete shift in academics’ teaching and curriculum design practice. They are already stretched to their capacity in a sector under fire. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-hit-casual-academics-hard-here-are-5-ways-to-produce-a-better-deal-for-unis-and-staff-155357">COVID hit casual academics hard. Here are 5 ways to produce a better deal for unis and staff</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The continuing destabilisation of budget cuts, workload demands and an uncertain COVID situation mean the transformation of teaching practices may come in fits and starts. It will be an incremental process driven at first more by necessity and opportunity than by long-term strategy. </p>
<p>The challenge then for universities, and for their academic development and engagement units, is to define, validate and advocate for best practice in both online and face-to-face modes. Only then can they expect to meet the immediate, pressing challenges instructors face while building their future capacity to deliver collaborative, flexible and engaging online and blended learning.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/156585/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elisa Bone does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Treating online education as a cheap alternative to lectures will be a mistake. At first universities will probably have to allow more preparation time and invest more in training and technology.
Elisa Bone, Senior Lecturer in Higher Education, The University of Melbourne
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/151573
2020-12-17T19:07:31Z
2020-12-17T19:07:31Z
It’s not production quality that counts in educational videos – here’s what students value most
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374729/original/file-20201214-19-dtt9f5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C9%2C6182%2C4106&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rido/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The use of educational videos in schools and universities was <a href="https://ajet.org.au/index.php/AJET/article/view/5930">on the rise</a> before COVID-19. Now, with continuing disruption by the pandemic, more educators are developing educational videos to support student learning. Similarly, students are increasingly looking to places like YouTube for educational content. </p>
<p>Intuitively, we might think a video’s production quality is what matters – fancy recording equipment, a professional studio environment and flawless editing. While these “bells and whistles” can be attractive, some of the most successful educational YouTube channels actually use very simple production styles. For example, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/khanacademy">Khan Academy</a> records handwriting on a tablet screen. Eddie Woo of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/misterwootube">WooTube</a> often films his high school classroom teaching.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/52ZlXsFJULI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A Khan Academy video covering adding and subtracting fractions.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Research confirms production quality isn’t as critical as we might at first think. Production quality ranks behind perceived learning gains, educators’ delivery style and video length as <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563218301419">reasons for liking educational videos</a>. <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/2556325.2566239">Research even shows</a> we are more inclined to watch educational videos filmed in an informal setting than big-budget studio productions!</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/videos-wont-kill-the-uni-lecture-but-they-will-improve-student-learning-and-their-marks-142282">Videos won't kill the uni lecture, but they will improve student learning and their marks</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>So what makes an educational video effective?</h2>
<p>Our perceptions of how easy a technology is to use and its usefulness determine whether we will engage. If we think a video is too hard to use or unhelpful, we won’t bother with it! This is known as the “<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/technology-acceptance-model">Technology Acceptance Model</a>”.</p>
<p>I was interested in using this model to understand what specific factors made educational videos effective. I developed <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJF3FxTyHxcVqlM2EXKskug">videos that demonstrated solutions to maths-based problems</a> for university engineering subjects. These videos were designed as an optional supplement to lectures and tutorials.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XXUW8PCaVXA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Solving for a ‘resultant couple’ – a first-year engineering concept.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To understand what influenced engagement, I asked students what they liked about the videos. I also asked what could be improved. </p>
<p>I then isolated <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/202678/">recurring themes to identify the most important factors</a>. This is what I found.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-creative-use-of-technology-may-have-helped-save-schooling-during-the-pandemic-146488">How creative use of technology may have helped save schooling during the pandemic</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Influences on ease of use</h2>
<p><strong>Accessibility</strong></p>
<p>A key advantage of videos over face-to-face learning is access – students can watch videos at a time and place of their choice. This has been especially critical during the COVID-19 lockdowns. </p>
<p>The platform used to distribute videos (such as YouTube) plays a role through system reliability and user-friendliness. Features like playlists and push notifications can also be considered for enhancing ease of access.</p>
<p><strong>Personal agency</strong></p>
<p>Videos enable students to personalise and self-pace their learning through content selection and video controls. Unlike face-to-face classes, students can conveniently pause a video to consider posed questions. Students can then restart when ready to get feedback on their responses. Students can also rewatch challenging sections while skipping over easy parts.</p>
<p>I found these learning strategies were extremely popular. In my research, <a href="https://advances.asee.org/worked-example-videos-for-blended-learning-in-undergraduate-engineering/">90% of students</a> independently solved the problems I presented. </p>
<p><strong>Findability</strong> </p>
<p>Students appreciate being able to find information easily. Concise and well-labelled videos support navigation to relevant content in a timely manner. Time stamps can also be used to communicate where in a video specific aspects are covered.</p>
<p><strong>Instructional design and production</strong></p>
<p>When educators use a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3482">conversational delivery style</a> it creates a social partnership, which encourages learners to try harder to understand their educator. This improves learning through videos. As this personal approach aligns well with an informal environment, it can explain why students <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/2556325.2566239">embrace simple production styles</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="young woman smiles at her teacher during an online lecture" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374736/original/file-20201214-15-7jywl7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374736/original/file-20201214-15-7jywl7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374736/original/file-20201214-15-7jywl7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374736/original/file-20201214-15-7jywl7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374736/original/file-20201214-15-7jywl7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374736/original/file-20201214-15-7jywl7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374736/original/file-20201214-15-7jywl7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A conversational delivery style can encourage learners to try harder to understand their educator because they feel engaged in a social partnership.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">fizkes/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/5-tips-on-how-unis-can-do-more-to-design-online-learning-that-works-for-all-students-144803">5 tips on how unis can do more to design online learning that works for all students</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Influences on usefulness</h2>
<p><strong>Narration</strong> </p>
<p>Verbal explanations can efficiently communicate thinking processes, highlight misconceptions and relate ideas together. This enables students to readily develop understanding, which is strongly tied to their academic performance. </p>
<p>For these reasons, students like narration in videos, which goes well beyond what static documents like textbooks offer. In my research, students found videos particularly useful when they felt the narration explicitly and thoroughly communicated the logic behind solution processes.</p>
<p><strong>Content scaffolding</strong></p>
<p>Providing video content that gradually increases in difficulty supports students to develop skills without becoming overwhelmed. This is important because students who feel out of their depth are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2017.1344197">at risk of disengaging</a>. </p>
<p>In my research, many students wanted to be extended by increasingly challenging problems. Students also varied the “degree of difficulty” when attempting questions by only watching video segments to prompt when stuck or to verify their solution.</p>
<p><strong>Assessment alignment</strong> </p>
<p>As <a href="http://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/3607">assessment is a core driver of learning</a>, content needs to be closely aligned with assessment for students to consider videos useful. Consistent with this, my research shows students are most <a href="https://advances.asee.org/worked-example-videos-for-blended-learning-in-undergraduate-engineering/">likely to engage with videos to support their assessment attempts</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/in-a-world-of-digital-bystanders-the-challenge-is-for-all-of-us-to-design-engaging-online-education-147195">In a world of digital bystanders the challenge is for all of us to design engaging online education</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Final thoughts</h2>
<p>COVID-19 has meant educators have produced a lot of videos this year. Given the time pressures, these often weren’t high-quality productions, but students were still able to learn a great deal. </p>
<p>As we return to a new “normal”, educators looking to enhance their video resources should remember what students value most – easy-to-use informal videos with clear explanations aligned to their needs.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/151573/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Dart does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Students prefer videos that are simply produced, convenient to watch and with a narrative that’s delivered in an informal conversational way.
Sarah Dart, Lecturer in Learning & Teaching Development, Impact and Recognition, Queensland University of Technology
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/147195
2020-10-12T18:45:39Z
2020-10-12T18:45:39Z
In a world of digital bystanders the challenge is for all of us to design engaging online education
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/362288/original/file-20201007-24-17s1jl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C9%2C6500%2C4320&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/oneonone-meeting-two-young-business-women-582070531">Shutterstock </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>We are increasingly becoming digital bystanders, continually monitoring our different palm-and-TV-sized screens. From dawn to dusk and even in moments of insomnia we turn to digitally communicated news and social media. In the world of education, from primary school to university and beyond, we have realised digital learning is not only an option for learning, but is fast becoming the main option.</p>
<p>Consider this vignette: during the COVID-19 pandemic a family are living in a big city where access to stable digital streams and affordable data bundles is not a problem. Confined to long periods of school learning now moved online, one of the parents asked their daughter about her experience. She says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It is boring and I learn almost nothing. Teachers give a lot of instructions with little explanation.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>She had <a href="https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/debord/society.htm">became a digital bystander</a>. The teacher struggled to engage with all students, and few experienced rich interactions with the teacher. </p>
<p>In the digital world it is not simply about learning the skills (digital self-help manuals and videos are plentiful). Many <a href="http://seminar.net/images/stories/vol2-issue2/review_remediation_dobson.pdf">teachers and professors</a> still argue that a face-to-face experience is more authentic than digitally mediated learning. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.diggitmagazine.com/papers/rise-moocs-can-online-distance-learning-replace-traditional-education">growth of MOOCs</a> (massive online open courses) in recent years has challenged this view. These have gained traction as both free educational offerings and significant business opportunities based on short courses. </p>
<h2>Time for a change of mindset</h2>
<p>So how do we accommodate this changing digital world? Historically, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt6wqbk7">when railway travel arrived</a>, looking at the world through a window as it sped by was an unnerving experience. So, too, was the fear of being part of or witnessing a railway accident. It took people time to catch up and change their mindsets. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Man looking out of train window as scenery speeding by" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361815/original/file-20201006-24-2vrlgt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361815/original/file-20201006-24-2vrlgt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361815/original/file-20201006-24-2vrlgt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361815/original/file-20201006-24-2vrlgt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361815/original/file-20201006-24-2vrlgt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361815/original/file-20201006-24-2vrlgt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361815/original/file-20201006-24-2vrlgt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Train travel brought about a change of mindset in how we see the world.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/man-looking-out-train-window-795970933">Liam Morrell/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The same is true of digitally driven change in education. We cannot take time out from change. What is required is “reflection in action”, as <a href="https://infed.org/mobi/donald-schon-learning-reflection-change/">Donald Schon put it</a>, to work out how to adjust to changes.</p>
<p>When we consider our vignette, how can we win the hearts and minds of students and teachers to ensure they both perceive and experience learning online as meaningful and transformative? Is this a question of challenging the traditional mindset described above? </p>
<p>By exploring the ways in which face-to-face learning is translated into online learning, we can start to identify a series of approaches on a spectrum from simple technological substitution to more radical redefinitions of teaching. In this model of <a href="https://www.schoology.com/blog/samr-model-practical-guide-edtech-integration">substitution, augmentation, modification and redefinition</a>, we tend to find many educators remain firmly rooted in using technology to replace what they already do in the classroom. As a result, the human essence of the teaching experience is lost when <a href="http://seminar.net/images/stories/vol2-issue2/review_remediation_dobson.pdf">mediated</a> via a digital interface.</p>
<p>An example here might be the distribution of electronic classnotes to replace the course textbook. The result is a learning setting that’s clunky compared to the day-to-day user experience of the internet. The mismatch exemplified here in the transition from the physical classroom to online is often not well managed. </p>
<p>A learner’s experiences of the digital education space can be dramatically different to the seamless and frictionless user experiences of a social internet. Within a paradigm of replacement versus reinvention, we have a natural gap between the experiences of teachers and students.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Three young people looking at a mobile phone screen" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/362286/original/file-20201007-24-1h2j027.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/362286/original/file-20201007-24-1h2j027.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/362286/original/file-20201007-24-1h2j027.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/362286/original/file-20201007-24-1h2j027.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/362286/original/file-20201007-24-1h2j027.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/362286/original/file-20201007-24-1h2j027.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/362286/original/file-20201007-24-1h2j027.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Students are used to a seamless, easy-to-use and engaging online experience, which online education often fails to match.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/three-young-friends-sitting-outdoors-looking-491412196">Jacob Lund/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A need for inclusive design for online</h2>
<p>Neither better access to technology nor more training to use digital systems will bridge this gap. This is a design gap. In recognising this, the solution becomes more straightforward – there is an absolute need to “design for online”, as <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1235966.pdf">Cathy Stone persuasively argues</a>.</p>
<p>But this design cannot be the sole responsibility of the teacher. We need to bring together multiple perspectives and skills, including those of teachers, students and technologists, to co-design learning experiences. </p>
<p>No longer is the teacher the sole voice of authority. All contribute: the teacher skilled in curriculum, the student understanding what it means to be supported and motivated to learn, and the technologist sharing modes of digital delivery. </p>
<p>There are then no digital bystanders – all have agency as designers. As <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/1511391.pdf">Herbert A. Simon</a> once said, anyone who is engaged in “changing existing situations into preferred ones” is a designer. </p>
<p>There is no global template for designing for online learning. Each time we come together – the teacher, student, technologist – we form a new community with a shared discourse. This is a reflective and democratic space that allows us to act with consideration and respect for the skills and knowledge of others.</p>
<p>With historical hindsight, we will do well to <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/10.1525/j.ctt6wqbk7.5.pdf">reconsider what the railway journey offered</a>: the ability to visually reflect upon and design a personal world without leaving the carriage. With the digital production of teaching and learning, we too are now called upon to reflect upon and design a world of learning without leaving our seat in front of a digital screen.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/147195/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
A learner’s digital education experience can be very different from the seamless user-friendly world of the social internet. Replicating the old classes online isn’t good enough. A rethink is needed.
Steven Warburton, Pro Vice-Chancellor Academic Innovation (Acting), University of New England
Muhammad Zuhdi, Adjunct Research Fellow Victoria University of Wellington; Head of the Quality Assurance Institute and Senior Lecturer, Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta
Stephen Dobson, Professor and Dean of Education, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/144121
2020-08-26T20:04:13Z
2020-08-26T20:04:13Z
Anxious about speaking in online classes and meetings? Here are 7 tips to make it easier
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354512/original/file-20200825-14-k31zvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=155%2C91%2C2788%2C1977&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">TommyStockProject/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many parents and students are engaged in a daily routine of speaking to people via a camera on a computer, tablet or phone during COVID-19 restrictions. This often means finding a quiet place in order to ask a question, provide an answer or share an opinion with a virtual audience.</p>
<p>Initial concerns about using video apps focused on <a href="https://theconversation.com/cyber-threats-at-home-how-to-keep-kids-safe-while-theyre-learning-online-136264">privacy</a> and <a href="https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/are-our-new-virtual-workplaces-equitable">equity</a> issues. </p>
<p>Soon, new terms emerged such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/zoom-fatigue-how-to-make-video-calls-less-tiring-137861">Zoom fatigue</a>. But an issue that has been less discussed is the role that nerves might play in these mediated sessions.</p>
<h2>What is speaking anxiety?</h2>
<p>For centuries, people have questioned their ability to speak in front of others. It’s <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/01/what-hugh-grant-gandhi-and-thomas-jefferson-have-common/355853/">said</a> the Roman orator <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Cicero">Cicero</a> (106-43BCE) turned pale and quaked before any speech he gave.</p>
<p>But it was in the 20th century that communication anxiety was studied in depth. It has been described by a number of different terms, including <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/basics/stage-fright">stage fright</a>, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03637757609375916" title="The unwillingness‐to‐communicate scale: Development and validation">unwillingness to communicate</a> and <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4899-0525-3_21" title="Oral Communication Apprehension">communication apprehension</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/universities-need-to-train-lecturers-in-online-delivery-or-they-risk-students-dropping-out-133921">Universities need to train lecturers in online delivery, or they risk students dropping out</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/communication-apprehension-avoidance-and-effectiveness/oclc/1073721929" title="Communication apprehension, avoidance, and effectiveness">Research suggests</a> about one in five speakers experience high communication apprehension. This can make all speaking opportunities difficult.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354327/original/file-20200824-20-1xcjxr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man speaking before a crowded lecture theatre." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354327/original/file-20200824-20-1xcjxr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354327/original/file-20200824-20-1xcjxr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354327/original/file-20200824-20-1xcjxr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354327/original/file-20200824-20-1xcjxr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354327/original/file-20200824-20-1xcjxr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354327/original/file-20200824-20-1xcjxr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354327/original/file-20200824-20-1xcjxr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It can be stressful speaking to a crowd of people.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Matej Kastelic/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Examples include speaking to a boss or teacher, contributing to a group discussion, or delivering a presentation. Public speaking anxiety is part of communication apprehension. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.comm.pitt.edu/speech-anxiety">The prevalence of public speaking anxiety</a> is well documented. It is complex (varying causes, indicators and treatment options), individual (affecting speakers differently) and unstable (changing levels of anxiety within and between presentations).</p>
<p>A focus on individual differences acknowledges that internal thoughts and feelings might not match external behaviour. For example, a speaker who appears disengaged may actually feel a lack of control. </p>
<p>It is a tricky phenomenon. Some people can feel nervous the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03634520600566074" title="Anticipatory Speech Anxiety as a Function of Public Speaking Assignment Type">moment a speaking task is announced</a> and, on the day of presentation, may <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022103103000568" title="The illusion of transparency and the alleviation of speech anxiety">rate themselves as more nervous</a> than what an audience observes. </p>
<h2>Nervous about the audience</h2>
<p>It is the audience, and the potential for negative evaluation from that audience, that can make us feel anxious. And those listening can be physically or virtually present. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354331/original/file-20200824-16-17ue9rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A laptop computer on a desk showing several people connecting separately from home." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354331/original/file-20200824-16-17ue9rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354331/original/file-20200824-16-17ue9rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354331/original/file-20200824-16-17ue9rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354331/original/file-20200824-16-17ue9rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354331/original/file-20200824-16-17ue9rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=617&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354331/original/file-20200824-16-17ue9rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=617&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354331/original/file-20200824-16-17ue9rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=617&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It’s the audience that bothers some people, whether there in person or virtually online.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Cabeca de Marmore</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This brings us to the rather awkward situation of speaking to rows of little boxes on a screen in a video hook-up. Not only does this set-up limit broader non-verbal cues, but it also restricts general banter between participants.</p>
<p>On the plus side, this can make sessions more time-efficient, but it does tend to make conversations more stilted.</p>
<p>A perceived need to be visible is a <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/confessions-community-college-dean/should-showing-faces-be-mandatory">contested area in online delivery</a>. In educational settings, those who support “cameras on for everyone” suggest it helps to replicate usual classroom conditions, encourages discussion and ensures students are actually in attendance (not just logged on).</p>
<p>But it is important to consider the rationale behind making any feature mandatory. Participating via a video app is not the same as a live setting. </p>
<p>For a start, speakers rarely see themselves when talking to others. As a lecturer, seeing myself onscreen while speaking with a class can be distracting, especially when trying to look directly at the camera lens to maximise eye contact.</p>
<h2>7 tips to make things easier</h2>
<p>Whether running a business meeting or teaching a class, the following tips may help you to feel more comfortable speaking online:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>provide an agenda ahead of time, which could include sending out some prepared questions for discussion</p></li>
<li><p>reduce uncertainty about participation by letting people know from the outset if there is any need or expectation to talk in a hook-up </p></li>
<li><p>use <a href="https://courses.lumenlearning.com/paris-publicspeaking/chapter/chapter-8-connecting-your-main-points/">linking statements and signposts</a> to keep everyone on track as other cues and clues may be absent (walking across a room to a computer), so it’s important to let all participants know what you are doing and why (for example: “I’m going to check the chat box at the end of this point so feel free to add any questions as I go along.”) </p></li>
<li><p>model good speaking practices, draw on simple structures to make your point and use language that is suitable for oral delivery</p></li>
<li><p>rethink the value of calling on someone randomly to contribute to a discussion, because if people are worried they may be asked to respond without notice, they may be less likely to engage overall</p></li>
<li><p>make decisions about the need for interaction (including break-out rooms) based on the type of session and number of participants, because needless interaction is not better than no interaction </p></li>
<li><p>plan for each online event rather than stick to a set of general rules. For example, is it always necessary for speakers to see each other onscreen? As most educators will tell you, just because a student is physically present that doesn’t mean they are actively engaged.</p></li>
</ol>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/videos-wont-kill-the-uni-lecture-but-they-will-improve-student-learning-and-their-marks-142282">Videos won't kill the uni lecture, but they will improve student learning and their marks</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Online tutorials, workshops and meetings are here to stay for the moment. To create safe, supportive and productive sessions, we need to build competent and confident speaking practices. </p>
<p>Acknowledging that speaking anxiety is common, and affects people in live and virtual settings, is a good place to start.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/144121/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lesley Irvine does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Many people feel some form of anxiety when speaking in front of others. That includes taking part in video hook-ups for work or study thanks to coronavirus restrictions.
Lesley Irvine, Lecturer in Strategic Speech Communication, Queensland University of Technology
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/138794
2020-05-31T19:50:33Z
2020-05-31T19:50:33Z
Lab experiments in the pandemic moved online or mailed home to uni students
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338458/original/file-20200529-51449-15pz5hk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=29%2C29%2C4542%2C2807&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">hxdbzxy/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken university education, with most teaching moved off campus and students learning online at home.</p>
<p>But a cornerstone of undergraduate science education has been a challenge: the laboratory class.</p>
<p>The real joy of science is in discovery and the links between knowledge and understanding crystallise when conducting experiments in the laboratory.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/no-big-packed-lectures-allowed-if-were-to-safely-bring-uni-students-back-to-campus-138945">No big packed lectures allowed if we're to safely bring uni students back to campus</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Lab classes solidify both the practical skills needed by future scientists and the intellectual culture of their discipline.</p>
<h2>Labs put theory into practice</h2>
<p>For many students, it’s only when they put theoretical concepts into physical practice in the lab that they really understand them. </p>
<p>Although restrictions are easing, the need to maintain social distancing in crowded laboratory classes creates a range of challenges for lab education.</p>
<p>How should university educators address this? </p>
<p>Some universities, including <a href="https://www.farlabs.edu.au/">La Trobe</a>, <a href="https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/bitstream/10453/7122/1/2006011911.pdf">University of Technology Sydney</a>, <a href="https://www.handbook.unsw.edu.au/undergraduate/courses/2020/PHYS1110">UNSW</a>, <a href="https://az659834.vo.msecnd.net/eventsairseasiaprod/production-conlog-public/dcef1570f6534af9b7818c6754225104">Monash</a> and <a href="https://openjournals.library.sydney.edu.au/index.php/IISME/article/view/4821">Murdoch</a>, have rolled out pilot projects trying to give students a laboratory experience off-campus.</p>
<p>The idea is attractive, not least because lab classes represent a significant cost to universities. Dedicated lab buildings, casual teaching assistants, technicians and safety compliance are all overheads unique to lab classes even before equipment is purchased and maintained.</p>
<p>So what are the options for students who want to gain a laboratory experience but are challenged with accessing the lab? Broadly speaking there are currently three models being trialled. </p>
<h2>The mail order lab</h2>
<p>The first and simplest idea is the mail order experiment model. In this approach, laboratory kits would be assembled at the university and sent direct to the students to conduct experiments in their own home.</p>
<p>This has the distinct advantage of providing students with a tactile lab experience with no specific time limits set on how long they get to learn with the equipment. </p>
<p>But sending equipment by post is expensive and who would cover the costs if things go wrong? For example, if equipment gets lost in the mail or accidentally damaged at home.</p>
<p>In addition, there are health and safety issues with trying to perform experiments without a trained demonstrator on hand to oversee the work. </p>
<h2>The home lab</h2>
<p>A second approach is to design experiments <a href="https://openjournals.library.sydney.edu.au/index.php/IISME/article/view/8826" title="A contextualised, online, introductory physics course">around what can be readily found at home</a>. A huge amount of physics, chemistry and biology can be investigated using regular everyday items.</p>
<p>For example, students can measure the force of gravity with a simple pendulum, or find the latent heat of ice by observing the temperature change when added to a glass of water. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338462/original/file-20200529-51462-gtaoue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338462/original/file-20200529-51462-gtaoue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338462/original/file-20200529-51462-gtaoue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338462/original/file-20200529-51462-gtaoue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338462/original/file-20200529-51462-gtaoue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338462/original/file-20200529-51462-gtaoue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=640&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338462/original/file-20200529-51462-gtaoue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=640&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338462/original/file-20200529-51462-gtaoue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=640&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nep/101939154/">Flickr/Travis Nep Smith</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This has enormous appeal as it not only saves costs but also may improve learning outcomes for the students by making experiments more relatable to the world around us.</p>
<p>The downside is that some key experiments might require specialist, expensive apparatus, such as a decent optical microscope, well beyond what could be expected to be performed at home. </p>
<h2>The online lab</h2>
<p>The third and perhaps the most ambitious approach is to try to <a href="https://www.latrobe.edu.au/news/announcements/2020/free-science,-done-remotely">recreate the lab experience entirely online</a>.</p>
<p>This would involve a combination of virtual reality and remote control over lab equipment that can be operated from the safety and comfort of a student’s home.</p>
<p>This approach enables key concepts to be explored in a practical way that can be live streamed to a student’s monitor or even to a virtual environment. It also maintains a high degree of interactivity since multiple students can be logged onto the same experiment at once.</p>
<p>But there are downsides to this approach too, even aside from the fact that the “hands on” element is removed. </p>
<p>Such online facilities are expensive to set up and maintain, involving expertise in engineering and computing as well as laboratory teaching. Academics need to carefully design and monitor the experiments. </p>
<h2>The lab of the future</h2>
<p>So what does the future hold for the lab class? Some of the experiments performed today have little changed for hundreds of years. For example, every physics student splits light with a prism, and every chemistry student neutralises an acid with a base.</p>
<p>It was perhaps only a matter of time until the way in which we educate our students in the laboratory received scrutiny.</p>
<p>One thing is certain: given how much financial pressure they are currently under, universities will be looking to cut costs wherever possible. Critical as it is to learning outcomes, the lab class will no doubt be examined closely. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-universities-could-lose-19-billion-in-the-next-3-years-our-economy-will-suffer-with-them-136251">Australian universities could lose $19 billion in the next 3 years. Our economy will suffer with them</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Universities may be tempted to save money by adopting some of the new and exciting ways of teaching labs beyond the face-to-face model. But a better motivator should be achieving improved learning outcomes for all students.</p>
<p>Often changing to online delivery just moves costs from one sort of infrastructure to another rather than allowing simple cuts to jobs and buildings. </p>
<p>It’s the duty of academics to clearly articulate why the laboratory experience is central to teaching and learning, and be open to new and unconventional ways of achieving this experience.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/138794/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brian Abbey receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Australian Maths and Science Partnerships Program (AMSPP).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Hoxley receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Australian Maths and Science Partnerships Program (AMSPP).</span></em></p>
Many university teaching labs are empty as students have been moved off campus during the pandemic. There are other ways to put theory into practice, at home and online.
Brian Abbey, Professor of Physics, La Trobe University
David Hoxley, Senior Lecturer, Physics, La Trobe University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/117970
2019-06-18T19:57:46Z
2019-06-18T19:57:46Z
The three things universities must do to survive disruption
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279755/original/file-20190617-118497-11qf926.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">More people are learning what they want, wherever they want.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wes Mountain, The Conversation</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This essay is part of a series of articles on the future of education.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>The nature of global communication (for better and worse) has changed. Virtually all young people in Australia <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/729928/australia-social-media-usage-by-age/">spend an average</a> of <a href="https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/medibank-survey-adults-spend-nine-hours-a-day-in-front-of-screen/news-story/cc7252754ef395b2da16401eaad500db">nine hours a day online</a> and about three hours of that interacting on <a href="https://wearesocial.com/au/blog/2019/02/digital-report-australia%20https://www.digitalinformationworld.com/2019/01/how-much-time-do-people-spend-social-media-infographic.html">social media</a>. That means they spend more time online than sleeping. </p>
<p>Smartphones and smart technologies are our <a href="https://www.technology.org/2019/04/10/why-smartphones-play-such-a-crucial-role-in-our-lives/">personal assistants</a> with diary, shopping, research, translation, social and telecommunications capabilities all a swipe away. As you read this, or have Siri read it to you, people are solving problems, writing music, dating, visiting a tele-nurse and conducting business – all online. It is the new normal.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, massive open online courses (<a href="https://www.classcentral.com/report/mooc-stats-2017/">MOOCs</a>) offer tens of thousands of opportunities for people to be exposed to the best researchers, practitioners and university talent in the world. MOOCs are one example of our <a href="https://www.bestcolleges.com/perspectives/annual-trends-in-online-education/">interconnected world</a>, which allows expertise to be <a href="https://www.trainingjournal.com/blog/global-village-technology-helps-us-connect-and-communicate">universal and accessible</a> – <a href="https://cdn.ey.com/echannel/au/en/industries/government---public-sector/ey-university-of-the-future-2030/EY-university-of-the-future-2030.pdf">anyone can learn what they want</a>, where they want, when they want and how they want.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/mooc-and-youre-out-of-a-job-uni-business-models-in-danger-9738">MOOC and you're out of a job: uni business models in danger</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279748/original/file-20190617-158917-hhdb96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279748/original/file-20190617-158917-hhdb96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279748/original/file-20190617-158917-hhdb96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279748/original/file-20190617-158917-hhdb96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279748/original/file-20190617-158917-hhdb96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279748/original/file-20190617-158917-hhdb96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279748/original/file-20190617-158917-hhdb96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279748/original/file-20190617-158917-hhdb96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Our world is online and universities need to get with the times.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If you want to study psychology, master computer coding or complete an MBA, why would you pay big fees to a large university to support its infrastructure costs and hear someone lecture in a huge hall, when you could watch the world’s best experts from the comfort of your apartment or on your phone, wherever you are?</p>
<p>To remain relevant, Australia’s universities will need to transform into very different entities, with new business models that foster innovation and embrace the interconnection technology offers. And they will need to do so quickly. </p>
<h2>The old university model is becoming obsolete</h2>
<p>The American business academic <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clayton_M._Christensen">Clayton M. Christensen</a> <a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/Innovative-University-Changing-Higher-Education-ebook/dp/B005C776E4">used the term</a> “disruption” to discuss the implications of the massive changes to the student base of universities. </p>
<p>He likened the situation to how discount stores such as Target disrupted the business models of department stores like Myer and David Jones, capturing an increasing chunk of middle-class spending on everyday personal and household goods. Christensen challenged universities not to be like the big steel mills that are mostly relics of the past.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/former-ambassador-jeffrey-bleich-speaks-on-trump-disruptive-technology-and-the-role-of-education-in-a-changing-economy-73957">Former ambassador Jeffrey Bleich speaks on Trump, disruptive technology, and the role of education in a changing economy</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Similarly, US scholar <a href="https://www.cathydavidson.com/">Cathy N. Davidson</a> has <a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/New-Education-Revolutionize-University-Students-ebook/dp/B06XS4WBNJ/ref=pd_sim_351_2/357-4598083-4438631?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B06XS4WBNJ&pd_rd_r=4e73f3a1-8033-11e9-b44e-f76fb66d5db1&pd_rd_w=x0t3C&pd_rd_wg=8k32p&pf_rd_p=f09e5598-fbdb-4712-af44-62e0022496fc&pf_rd_r=MN5WCKWTPMWN0BGJETE6&psc=1&refRID=MN5WCKWTPMWN0BGJETE6">urged universities</a> to abandon generic degrees and impersonal forms of teaching, to make university education more accessible and relevant.</p>
<p>In most university programs, a student completes courses in large facilities at mandated times. In the first year of many degrees, learning is primarily passive and assessment is typically in the form of easily marked exams.</p>
<p>The current university funding model is <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/education-plus-development/2019/01/10/top-6-trends-in-higher-education/">mainly based on the assumption</a> completing multi-year undergraduate and postgraduate coursework degrees, broken into semesters or terms of 10-15 weeks, is still a relevant measure of learning. </p>
<p>This mode of “seat time” as learning is becoming obsolete. Learning in courses made of <a href="https://www.fya.org.au/2018/09/21/lifelong-learning-and-reskilling-the-promise-of-microcredentials/">short chunks</a>, certificates, or <a href="https://evolllution.com/programming/credentials/microcredentials-micromasters-and-nanodegrees-whats-the-big-idea/">micro-credentialled</a> <a href="https://www.obviouschoice.com.au/what-are-micro-credentials">mini units of study</a> is growing as the preferred method for this generation of students and industry.</p>
<p>Some will say <a href="https://www.rmit.edu.au/news/the-source/the-future-of-learning-and-teaching">Australian universities are already on it</a>, with <a href="https://landing.smartsparrow.com/digital-learning-innovation-report-2017">innovation hubs</a>, <a href="https://www.monash.edu/about/structure/senior-staff/vice-chancellor/profile/vice-chancellors-speeches/how-will-australian-higher-education-change">new academic products</a> including <a href="https://www.candlefox.com/blog/micro-credentials-the-opportunities-for-education-providers/">micro-credentials</a> and increasingly online delivery.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279745/original/file-20190617-158958-d7m8eg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279745/original/file-20190617-158958-d7m8eg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279745/original/file-20190617-158958-d7m8eg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279745/original/file-20190617-158958-d7m8eg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279745/original/file-20190617-158958-d7m8eg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279745/original/file-20190617-158958-d7m8eg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279745/original/file-20190617-158958-d7m8eg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279745/original/file-20190617-158958-d7m8eg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The passive, seat-mode of learning is becoming obsolete.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But these features are generally bolted on to the status-quo funding model, based on teaching the first year of a program cheaply to drive profit that can be spent on more engagement-oriented upper-level courses, and to support research and infrastructure. </p>
<p>These pop-up innovations are mostly used to drive the marketing of university brands and promote reputations rather than as sustainable ways of doing business. They are mostly <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss_leader">loss leaders</a>, similar to sales at your local supermarket.</p>
<h2>What are the three pillars of a future-focused university?</h2>
<p>With a population of 25 million people, <a href="https://www.studyinaustralia.gov.au/english/australian-education/universities-and-higher-education">does Australia need</a> 40-plus universities? Probably not if it means 40-plus big stores whose business models require mass lectures in the first year, bolstered by increasing international student enrolments to fund high infrastructure and staffing costs.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-regional-universities-are-at-risk-of-going-under-109374">Why regional universities are at risk of going under</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But there is a bright future ahead if universities redefine themselves beyond the rhetoric of value propositions and marketing schtick, and fully embrace the below three key pillars: </p>
<p><strong>1. Promote engagement and impact</strong> </p>
<p>Virtually every academic program should be formatted to embrace new ways of learning. Students of any short course, module, certificate or degree should have meaningful opportunities to do real work for real purposes as part of their experience. Students should <a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/Mind-Brain-Education-Neuroscience-Implications-ebook/dp/B0046W6UDY">learn by doing</a> and learning should connect theory with practice. </p>
<p>While this seems obvious in nursing and teaching, it is just as critical in English or biology. Likewise, assessment should <a href="http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/feb03/vol60/num05/How-Classroom-Assessments-Improve-Learning.aspx/">primarily be <em>for</em> learning</a> more than <em>of</em> learning.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279753/original/file-20190617-118526-1afhywq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279753/original/file-20190617-118526-1afhywq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279753/original/file-20190617-118526-1afhywq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=952&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279753/original/file-20190617-118526-1afhywq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=952&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279753/original/file-20190617-118526-1afhywq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=952&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279753/original/file-20190617-118526-1afhywq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1196&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279753/original/file-20190617-118526-1afhywq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1196&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279753/original/file-20190617-118526-1afhywq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1196&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">STEM.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>2. Enhance humanity</strong> </p>
<p>The complexities of interconnection are leading us quickly toward a machine-based world. Decisions we make about our future interconnections will not just be about driverless cars, but about <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/04/relying-on-technology-could-be-eroding-our-core-principles">handing over moral decisions</a> to smart tools.</p>
<p>To preserve humanity, our STEM-focused career tracks should embed multiple opportunities to integrate ethics, history, arts, philosophy and morality.</p>
<p><strong>3. Expand student access</strong> </p>
<p>To this point, most universities have been sorting institutions. High marks and test scores from school leavers have equalled access and opportunity. Yet, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/apr/30/will-you-drop-out-of-university-report-reveals-australian-students-at-risk">high failure rates in first year</a> driven by poor assessments lead to a large exodus of students.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/more-students-are-going-to-university-than-before-but-those-at-risk-of-dropping-out-need-more-help-118764">More students are going to university than before, but those at risk of dropping out need more help</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>With lifelong learning required for all of us to stay flexible both intellectually and professionally, we must shift our attention to opportunity, knowledge promotion, and flexible entry and access points for the new-fangled chunks of learning experiences we offer. </p>
<p>Maintaining high expectations, rooted in fairness and widening opportunity coupled with flexible designs, will be a challenge for large universities that pride themselves on <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-21/atar-relevance-under-fire-as-report-says-fewer-students-admitted/9569052">accepting high-ranking students</a>, or that assume entrance requirements such as the Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR) are predictors of future success in the interconnected world.</p>
<h2>Universities must change their KPIs</h2>
<p>University leaders use metrics such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-kpis-on-university-engagement-need-more-thought-78026">key performance indicators</a> (KPIs) to evaluate their performance. KPIs can be counting the numbers of website hits, noting the number of students who complete the first month of a new semester, or increasing the number of international applications. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-kpis-on-university-engagement-need-more-thought-78026">Why the KPIs on university engagement need more thought</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Each faculty and supporting division at each campus will need new key performance indicators (future-focused KPIs) to launch the transformation necessary to rethink learning outcomes:</p>
<p><strong>Prepare for an interconnected world</strong> </p>
<p>Most future life and work will be housed in interconnectedness locally, nationally and internationally. For our younger students it already is.</p>
<p><strong>Become transdisciplinary experts</strong> </p>
<p>Most knowledge does not reside in separate disciplines as we have typically chunked them in universities. Instead, experiences should cross the dotted lines of discipline and expertise, mixing the arts and sciences in truly human ways.</p>
<p><strong>Be life-ready more than work-ready</strong> </p>
<p>Unlike in the past, most of us will <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeannemeister/2012/08/14/the-future-of-work-job-hopping-is-the-new-normal-for-millennials/#78c0d32b13b8">shift our career paths</a> multiple times across our lives. University experiences should provide multiple opportunities for takeaways that help graduates of programs of whatever duration be nimble and continue to learn. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279933/original/file-20190618-118518-13ngvyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279933/original/file-20190618-118518-13ngvyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279933/original/file-20190618-118518-13ngvyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279933/original/file-20190618-118518-13ngvyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279933/original/file-20190618-118518-13ngvyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279933/original/file-20190618-118518-13ngvyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279933/original/file-20190618-118518-13ngvyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279933/original/file-20190618-118518-13ngvyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Semesters will be replaced with personalised learning on demand.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/SYTO3xs06fU">Photo by Marvin Meyer on Unsplash</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Promote well-being</strong></p>
<p>Most universities provide multiple reactionary systems for students in crisis, but they do little to frontload well-being and <a href="https://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1790&context=jutlp">mental-health support</a> into their formal offerings. </p>
<p>Our lack of effective self-care threatens our day-to-day human health and happiness. We often succumb to the stressors of modern life because we don’t proactively address social, emotional and physical well-being as <a href="https://melbourne-cshe.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/2302603/MCSHE-Student-Wellbeing-Framework_FINAL.pdf">part of our formal learning</a> to prepare for life’s challenges. </p>
<p><strong>Change ‘seat time’ as the default learning measurement</strong></p>
<p>As we shift to flexible learning formats and durations, seat time in lectures and tutorials will no longer effectively determine completion. Learning will. </p>
<p>Semesters of 15 weeks will be replaced with personalised learning on demand. This is <a href="https://itali.uq.edu.au/files/1279/Discussion-paper-Personalised_learning_an_overview.pdf">already the norm</a> in military education and corporate training. </p>
<p><strong>Share expertise across the world</strong></p>
<p>Faculties will merge forces to share talent in creative ways, not for financial efficiency but to provide learners with access to the best and most knowledgeable teachers and scholars in the world. </p>
<p>Mediocre offerings will be replaced by gold-standard teaching and learning, allowing local staff to support student engagement and impact while promoting excellence and equity. </p>
<p><strong>Embrace smart tools</strong></p>
<p>Smart tools and mixed-reality learning experiences will make the lecture model nearly redundant. Artificial intelligence and virtual reality systems, which continue to grow in sophistication, will render didactic teaching irrelevant. </p>
<p>Smart tools can <a href="https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20190116094437946">personalise learning</a> in dynamic, interactive ways across all disciplines. These systems will require infrastructure to support them. </p>
<p>Picture <a href="https://www.studyinternational.com/news/how-the-integration-of-new-technology-is-changing-the-higher-education-landscape/">lecture halls refurbished</a> as engaged learning centres for artificial intelligence platforms, with smart tutors and mixed-reality experiences. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/five-ways-artificial-intelligence-will-shape-the-future-of-universities-94706">Five ways artificial intelligence will shape the future of universities</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Over the next few years there will likely be mergers and closures across the university sector in response to the multiple disruptions facing tertiary education.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, every Australian will need to be part of post-secondary learning many times in their lives to remain viable. That includes retraining for new work, new learning for jobs we haven’t even thought of yet, and engaging in university experiences to help us become smarter and better people.</p>
<p>Disruptive innovators should be the rule, not the exception. If we come together as learners in a community of well-being, kindness and keenness to solve problems and create knowledge in flexible ways, using emerging smart tools to reinforce learning, we can fully embrace the opportunities and challenges of the interconnected world.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>What is the purpose of education today? Read another essay in this series <a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-the-point-of-education-its-no-longer-just-about-getting-a-job-117897">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/117970/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Fischetti does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Technology has disrupted the way universities offer courses, the types of skills we will need, and the duration for which we will need them. Here are three things universities must do to survive.
John Fischetti, Professor, Interim Pro Vice Chancellor of the Faculty of Education and Arts; Dean/Head of School of Education, University of Newcastle
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/48936
2015-11-06T11:02:45Z
2015-11-06T11:02:45Z
‘Powerpoint was not his thing’: a poem on teaching and technology
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/100435/original/image-20151101-16550-2vn4om.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Parana River in moonlight. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gi/5210825434/in/photolist-8WsQRQ">Gisela Giardino</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>I am a scholar and teacher of Spanish and Portuguese. I am also a poet. </p>
<p>The several books of poetry I have published in English, Spanish and <a href="http://linguistics.byu.edu/classes/ling450ch/reports/Guarani1.html">Guarani</a> (an indigenous South American language and one of the official languages of Paraguay), plus numerous readings of my work, both in Paraguay and at home in New York, have taught me the artistic joys of the poetic word and its efficacy in public discourse. </p>
<p>The poem, obviously, is a work of imagination, but it is my contention that such a work can be an alternative way of understanding and therefore an alternative form of editorial journalism. </p>
<p>The most fundamental source of the educational vision portrayed in the poem I have written for The Conversation is the many thousands of hours I have spent with students over a long teaching career. </p>
<p>Having said that, I hasten to add that no resemblance is intended, even remotely, between the narrative situation presented and any of the educational institutions with which I have been associated, including my long-time much-beloved employer, SUNY-Oswego. </p>
<p>The forces to which the poem alludes are much broader. </p>
<p>The rise of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and the inroads technology can make in the basic human relationship between teacher and learner – these and similar developments are at work in our society as a whole, and the debate surrounding them is global in scope. </p>
<p>Using the elevated tone and deliberately archaic language of epic verse, the poem’s intent is to write those forces larger in the imagination than they are in present reality, to exaggerate their current profile in order to dramatize what they could become. </p>
<p>As to its style and tone, the poem’s roots are in various epic traditions but readers will also find echoes of the tech writer Nicholas Carr; of movies like Dead Poets’ Society and Good Will Hunting; of Paraguayan literary masters like <a href="http://www.britannica.com/biography/Augusto-Roa-Bastos">Augusto Roa Bastos</a> and <a href="http://www.portalguarani.com/472_juan_manuel_marcos.html">Juan Manuel Marcos</a> (novel and poetry) and, in its playful parts, even a hint of Dr Seuss. (A full list of my literary “credits” follows the poem.) </p>
<p><em>(Note on pronunciation: In observance of the poem’s rhythm, the protagonist’s middle names “Ignatius Gene” may be pronounced as normal in English, ig-NAY-shus jeen, but the Paraguayan name from which this derives, Ignacio Genes, should be said as in Spanish, eeg-NAHS-yo HAY-nays.)</em></p>
<pre class="highlight plaintext"><code> Channeling Homer, Among Others…
I
Not the song of siren-seekers
washed in gore upon a reef,
or Hector on the Trojan plain,
or Cid who risking body
in the horse-loud crowd
of battle-drum and scimitar
made victory out of blood,
no epic song is this
of these, but rather epic
of the mind, no less dangerous
than all their battlefields,
but fought upon the blood-
drenched plains and trenches
of book and classroom,
where courage of the intellect
meets scimitar of budget
cut and mindless fiat
of endless plutocrats intoning
measurement of that which
has no measure.
II
His name,
Juan Emmanuel Ignatius Gene
O'Higgins, PhD in code of résumé
and memo, expert in forgotten holocausts
and vast interstices unseen
between the lines upon the map,
Paraguay, in other words,
Paraguay his theme, his passion,
mission, demise, redemption.
Son he was of Irish guy
from Southie and mom from
shantytown hard by the Paraná
who met and loved in the father’s
Fulbright-funded bed beneath
the fullness of a fattening
moon. Jasy henyhe she said
in Guarani and coitus wrote
the words in English on his
brain, the moon is full,
and Juan Emmanuel began in semen
spilled upon her river, hard
upon the Paraná. Thus was made
and grew the boy, precursor
of the man, in summers
by the Paraná and winters
in the gritty Boston snow
piled against the chain-link
playground fence, his fists
hard as curbstones fending tires
from the ragged Southie sidewalks
and the green-beer-sucking
drunks in foreplay of St Patty’s Day,
grew he here, and there,
and came to know man’s state
is not the metropole, the evanescing
center swelled in fad soon gone
and power soon dispersed,
but one of Paraguays, of Southies,
of margins where persists
the warmth of human flesh,
fencerows where persist the weeds
of truths the tractor long
despised, each of us a Paraguay,
a body among bodies, a voice
not of device disembodied
but of palpitations of the living
throat, came he to know
this, swore he to make it
known and chose the teacher’s
way.
III
Jasy henyhe she’d said,
and his moon waxed full
in love of students, each
a Paraguay hard by the Paraná
descending to whatever
sea, each a voice he sang
in chorus with, farm kids
avid for the world beyond
manure pond and feedlot,
grocer’s children wanting
other than a daily ledger
of hams and lettuces, would-be
gangbangers saved by book and dream
of something more from stink
of prison john and sameness
of the pavements. Told he them
in class about his namesake
of the Paraguayan War Ignacio
Genes, hero who in combat
lost an eye and used his other
one to shield his brothers,
his single Cyclops eye a waxing
moon for them and us; told
he also them of Barrett, Roa Bastos,
Emiliano, Chaco thirst, Cerro Korá,
Ramona Martínez, residentas,
Ortiz Guerrero, de la Mora, Jesuit
and Guarani, and thousand million
un-named feet of un-named walkers
stumbling in dark of exile, greed, depravity
and grief to greet again the dawn
upon a shoeless blister. You,
he said, are these if you
but knew. Rise he said
to stoop to drink the water
that I lead you to. The
stinking mud is yours no matter
what, be hero in it, let your
single eye be waxing moon for northern
farm and pavement, grocer’s shelf
and banker’s vault. That distant
Paraguay be metaphor for here,
for now, for you.
IV
Powerpoint
was not his thing, nor leaned he
overly on Wiki-factoids gleaned
from Google’s vast and churning
cloud upon a screen for user-
friendly access antiquating
memory; no enemy was he of such,
but rather foe of opiated overuse
in detriment of man. Thus read he
them from books and spun
his magic out of alchemy
of word and print and mind, and bid
he them put on persona of the Other
and leave their desks and move
as actors in the theater of learning,
and laughter and movement
were their language. And made
he them traverse the dog-piss
snow of January in the parking
lots to fetch the printed word
of libraries, bodily traverse
the campus air that they might
know that body and mind are
lovers, nor holds the mind
to anything not sifted through
the efforts of the flesh; it was
his body’s eye that Genes gave
to spur the waxing moon of freedom
in the mind of many. Nor resented
they his call to book and library,
but loved him for it more, nor called they
more for apps and Wiki-screens
and disembodied ease, but reveled
rather in respect he gave
to wholeness of their thinking
body-minded selves, they who
sported on the green and flaunted
skin in spring to drink
the frisbee-joyous air en route
to class, loved they him for this,
and loved he them.
V
But came one day
a lie that slunk in frowsy crannies
of curricula and syllabi, and hung
upon the winter-weary campus breeze,
and bided time in e-mails
and the minutes of perfunctory
ennui-laden polyester meetings, a multi-
visaged lie with roots enough
in truth of need to sway
the well-intentioned gullible
and stroke the greed of cynics,
a glib shape-shifting hydra-
headed lie part fiat of the bottom
line, part flim-flam sales
pitch of purveyors, demagogic
populism, or wish indeed sincere
for good, yet nonetheless,
a lie. It said, efficiency
is all. It said, make straight
the way to drone-dom
in diminishment of cost. It
said the ancient bargain
trading effort of the body-mind
for betterment of life, our
ancient soaring chant of sacrifice
and sweat, is moot,
is mothballed in the new
millennium of ever-easier machines
un-making man. No need,
it said, to stir from seat or bed
in quest of knowing, nor even
need to know, it is known
for you. No need to drive
a car, it is driven, nor need
to flush the toilet, it is flushed,
nor need to walk the woods,
nor need to read a map,
nor need to pit the body-mind
against the wanton wind in lofty
affirmation of the self. No need,
it said, for Paraguay as metaphor
for man. No need for man, indeed.
Irrelevant, it said, and set the moon
to waning on the Paraná.
VI
Came
minions of the lie, came memos,
e-mails, texts, reports ad hoc,
inquiring why the love of books
when all is stocked within
the cyber-cloud, inquiring
why the gathering of bodies
in a class when synchronicity
of keyboards and facsimile
of voice and face upon a screen
will do the job, and the moon
waned more while waxed a logic
that portrayed itself inevitable. Ad
hoc became ad hominem, came
minions to his class in guise
of friendly observation. And taught he
as he always taught, and the class
they saw was light, was art,
was theater, was Socrates,
was dream of every learner
keening for the graceful
stretch of mind and body
into space unknown, was reason
why we gather sons and daughters
into schools and spur them
into plenitude of man and not
to lassitude of larva, metal,
stone. No drone, said he, was Genes
in the groaning eyeball-costing
fight, but man, as man aspires
to become. Rose the students
to ovate, embraced they him,
loved they him as loved he
them. Rose the minions too
in momentary lapse infused
by distant memory of dream
to teach, reached out also
to embrace…, then dropped
their arms in tendering
instead a squalid shake
of hands, their logic of the lie
resurgent from its wistful
lapse. Your future is assured,
they said, tenure and respect
are yours they said, if you but…
and placed they in contingent
clauses all a world of strings
attached: if you but… forsake
the luddite past of book
and pen, your sentimental
fondness for the family
of class, your notion of the learner
as a greater whole than all
the petty bell-curve of his
résumé and GPA and bank
accounts. Access, cost, utility,
and ease, be these your shibboleths
in this new singularity where man’s
machines suck share of his humanity
and his blood is but the driver
of the bloodless goosestep
of electrons, and Paraguay
and all the Paraguays and all
the Southies and all your
farmer’s sons and grocer’s
daughters are merely asterisks
within the Internet now
upper-cased as if a God. They
spoke the lie, and waited
for his yes, and all he said
was no.
VII
And with that no
the eye he lost in battle was
his job, his mortgage, colleagues,
place within the circle of his
students’ arms. Yet also was
that no a moon sudden waxing
like a fist upon the face
of facelessness, his fist
as once he used it in the Southie
schoolyard slush upon the quisling
jaws of thugs.
VIII
Read I of him
one red-eye sweltering night
upon my Fulbright-funded bed
beneath a moon so white
upon the Paraná it spoke
to me of snow, and cooled
me as I read. And saw I then
the moon is more than mere
reflector of another’s light
as science holds, but marks
of its own right, the tides
of human blood and tribulations
of the human soul. A blurb
is all I read, filler in the local
rag, page forty-three between
an ad for condoms and someone’s
invocation of the Virgin, a line or two
about a Paraguayan-Yankee
hybrid guy who erstwhile
taught in university up north
and now was eighth-grade teacher
here in Paraguay. Odd, said I,
and made the obligatory Google
search, and found the case
of Juan Emmanuel Ignatius
Gene O’Higgins, Ph.D., stripped
of job for saying no. And
the moon that made me
think of snow upon the Paraná
also gave my mind to know
that North and South are two
but Man is one, and Juan
Emmanuel is Man. And went I
when the sun arose, to find,
perchance to interview, the man.
And as I rode my bike
upon the red dirt road beside
the crones preparing tereré
and lorries painting smoke
across an asthma-colored sky,
my eyes embraced the toddlers
squalid in the clawing dust,
the children manning carts
en route to chicken-peck the dumps
for scraps of bread or metal,
the prematurely nubile
waiting for a pimp or john,
and wondered I what was
the measure of our teaching
if not for these, and what
the way of schooling man
if not as man engaging man
within that self-same dust,
as Genes risking eye
against the poison mist
of war. No shortcut of machine
or screen exists for school,
nor found I shortcut
on the red dirt road to reach
the schoolyard where he was,
but came I by my bike
upon the gnarled clay and saw
his class at recess play
and him among them, and watched
them at a distance, and saw
his easy hand upon their backs
was challenge to their better selves,
his easy Guarani upon their ears
was balm upon their body-mind
to be their best in spite of dust,
to walk as Man upon the wizened
crust of earth, and knew
that he was right. And turned
I from their schoolyard
play, and upward looked, and saw
upon the blazoned sky, though
it was day, the waxing moon
of Paraguay.
</code></pre>
<hr>
<p>This poem draws inspiration from a number of sources including Paraguayan literary masters like <a href="http://www.britannica.com/biography/Augusto-Roa-Bastos">Augusto Roa Bastos</a> (fiction and poetry), <a href="http://www.portalguarani.com/472_juan_manuel_marcos.html">Juan Manuel Marcos</a> (novel and poetry), <a href="http://www.portalguarani.com/415_renee_ferrer.html">Renée Ferrer</a> (poetry) and <a href="http://www.portalguarani.com/394_susy_delgado.html">Susy Delgado</a>(poetry); the Chilean poetic genius Pablo Neruda; the Argentine poet and journalist
<a href="http://www.britannica.com/biography/Jose-Hernandez">José Hernández</a>; former professors of mine like <a href="http://rassias.dartmouth.edu/john/">John Rassias</a> and Robert Russell; my emeritus Oswego colleague Ivan Brady; and, in the playful tone of parts of the poem, even a hint of Dr Seuss.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/48936/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tracy K Lewis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
A professor of literature who is also a poet tackles the issue of the inroads technology has made in the relationship between teacher and learner.
Tracy K Lewis, Distinguished Teaching Professor of Spanish and Portuguese, State University of New York Oswego
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/40503
2015-05-12T04:17:17Z
2015-05-12T04:17:17Z
Outdated teaching methods will blunt technology’s power
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/79602/original/image-20150428-3062-7czcsg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Is giving pupils iPads enough to revolutionise learning?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The man who runs state education in South Africa’s richest province has no time for old-fashioned classroom accessories. In January, Panyaza Lesufi, who heads the education portfolio in the Gauteng province, told journalists at Boitumelong Secondary School just outside Johannesburg:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’m signing the death warrant of the chalk, duster and chalkboard in Gauteng. We are moving on with the times and we are moving to better things.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Lesufi was at the school to promote the <a href="http://kemptonexpress.co.za/58603/seven-schools-go-paperless-on-first-day-of-school/">Big Switch On</a> pilot, a project in which pupils are given tablets loaded with textbooks and their schools receive interactive whiteboards. “You will never accuse me of failure to deliver textbooks,” he said. “You will now accuse me of failure to download.”</p>
<p>But is making technology available to schools without adapting curricula or teaching methods to a digital platform actually worthwhile?</p>
<h2>The trouble with copy-pasting</h2>
<p>According to John Hedberg from the Australian Centre for Educational Studies, e-learning can <a href="http://www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/hedberg_paper.pdf">only be successful</a> if there is a “revolutionary move away from replicating traditional classroom-based teaching practices”.</p>
<p>At the heart of Hedberg’s critique is the idea of skeuomorphism, which is keeping the form of the old but discarding its function. Think of smart phone cameras that “click” like a DSLR camera or pages in an e-book reader that “curl” as they are turned – just like a paper book. Thanks to Hollywood star Tom Hanks you can even make your laptop’s keyboard sound like a <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2014/08/18/tom-hanks-typewriter-app-shoots-to-the-top-of-the-app-store/">quaint old typewriter</a>. </p>
<p>Technology giants like <a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/3017236/apples-ios-7-redefines-industrial-design-through-evil-skeuomorphism">Apple</a>, Google and Microsoft have all used skeuomorphic designs to soften the transition from old technologies to new.</p>
<p>These features don’t have any functional value but their resemblance to forms of the past gives users a sense of comfort and familiarity. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/79745/original/image-20150429-23400-1bauy92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/79745/original/image-20150429-23400-1bauy92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79745/original/image-20150429-23400-1bauy92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79745/original/image-20150429-23400-1bauy92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79745/original/image-20150429-23400-1bauy92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79745/original/image-20150429-23400-1bauy92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79745/original/image-20150429-23400-1bauy92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It looks like a bookshelf, but this tablet version is actually an example of skeumorphism.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Tablets and smart whiteboard won’t magically make pupils smarter unless teachers know how to use the devices properly and in a way that encourages learning. When Brandon Martinez and his colleagues from the University of Southern California started <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/melora-sundt/teaching-online_b_4137858.html">training teachers to use educational technology</a>, they looked to the aviation industry for inspiration. Writing about their experiences, Martinez said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>To increase instructor skills, we borrowed a technique from airline pilot training – simulators. Teaching in a virtual classroom requires knowing the basics of the technology and being ready to adjust … We watched each other teach and practised new approaches, testing what captured student interest.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Success story</h2>
<p>In 2011, Clintondale High School in Michigan became the <a href="https://www.techsmith.com/customer-stories-clintondale.html">global poster child</a> for “flipped” classrooms. This is an exciting example of how educational technology can change teaching and learning if it is properly used and doesn’t just become a copy-paste substitute for old methods. </p>
<p>A flipped classroom inverts traditional teaching methods. “Lectures” happen after hours, usually at home – students watch instructional videos at their own pace. </p>
<p>During formal class time, students are given activities that help them engage with concepts. Rather than just standing in front of the class and reading from a textbook or tablet – what some theorists call the “sage on the stage” model – teachers become “guides on the side”, available to answer questions and lead discussions. </p>
<p>Clintondale High’s combination of new technology and radically different teaching methods has pushed up its pass rates, improved discipline and seen more of its students securing college places.</p>
<p><figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EceWjPUgWc8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">It takes completely new approaches to make technology an asset in the classroom.</span></figcaption>
</figure></p>
<p>The educational technology boom isn’t limited to the developed world. It is <a href="http://elearningindustry.com/elearning-statistics-and-facts-for-2015">growing rapidly</a> in countries like India and Brazil. If teachers are exposed to new digital teaching approaches, and given the space to experiment with technology, we can begin to produce a whole new generation of pupils: those who think and create and not those who just sit in classrooms waiting to be told what they should do or know.</p>
<h2>Avoiding the white elephant syndrome</h2>
<p>In August 2013, the Los Angeles Unified School District launched a US$1 billion project designed to make its schools high-tech havens. A month later, officials discovered that nearly 300 students at one high school had hacked through security and were using their district-issued iPads to surf the Web rather than study.</p>
<p>Then, in April 2015, it emerged that a digital curriculum developed by publishers Pearson and loaded onto pupils’ iPads as part of the district’s ambitious project was <a href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/15/04/16/pearson-not-apple-to-blame-for-failed-la-schools-technology-program">simply “unusable”</a>. Critics complained that the project had been rushed from conception to execution far too quickly and without any proper planning.</p>
<p>Why wasn’t the technology pre-tested by the teachers who were expected to use it every day? Technology companies may understand the mechanics of their products, but it’s teachers who understand teaching and who must be involved in making those products more than just electronic white elephants in the classroom.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/40503/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Craig Blewett does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Educational technology can be a powerful tool, but it must be accompanied by new, modern teaching methods.
Craig Blewett, Senior Lecturer in Education & Technology, University of KwaZulu-Natal
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/30557
2014-08-25T05:19:44Z
2014-08-25T05:19:44Z
Multi-discipline courses will help solve emerging global problems
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/57167/original/v65cpscy-1408700414.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Studying one subject won't help save the world. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-210697081/stock-photo-world-map-on-green-leaves.html?src=dt_last_search-6">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Across the globe, we are experiencing rapid changes to our environment and social structures. Climate change, population growth, and social unrest are causing ever increasing problems. The rate of change poses serious challenges for education and how we prepare graduates for an unpredictable future.</p>
<p>Courses addressing environmental change and social adaptability are slowly appearing in university prospectuses around the world. For the most part, these topics come in the form of new post-graduate courses. </p>
<p>For example, Harvard University has a graduate program in <a href="http://www.extension.harvard.edu/degrees-programs/sustainability-environmental-management">sustainability and environmental management</a>. The prospectus states students will be “primed to create solutions to the crises affecting our global community”. Many other universities also now run similar masters-level courses on environmental sustainability.</p>
<h2>Combining different subjects</h2>
<p>But sustainability as a subject can only be taught by drawing from several academic disciples. The answers to the big global questions cannot be found within single traditional disciplines such as biology or politics on their own. </p>
<p>The new courses tend to combine elements of environmental science, economics and politics. They often include modules covering new topics such as global environmental politics or the sustainability of food production. Enabling students to learn from multiple disciplines is a crucial step towards helping them address the big problems facing society. This is particularly important since we cannot predict what the future problems might be.</p>
<p>Undergraduate courses have lagged behind, but there are some truly interdisciplinary degree courses beginning to appear. Several universities now provide a diverse education via new BASc degrees in arts and sciences. The most successful examples are from <a href="http://www.ucl.ac.uk/basc">University College London</a> in the UK and <a href="http://artsci.os.mcmaster.ca/about-the-program">McMaster University</a> in Canada. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/57082/original/rtgbz8b4-1408631489.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/57082/original/rtgbz8b4-1408631489.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/57082/original/rtgbz8b4-1408631489.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/57082/original/rtgbz8b4-1408631489.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/57082/original/rtgbz8b4-1408631489.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/57082/original/rtgbz8b4-1408631489.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/57082/original/rtgbz8b4-1408631489.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Helping to solve tomorrow’s problems.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-211373263/stock-photo-businessman-hand-shows-light-bulb-with-planet-earth-as-concept.html?src=i2AcOVxB4bsObelzE58F5w-2-5">Lightbulb image via Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The BASc degrees typically include new modules on multi-disciplinary working and communicating knowledge. These enable students to then pick and mix from pre-existing modules across many different departments. Additional features of these degrees include interdisciplinary research projects and substantial work placements, which are likely to improve employability.</p>
<h2>Flexibility and online learning</h2>
<p>Broad interdisciplinary degrees are unfortunately not yet widely available. However, more international universities are now offering flexible combined honours degrees. This approach is similar to the US major/minor model of higher education. </p>
<p>Many university students also now routinely use <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/oct/22/study-mooc-top-universities">Massive Open Online Courses</a> to extend their learning beyond their degrees. Supplementing learning with online courses provides broader training than is available through standard degrees. </p>
<p>Such approaches are well placed to provide the diversity of knowledge students need to address the global environmental and social problems that don’t stay within the realms of a single subject. But diversifying education is only part of the change needed. The methods we use to teach and assess students also play critical roles in making them adaptable. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/detail/subjects/medev/Problem-based_learning-_a_practical_guide_%2815%29">Problem-based learning</a> is already at the heart of many <a href="http://www.bmj.com/content/326/7384/328">medical</a> and <a href="http://www.ukcle.ac.uk/resources/teaching-and-learning-practices/pbl/">law</a> degrees. It provides the opportunity to practice broad thinking under real-world situations. Problem based learning also encourages self-directed and explorative learning. This approach could be used more broadly to encourage the ability to adapt that students need in the current climate. </p>
<p>For example, students could be faced with a local farmer who is experiencing crop failures, or a small business which is struggling due to the increasing cost of raw materials. The students then research the underlying problems and potential solutions. Both scenarios are broadly related to climate change, but the first might require pulling together subjects such as ecology, soil science, engineering, and economics. The second scenario might require research on climate forecasting, ecosystem services, and business. </p>
<p>Some universities now offer cross-disciplinary problem-based <a href="http://www.exeter.ac.uk/grandchallenges/">learning events</a> focused around global challenges such as food security or even educational reform itself. Assessment can be directly built into these new forms of teaching, reducing the reliance on traditional exams, which have been widely <a href="http://edukologija.vdu.lt/en/system/files/ConstrutivismAligment_Biggs_96.pdf">criticised</a> for being a poor test of understanding. </p>
<h2>Skills for unpredictable situations</h2>
<p>Rolling out modern teaching and learning approaches more broadly could help students to integrate the many disciplines needed to address global change, and to apply their knowledge to unpredictable situations.</p>
<p>Our education system was designed for a bygone time, and is not equipping students with the skills to thrive in our changing world. It is clear that <a href="http://www.socialtalent.co/blog/graduate-hiring">employers</a> increasingly need staff who are capable of working in unstructured situations. Broader society also needs the same flexibility in this time of great change. Reluctance to change is common, but universities will need to embrace new approaches educate tomorrow’s society.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/30557/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amber Griffiths is scientific adviser for cultural laboratory, FoAM Kernow. She currently receives funding from the EU, the Royal Society, the Natural Environment Research Council, and the Fishmongers' Company. Her ORCID ID is 0000-0002-7455-6795.</span></em></p>
Across the globe, we are experiencing rapid changes to our environment and social structures. Climate change, population growth, and social unrest are causing ever increasing problems. The rate of change…
Amber Griffiths, Lecturer in Natural Environment, University of Exeter
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/10099
2012-10-19T04:42:50Z
2012-10-19T04:42:50Z
Yes, we Khan: pioneering education for anyone, anywhere
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/16583/original/fqtkfywd-1350366234.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4752%2C2888&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Khan academy is trying to bring education to the world, but how?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Online learning image from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>From preschool to PhD, education is <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_revolution.html">afflicted by a malaise</a>. Many students, <a href="http://chronicle.com/article/Its-Your-Duty-to-Be/135014">teachers</a>, parents and politicians, feel that with all the effort and money spent, we should be doing better.</p>
<p>Salman Khan, founder of the <a href="http://www.khanacademy.org/">Khan Academy</a>, is a quiet revolutionary whose book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1455508381">The One World Schoolhouse: Education Reimagined</a> released last week, offers an inspiring vision for restructuring education. </p>
<p>It’s an entertaining and provocative look at how one entrepreneur is changing the world, one lesson at a time.</p>
<h2>Khan’s Academy</h2>
<p>The Khan Academy is best known for its short educational videos – available online, for free, and for any student.</p>
<p>The idea famously had its beginnings when Khan was tutoring his relatives remotely. Eventually, he developed short videos on YouTube, and added automated assessment and feedback to help them. </p>
<p>The popularity of the videos meant Khan gave up a lucrative job as a hedge fund analyst to develop the idea fully. His is the classic Silicon Valley success story: self-funded and struggling until Gates, Google, and the like noticed, and turned on the money taps. He explains more about the “<a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7401612n">Khan-style videos</a>” below:</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nTFEUsudhfs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Salman Khan: Let’s use video to reinvent education, Ted.com.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Where the academy fits</h2>
<p>Khan is a leader amongst those who have <a href="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/septemberoctober_2012/features/_its_three_oclock_in039373.php">challenged</a> the education establishment. The effective pedagogy used in his videos has strongly <a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/10/12/online-learning-group-hears-mooc-pioneer">influenced the Massive Open Online Course, or MOOC movement</a> and is part of a larger drive to make education open and online.</p>
<p>Khan’s central principle is that each student should be guided along their unique path to their full potential. They should progress at their own pace in their own direction. </p>
<p>This subsumes the tried and true idea of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastery_learning">mastery learning</a> – that students should learn 100% of foundational material before moving on, rather than have only a partial grasp that may come back to haunt them later.</p>
<h2>The ideal classroom</h2>
<p>In Khan’s ideal school, foundational instruction is provided using the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flip_teaching">flipped classroom model</a>, in which content and assessment come from something like the Khan Academy. He claims that this delivers content up to five times more efficiently than does conventional instruction. This frees up valuable, human, teacher time for personal interactions with students. He calls this “humanising the classroom”.</p>
<p>The Academy assesses students’ understanding in parallel with the instruction, providing automated help for students and guidance for the teachers’ interventions.</p>
<p>In his new book, Khan starts by diagnosing and dissecting the underlying problem in education – our attachment to a 19th century Prussian inspired model of education. This model separates students by age, requires them to progress synchronously, and fragments learning into discrete subjects. </p>
<p>According to Khan, the objective of such systems is to produce loyal and submissive citizens. This model, he argues, has been left behind by the 21st century, with its need for creative and diverse workers.</p>
<p>By contrast, in the Khan classroom, students of all ages work together organically. This alternative to the one-size-fits-all broadcast approach sees a year 9 student mastering year 8 maths, while a year 8 student may be mastering year 9 English, and each may be tutoring the other. Teachers assist as required, informed by <a href="http://www.elearnspace.org/blog/2010/08/25/what-are-learning-analytics/">learning analytics</a> – the collection and analysis of learning data.</p>
<h2>Just do it</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.openculture.com/2012/06/expert_gently_asks_whether_khan_academy_videos_promote_meaningful_learning.html">Critics have focused on the Khan Academy videos</a>, rather than on Khan’s broader educational ideas. This is because the Academy is open for all to see. Openness means that problems can be identified and corrected. So when <a href="http://youtu.be/hC0MV843_Ng">experts identify errors</a> in an Academy video, it shows the collaborative system is working.</p>
<p>How much notice should we take of Khan’s outlandish ideas, which are many more than touched on here? After all, he’s no doctor of education, his book is short on scholarly evidence, and he reports no controlled trials of his methods.</p>
<p>In classic entrepreneurial style, Khan just went ahead and did it. The evidence he presents is directly from the classroom. The Los Altos School district, in the heart of affluent Silicon Valley, was the first to <a href="http://www.khanacademy.org/talks-and-interviews/v/los-altos">implement his ideas</a>. </p>
<p>It’s the sort of community where deep innovation is possible, because that’s what people do for a living. Google, Apple and Facebook headquarters are nearby. These people know that technology is changing everything. </p>
<h2>The One World Schoolhouse</h2>
<p>The experiment in the Los Altos district has been running for a couple of years and is expanding to other districts in California. But at the other end of the affluence scale are schools in developing countries. </p>
<p>Their problems are greater: if you don’t have a <a href="http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/SOUTHASIAEXT/0,,contentMDK:20848416%7EpagePK:146736%7EpiPK:146830%7EtheSitePK:223547,00.html">teacher that consistently turns up to class</a> or reliable access to the internet or electricity, then there are serious problems with the Khan model.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, volunteers have already <a href="http://www.khanacademy.org/contribute">translated most of the Khan Academy videos into many languages</a>. By putting these onto DVDs, and restricting internet usage to low bandwidth for assessment and feedback, Khan describes how it might be made to work. </p>
<p>The One World Schoolhouse of the book’s title has all these Khan Academy outposts interacting. Let’s hope that in some way, this book will be one of the catalysts for reforming education; to make it a deep, rich and lifelong experience for everyone.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/10099/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Craig Savage does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
From preschool to PhD, education is afflicted by a malaise. Many students, teachers, parents and politicians, feel that with all the effort and money spent, we should be doing better. Salman Khan, founder…
Craig Savage, Professor of Theoretical Physics, Australian National University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/10000
2012-10-18T19:26:00Z
2012-10-18T19:26:00Z
What students want and how universities are getting it wrong
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/16663/original/4r5ybpcv-1350524268.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5616%2C3480&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Online education might not cut it for students who want quality learning and more access to staff.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Student image from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>FUTURE OF HIGHER EDUCATION: We continue our series on the rise of online and blended learning and how free online courses are set to transform the higher education sector. Today, Victoria University’s Alasdair McAndrew looks at how the student has been overlooked in the rush to online education.</em></p>
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<p>Do the phrases “blended-learning” and “virtual classrooms” fill you with excitement, or are they the kind of buzzwords that produce a resigned fatigue? </p>
<p>Whether you’re a “<a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-8535.2008.00910.x/pdf">technopositivist</a>” or a “technoskeptic”, it’s clear many universities are getting it wrong when it comes to e-learning – neither considering the needs of the student or the teacher. </p>
<p>They assume a good online education will just happen, and that both staff and students will rapturously embrace these new technologies – whatever the quality of access or learning. </p>
<p>In the <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/83033-we-are-stuck-with-technology-when-what-we-really-want">immortal words</a> of author, Douglas Adams: “We are stuck with technology when what we really want is just stuff that works.”</p>
<h2>A skeptical eye</h2>
<p>E-learning has been defined by <a href="http://www.taylorandfrancis.com/books/details/9780415885836/">D. Randy Garrison</a>: “as electronically mediated asynchronous and synchronous communication for the purposes of constructing and confirming knowledge.” While “electronically” could easily be replaced with “online” – you get the general idea. </p>
<p>Although I love technology and gadgets of all sorts, I am not uncritical of online learning, and remain unconvinced of the grandiose claims made by e-learning proponents.</p>
<p>For a start, there is a widely held assumption that because online learning is “A Good Thing”, all staff and all students will want it and want to embrace it. However, the purported benefits of e-learning for students are balanced out by some serious <a href="http://www.elearning-companion.com/disadvantages-of-online-learning.html">disadvantages</a>, including <a href="https://theconversation.com/online-education-can-we-bridge-the-digital-divide-9725">problems of access</a>, less time face-to-face with teachers and doubts about its effectiveness.</p>
<h2>Where’s the evidence?</h2>
<p>For the moment, we don’t yet know if online education actually gets students learning. There are hardly any studies which formally evaluate the effectiveness of e-learning on a large scale; almost all consider small sample sizes in a few subjects only, and come to conclusions which generally fall short of being ringing endorsements. </p>
<p>For example, a report of a <a href="http://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/tech/evidence-based-practices/finalreport.pdf">large meta-analysis</a> released in 2010 found that “on average, students in online learning conditions performed <em>modestly</em> better than those receiving face-to-face instruction.” But this statement was modified further – it was not necessarily the learning environment which was responsible for the “modest” success, but the extra time and attention which came with it. </p>
<p>In a 2009 paper, <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.3200/JOEB.84.6.374-380">researchers</a> tried to evaluate online education using a set of learning objectives known as <a href="http://books.google.com.au/books/about/Taxonomy_of_educational_objectives.html?id=M_fXAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y">Bloom’s taxonomy</a>. They concluded that “individual and instructional
factors do not have a significant effect on e-learning.” In effect, from their (very small) sample size, they claimed that e-learning was no worse than conventional learning and teaching methods. Again, this is a very meagre claim.</p>
<h2>Better access needed</h2>
<p>Another unfounded assumption is that the institution’s infrastructure will support online education, and that all staff and students will have equal and unfettered access. </p>
<p>However, as has <a href="https://theconversation.com/online-education-can-we-bridge-the-digital-divide-9725">been discussed in this series</a>, not all students have unfettered access to the internet at all times and places. Online learning can easily discriminate between the haves and the have-nots.</p>
<p>Even at my own university, which has a particularly heterogeneous student cohort, there are students (including a prize-winner) who couldn’t afford mobile phones of any sort, and plenty more without smart phones. Many students can only access the internet at the university. </p>
<p>There is <a href="http://ideas.time.com/2012/07/30/why-online-education-will-leave-many-students-behind/">plenty of criticism</a> aimed at online courses now for this reason. But the problem will only increase as more students attend <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/university-appeals-to-growing-numbers/story-e6frgcjx-1226460186855">post-secondary education</a>, including those from refugee families and other digitally poor backgrounds.</p>
<h2>What students want</h2>
<p>Remarkably, educational policies are usually written by those who are the most removed from actual teaching. That’s how we get the curious disparity between what students want and need, and what university managers think will be <em>good for them</em>. </p>
<p>Writing in 2009, researchers <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03043797.2010.505279">Limniou and Smith</a> found that staff assumed that online courses would help time-strapped students, and also “strengthen the students’ background knowledge”, whereas students <em>actually</em> wanted more interaction with the teaching staff and more individual feedback. </p>
<p><a href="http://onlinelearninginsights.wordpress.com/2012/06/04/what-students-really-think-about-online-learning/">Another recent study</a> of online learning found that students want interaction and personal connection, as well as more use made of mobile devices.</p>
<p>Universities meanwhile have a rather touching faith in videos, and email. But there have been few attempts to encompass mobile technologies, like smart phones, 3G/4G networks. </p>
<p>There is a growing interest in the use of such technology, unfortunately referred to as “m-learning”, but it is as yet in its infancy. </p>
<h2>An academic complaint?</h2>
<p>You might think from much of the above that I’m a reactionary curmudgeon who believes that education has gone downhill since the days of chalk and slates. This is not so. I am a passionate believer in using whatever tools, technology, practices or processes will help to engage students and encourage their learning. </p>
<p>What I don’t believe in is the willy-nilly throwing of technology in the general direction of staff and students, and the totally unfounded assumption that technology, in and of itself, will enhance student learning and engagement.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>The series will conclude next week with a panel discussion in Canberra co-hosted with the Office for Learning and Teaching and involving the Minister for Tertiary Education, Chris Evans.</em></p>
<p><em>We’d love you to take part: leave your comments, join the discussion on <a href="http://twitter.com/conversationEDU">twitter.com/conversationEDU</a>, <a href="http://facebook.com/conversationEDU">facebook.com/conversationEDU</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<p><strong>This is part thirteen of our series on the <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/future-of-higher-education">Future of Higher Education</a>. You can read other instalments by clicking the links below:</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part one: <a href="https://theconversation.com/online-opportunities-digital-innovation-or-death-through-regulation-9736">Online opportunities: digital innovation or death through regulation?</a>, Jane Den Hollander</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part two: <a href="https://theconversation.com/moocs-and-exercise-bikes-more-in-common-than-youd-think-9726">MOOCs and exercise bikes – more in common than you’d think</a>, Phillip Dawson & Robert Nelson</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part three: <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-australian-universities-can-play-in-the-moocs-market-9735">How Australian universities can play in the MOOCs market</a>, David Sadler</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part four: <a href="https://theconversation.com/mooc-and-youre-out-of-a-job-uni-business-models-in-danger-9738">MOOC and you’re out of a job: uni business models in danger</a>, Mark Gregory</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part five: <a href="https://theconversation.com/radical-rethink-how-to-design-university-courses-in-the-online-age-9737">Radical rethink: how to design university courses in the online</a>, Paul Wappett</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part six: <a href="https://theconversation.com/online-education-can-we-bridge-the-digital-divide-9725">Online education: can we bridge the digital divide?</a>, Tim Pitman</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part seven: <a href="https://theconversation.com/online-learning-will-change-universities-by-degrees-9804">Online learning will change universities by degrees</a>, Margaret Gardner</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part eight: <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-university-campus-of-the-future-what-will-it-look-like-9769">The university campus of the future: what will it look like?</a>, David Lamond</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part nine: <a href="https://theconversation.com/deadset-moocs-and-australian-education-in-a-globalised-world-9723">Deadset? MOOCs and Australian education in a globalised world</a>, Ruth Morgan</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part ten: <a href="https://theconversation.com/research-online-why-universities-need-to-be-knowledge-brokers-10146">Research online: why universities need to be knowledge brokers</a>, Justin O'Brien</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part eleven: <a href="https://theconversation.com/online-education-at-the-coalface-what-academics-need-to-know-9715">Online education at the coalface: what academics need to know</a>, Rod Lamberts & Will Grant</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part twelve: <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-little-bit-more-conversation-the-limits-of-online-education-9801">A little bit more conversation: the limits of online education</a>, Shirley Alexander</strong></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/10000/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alasdair McAndrew does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
FUTURE OF HIGHER EDUCATION: We continue our series on the rise of online and blended learning and how free online courses are set to transform the higher education sector. Today, Victoria University’s…
Alasdair McAndrew, Discipline Leader, Mathematics & Physics, College of Engineering and Science, Victoria University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/9715
2012-10-17T19:36:49Z
2012-10-17T19:36:49Z
Online education at the coalface: what academics need to know
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/16621/original/fbscggr6-1350442042.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=19%2C23%2C467%2C322&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Online education may mean more stress and workload for academics, not less.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stressed academic image from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>FUTURE OF HIGHER EDUCATION: We continue our series on the rise of online and blended learning and how free online courses are set to transform the higher education sector. Today, ANU’s Rod Lamberts and Will Grant look at the issues academics face in the online learning revolution.</em></p>
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<p>Australian academia has not yet come to grips with how best to handle the swings and roundabouts of online education. The full picture is not yet understood, and many of the implications are still being explored (<a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/future-of-higher-education">including in this current series</a>).</p>
<p>In the debate around business models and international competition, the teacher can all too easily be left out of the discussion. But academics are the ones who will be at the coalface of online education – so we need to have a say in what happens next.</p>
<h2>24/7 academia</h2>
<p>One of the most pressing concerns in the move to online is the expectation of availability.</p>
<p>Sending an email to a lecturer on Sunday is perfectly reasonable. But is it reasonable to expect a response that same day? We strongly believe it isn’t, but many of our colleagues feel an obligation that trumps their right to non-work time.</p>
<p>The problem of work encroaching into leisure time is not new and not unique to academia, but with the rise and rise of online education, there are now more ways than ever for this to occur.</p>
<p>If we have a customer service mindset (as is increasingly common in the sector), then we should be available whenever we are in demand. However, this change in student expectations is not being met with commensurate changes in work place conditions and expectations. </p>
<p>If we decide not to run with a customer-service model (although arguably that horse has well-and truly bolted…), then expectations need to be set out clearly, and be understood and agreed to by all parties – students, staff, and university executives.</p>
<h2>Online workloads</h2>
<p>In the early days of online education at our university, people often talked of “just putting a course online”. The implication – indeed expectation – was that you “just” grabbed existing lectures and readings and “posted them on the web”. Assessment just somehow translated across, and if you had labs or tutorials, you just worked out how to do them online. </p>
<p>There was also a common understanding, apparently, that running a one semester course online was easier – in fact constituted less work – than doing a face-to-face version of the same course.</p>
<p>Sadly, we still hear both of these misconceptions. But we know very well that they’re a load of bollocks.</p>
<p>In fact there is often more work associated with online education than a traditional course. Take an online discussion board as compared to a face-to-face tutorial for example.</p>
<p>Moderating a two-hour classroom discussion between, say, 15 (or even 30) students in a physical classroom takes 2 hours. Moderating an online equivalent for the same 15 students takes immeasurably more time. </p>
<p>You have to read all student comments, consider all the responses to these comments in the potentially multiple discussion threads, and offer meaningful, contextually relevant and useful input for each student involved. </p>
<p>We guarantee this is not a two-hour job.</p>
<h2>Innovation the answer?</h2>
<p>Of course, people increasingly cry, the solution is to be innovative in your delivery and course structure so that you take advantage of the opportunities that online education avails us.</p>
<p>Wonderful in theory, but let’s test this in practice.</p>
<p>First, the technology required to support true interactive online classroom discussion – that is, simulate a face-to-face classroom experience - is expensive, complicated, and rare. It costs tens of thousands of dollars to put the basic infrastructure into a classroom that seats 30 students, and this is not including the need for large bandwith, reliable connections, and students who have a suitable infrastructure at their end.</p>
<p>Second, tertiary education institutions have a lot of bureaucratic inertia. Major changes to a course might take 12-18 months to work their way through university approval processes. This is an eternity – if not two or three eternities – in cyberspace. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, the platforms and tools for delivery are constantly changing at a pace that larger organisations are currently ill-equipped to manage.</p>
<p>Third, as lecturers we are usually obliged to use prescribed platforms (e.g. WebCT, BlackBoard, or Moodle) to create, deliver and manage our online offerings. It’s also worth noting that institutionally adopted tools are often far less intuitive to use than commercially focused competitors. </p>
<p>Even ignoring that ours may not be the best tools for the job, the time it takes to become adept in their use is not genuinely factored into workloads.</p>
<p>Yes, training is available in these platforms, but that just means we must de-prioritise something else to be able to attend them.</p>
<h2>Problematic pedagogy</h2>
<p>OK then, what about pedagogical implications?</p>
<p>The single most touted advantage of online education that gets rolled out regularly is that it increases access. More students have more access to more educational opportunities and from more institutions than ever before. And this is increasing at a phenomenal – and also laudable – rate. </p>
<p>Hard to argue with that kind of “opportunities for all” philosophy.</p>
<p>We can’t let all the details go unchallenged, though. There are aspects of online educational offerings that arguably provide diminished versions of face-to-face options. It would be remiss to not consider if it is better to have more people accessing lesser products, or fewer having access to the best?</p>
<p>For example, interacting with teachers and peers online via text-based conversations and asynchronously delivered material diminishes the experience that real-life interactions provide. Nuance, tone and body language are all lost.</p>
<p>People also learn by modelling behaviours – echoing other students – which once again is harder to do without direct interaction.</p>
<p>In a discipline like ours – science communication – learning, practising and receiving feedback on presentations is essential. We currently have no way to remotely simulate that in-the-flesh experience with an audience</p>
<p>We also know anecdotally that lecturers in areas that handle politically or socially more volatile subject matter are becoming more reluctant to share their thoughts and expert opinions in fear of these being taken out of context once they are released into cyberspace.</p>
<p>Students in such courses are getting sanitised content and a diminished experience because of the mere thought of online dissemination.</p>
<h2>A better way</h2>
<p>The view isn’t all bleak.</p>
<p>But we all know criticism is easy, and we are well aware that we could rightly be labeled as whining, recidivist academics (so far). So here are a few suggestions.</p>
<p>First, there’s no point in putting our fingers in our ears and making “la la la” noises whenever online education rears its head. The online educational environment, and incumbent student and managerial expectations, are well and truly here. We need to work out how to do it well for all parties.</p>
<p>We need to enhance institutional capacity to respond quickly to changing platforms and cyberspace trends. This must include systems allowing flexibility in platform choices. The current system where IT bureaucrats decide on single packages and platforms must be put out of our misery.</p>
<p>It’s critical to provide academics, technical staff and administrators reasonable time, resources and flexibility not to just come to grips with new techniques and tools, but to explore, learn about, and master them. This is no passing trend, and like anything complex, there is no long term advantage in taking shortcuts.</p>
<p>We should explore novel revenue avenues and disconnect from the old-fashioned, pay-for-course models that will struggle to cope with burgeoning online educational offerings that are available cheaply, or even free. It used to be said there’s no way to make money on the internet. It seems Google and Amazon didn’t get that memo.</p>
<p>Smart partnering will be essential in blazing a successful trail through the cyber-education-sphere too, and this will probably need to be linked to more sophisticated and routine use of crowd-sourcing. There’s no point in railing against Wikipedia and online collaboration. It’s here and it’s being used. Embrace it, adapt (to) it.</p>
<p>With well-researched, clearly articulated guidelines and resources in place, we academics can far more effectively explore the best ways to connect with our current and future students.</p>
<p>But, there is one more thing to consider before closing. Heretical and anti-progress though this may sound, there is nothing wrong with being a little circumspect about this online bandwagon. </p>
<p>Sometimes it will be right and proper to declare a course, a skill, a knowledge set or an experience suitable for the online world, but some won’t. We need to choose courses carefully before we put an “e” in front of their name.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>The series will conclude next week with a panel discussion in Canberra co-hosted with the Office for Learning and Teaching and involving the Minister for Tertiary Education, Chris Evans.</em></p>
<p><em>We’d love you to take part: leave your comments, join the discussion on <a href="http://twitter.com/conversationEDU">twitter.com/conversationEDU</a>, <a href="http://facebook.com/conversationEDU">facebook.com/conversationEDU</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<p><strong>This is part eleven of our series on the <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/future-of-higher-education">Future of Higher Education</a>. You can read other instalments by clicking the links below:</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part one: <a href="https://theconversation.com/online-opportunities-digital-innovation-or-death-through-regulation-9736">Online opportunities: digital innovation or death through regulation?</a>, Jane Den Hollander</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part two: <a href="https://theconversation.com/moocs-and-exercise-bikes-more-in-common-than-youd-think-9726">MOOCs and exercise bikes – more in common than you’d think</a>, Phillip Dawson & Robert Nelson</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part three: <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-australian-universities-can-play-in-the-moocs-market-9735">How Australian universities can play in the MOOCs market</a>, David Sadler</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part four: <a href="https://theconversation.com/mooc-and-youre-out-of-a-job-uni-business-models-in-danger-9738">MOOC and you’re out of a job: uni business models in danger</a>, Mark Gregory</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part five: <a href="https://theconversation.com/radical-rethink-how-to-design-university-courses-in-the-online-age-9737">Radical rethink: how to design university courses in the online</a>, Paul Wappett</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part six: <a href="https://theconversation.com/online-education-can-we-bridge-the-digital-divide-9725">Online education: can we bridge the digital divide?</a>, Tim Pitman</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part seven: <a href="https://theconversation.com/online-learning-will-change-universities-by-degrees-9804">Online learning will change universities by degrees</a>, Margaret Gardner</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part eight: <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-university-campus-of-the-future-what-will-it-look-like-9769">The university campus of the future: what will it look like?</a>, David Lamond</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part nine: <a href="https://theconversation.com/deadset-moocs-and-australian-education-in-a-globalised-world-9723">Deadset? MOOCs and Australian education in a globalised world</a>, Ruth Morgan</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part ten: <a href="https://theconversation.com/research-online-why-universities-need-to-be-knowledge-brokers-10146">Research online: why universities need to be knowledge brokers</a>, Justin O'Brien</strong></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/9715/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rod Lamberts has received funding from The Australian Research Council. He is a founding partner of the Ångstrom Group.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Will J Grant is a founding partner of the Ångstrom Group.</span></em></p>
FUTURE OF HIGHER EDUCATION: We continue our series on the rise of online and blended learning and how free online courses are set to transform the higher education sector. Today, ANU’s Rod Lamberts and…
Rod Lamberts, Deputy Director, Australian National Centre for Public Awareness of Science, Australian National University
Will J Grant, Researcher / Lecturer, Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, Australian National University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/9723
2012-10-16T03:21:58Z
2012-10-16T03:21:58Z
Deadset? MOOCs and Australian education in a globalised world
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/16048/original/pzkp9mzr-1349068938.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C22%2C995%2C637&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Australian humanities subjects need to get on board with MOOCs and develop Australian voices in online learning.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">World image from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>FUTURE OF HIGHER EDUCATION: We continue our series on the rise of online and blended learning and how free online courses are set to transform the higher education sector. Today Ruth Morgan looks at the cultural dimension of online education and where Australian history fits in.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs, allow students to choose from a host of courses from leading experts for free online. A veritable smorgasbord of learning awaits the online student, or so it would seem.</p>
<p>But look closer and ask yourself, how much choice is really on offer?</p>
<p>Last month, Professor Simon Marginson <a href="http://theconversation.com/online-open-education-yes-this-is-the-game-changer-8078">warned</a> that for all the excitement over this new paradigm, “MOOCs mean the homogenisation of knowledge, learning and culture”. After all, at this stage many of these courses are based at American Ivy League universities, offering their particular view and course content.</p>
<p>How then will the rise of online education affect how courses about Australia, its peoples, politics and histories, are taught? </p>
<h2>An Australian perspective</h2>
<p>Australian universities are now just beginning to develop their own MOOCs – largely courses with a global focus – but American MOOCs still dominate.</p>
<p>Already online education has brought its own kind of cultural cringe – we assume if it’s from overseas, it must be better. As Communications Minister Stephen Conroy put it <a href="https://theconversation.com/universities-must-adapt-education-models-conroy-9848">earlier this month</a>, “What is a lecture worth if the best lecturer in the world at MIT is online for free for all to access?” </p>
<p>In some cases this might be true, but there are many subject areas, particularly in the humanities where Australian students need local knowledge and understanding. Indeed, why would MIT or any American university offer courses that focus exclusively on Australia’s Federation in 1901 or its development during the nineteenth century?</p>
<p>Having an Australian voice in Australian education is an important asset. And whether you are a student of the sciences or the humanities, mathematics or philosophy, your teacher will leave an imprint of their background, principles and worldview in the way they convey their course. </p>
<p>As an historian, far be it from me to gaze into a crystal ball, but there are some clues about the future implications of online education for humanities students, or at least for the teaching and learning of Australian history.</p>
<h2>The future of Australian history</h2>
<p>Recently, there have been questions raised about the future of Australian history as a national project and as a field of scholarly research. </p>
<p>Earlier this year, higher education commentators <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/opinion/why-our-historys-losing-its-lustre/story-e6frgcko-1226291036958">observed</a> the decline of undergraduate enrolments in Australian history, such that some universities had considerably reduced their offerings in the field. </p>
<p>Australian historians, too, are changing their outlook and increasingly looking at their research in broader terms – weaving Australian stories into larger global tapestries.</p>
<p>But neither of these trends signals the demise of Australian history: often students gravitate towards Australian history in their later studies, while Australian readers voraciously consume books about the nation’s past.</p>
<h2>MOOCing Australian subjects</h2>
<p>Although there are questions about the US dominance of MOOCs so far, there may also be opportunities here for Australian historians and humanities teachers. By definition, MOOCS are very “open” and could help present the growing transnational, global and comparative approaches in Australian history to students both at home and abroad. </p>
<p>In doing so, these online courses might attract new audiences to Australian voices and stories, which could provide Antipodean insights into global issues and debates.</p>
<p>But just as “face to face” teaching and learning in the bricks and mortar university requires a consideration of both course content and its communication, so too does its online delivery. This approach requires more imaginative approaches than simply making “chalk and talk” lecture recordings available online. </p>
<p>Already the move towards applying national standards to the teaching of tertiary-level history has encouraged greater scholarly engagement with the ways that the discipline is taught in Australian universities. In online learning too, we need the same examination of pedagogy and teaching quality.</p>
<h2>What next?</h2>
<p>In light of government and institution budget pressures, it is not surprising that many academics view this brave new world of online learning with some anxiety. They can take some relief in the views of Professor Stephen King, who <a href="https://theconversation.com/moocs-will-mean-the-death-of-universities-not-likely-8830">recently argued that</a>, “The internet will augment but not replace the face-to-face experience”. </p>
<p>For the humanities, this face to face experience can not be substituted. It is only there that the teacher and students can engage directly with each other, the course material and the events of the day, and in doing so, take part in the intellectual discussions and debates that shape their discipline and our nation.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, Australian historians need to look closely at how we teach the skills of the historian, of historical thinking, research and writing in the online environment and investigate how online and face-to-face learning can complement each other.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>The series will conclude next week with a panel discussion in Canberra co-hosted with the Office for Learning and Teaching and involving the Minister for Tertiary Education, Chris Evans.</em></p>
<p><em>We’d love you to take part: leave your comments, join the discussion on <a href="http://twitter.com/conversationEDU">twitter.com/conversationEDU</a>,<a href="http://facebook.com/conversationEDU">facebook.com/conversationEDU</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<p><strong>This is part eight of our series on the <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/future-of-higher-education">Future of Higher Education</a>. You can read other instalments by clicking the links below:</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part one: <a href="https://theconversation.com/online-opportunities-digital-innovation-or-death-through-regulation-9736">Online opportunities: digital innovation or death through regulation?</a>, Jane Den Hollander</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part two: <a href="https://theconversation.com/moocs-and-exercise-bikes-more-in-common-than-youd-think-9726">MOOCs and exercise bikes – more in common than you’d think</a>, Phillip Dawson & Robert Nelson</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part three: <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-australian-universities-can-play-in-the-moocs-market-9735">How Australian universities can play in the MOOCs market</a>, David Sadler</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part four: <a href="https://theconversation.com/mooc-and-youre-out-of-a-job-uni-business-models-in-danger-9738">MOOC and you’re out of a job: uni business models in danger</a>, Mark Gregory</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part five: <a href="https://theconversation.com/radical-rethink-how-to-design-university-courses-in-the-online-age-9737">Radical rethink: how to design university courses in the online</a>, Paul Wappett</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part six: <a href="https://theconversation.com/online-education-can-we-bridge-the-digital-divide-9725">Online education: can we bridge the digital divide?</a>, Tim Pitman</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part seven: <a href="https://theconversation.com/online-learning-will-change-universities-by-degrees-9804">Online learning will change universities by degrees</a>, Margaret Gardner</strong></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/9723/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ruth Morgan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
FUTURE OF HIGHER EDUCATION: We continue our series on the rise of online and blended learning and how free online courses are set to transform the higher education sector. Today Ruth Morgan looks at the…
Ruth Morgan, Lecturer in Australian History, Monash University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/9725
2012-10-14T19:20:16Z
2012-10-14T19:20:16Z
Online education: can we bridge the digital divide?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/16237/original/grnxxxgs-1349411207.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=125%2C115%2C3168%2C2050&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some people could be left behind in the digital revolution in higher education.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Divide image from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>FUTURE OF HIGHER EDUCATION: We continue our series on the rise of online and blended learning and how free online courses are set to transform the higher education sector. Today, Tim Pitman writes on who has access to this online education revolution.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Online learning divides opinion like few other issues in the world of higher education.</p>
<p>But regardless of whether you think this is a good or bad thing, there is no escaping the fact it is here to stay. </p>
<p>Despite claims about the democratisation of education through free online university courses and open educational resources, some potential students are being left on the wrong side of the digital divide. </p>
<p>Learners need not only the physical connections to the internet and appropriate hardware, but also the familiarity with technology to make online learning work. </p>
<p>Universities and governments need to do more to improve access to these resources or risk leaving some of the most disadvantaged students behind. </p>
<h2>Uneven connections</h2>
<p>Australians are <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/lookup/4102.0main+features60jun+2011">connecting more and more</a>. In the ten years between 1998 and 2008, home internet access increased dramatically - and it’s still climbing. </p>
<p>But the increase is not equally distributed. In households without children, access has gone from fewer than one in five households to three in five. But in households with children it has risen even higher - almost four in five. </p>
<p>The new generation of students is more connected than the Baby Boomer generation. But even within this generation, there are huge differences in the quality of access.</p>
<p>Those with parents in the top 20% of income earners will almost certainly have the internet at home. But if parental income is in the bottom 20%, almost half won’t. They may still have access at school or universities but this is not the same as having consistent access.</p>
<p>Indigenous students, for example, are relatively well connected (69% usage) but are much more reliant on using computers at school than other groups. They don’t enjoy the consistent access required to make the most of online educational opportunities.</p>
<h2>Digital division</h2>
<p>There is no escaping the fact there is a digital divide. The government has <a href="http://www.flexiblelearning.net.au/shared/docs/national_vet_elearning_strategy_2012_2015_web.pdf">recognised this</a> and is trying to develop e-learning strategies, particularly in vocational education and training, for groups like Indigenous students, people with a disability and the unemployed. </p>
<p>But there are many other groups, including rural and remote learners, isolated metropolitan learners and people with poor English literacy skills that also require assistance.</p>
<p>Every group requires a different approach. Steps are already being taken to address diverse needs but it is already easy to see where mistakes could be made.</p>
<p>A common goal is good, a common strategy is not. Indigenous communities, for example, require a more nuanced approach than simple a one-size-fits-all policy. Indigenous people are no more <a href="http://www.avetra.org.au/documents/PA045Eagles.pdf">homogeneous</a> than anyone else. </p>
<p>The same is true for the other target groups. </p>
<h2>All our digital eggs in one basket</h2>
<p>Governments must be wary of being locked into one delivery mode. When the government made the commitment to give a “<a href="http://www.deewr.gov.au/Schooling/DigitalEducationRevolution/ComputerFund/Pages/NationalSecondarySchoolComputerFundOverview.aspx">laptop for every child</a>” it actually meant laptops for schools – a place children spend less and less of their learning time.</p>
<p>Governments and universities must understand that online learning needs to omnipresent, preferably 24/7 and available on as many devices as possible, to meet the diverse geographical, cultural and resource needs of our students. </p>
<p>Government has got it right with the <a href="http://www.nbn.gov.au">National Broadband Network</a>: it provides the essential service of fast, widespread broadband access and leaves it to individual users and/or organisations to decide how best to exploit it for their own needs.</p>
<p>Flexible learning demands that governments and educational institutions at all levels engage directly with target communities, giving them the required resources, yet allowing the freedom them to use the resources to meet specific needs. </p>
<h2>A right to online learning?</h2>
<p>Online learning can address some forms of educational inequity, but it can also perpetuate others. </p>
<p>We risk repeating the mistakes of the past and perpetuating educational inequity. Like access to <a href="http://www.theeducationinstitute.edu.au/eduinstitute/sites/default/files/Choice-vouchers-and-the-consequences.pdf">private schooling</a>, online learning comes with a cost barrier. Those who can afford smarter technology, better and faster connectivity and 24-hour access will benefit while those who can’t, will not enjoy the same quality of access.</p>
<p>We have to decide, as a society, whether high-quality online learning is a privilege or a fundamental right.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>The series will conclude later this month with a panel discussion in Canberra co-hosted with the Office for Learning and Teaching and involving the Minister for Tertiary Education, Chris Evans.</em></p>
<p><em>Leave your comments, join the discussion on <a href="http://twitter.com/conversationEDU">twitter.com/conversationEDU</a>,<a href="http://facebook.com/conversationEDU">facebook.com/conversationEDU</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<p><strong>This is part six of our series on the <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/future-of-higher-education">Future of Higher Education</a>. You can read other instalments by clicking the links below:</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part one: <a href="https://theconversation.com/online-opportunities-digital-innovation-or-death-through-regulation-9736">Online opportunities: digital innovation or death through regulation?</a>, Jane Den Hollander</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part two: <a href="https://theconversation.com/moocs-and-exercise-bikes-more-in-common-than-youd-think-9726">MOOCs and exercise bikes – more in common than you’d think</a>, Phillip Dawson & Robert Nelson</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part three: <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-australian-universities-can-play-in-the-moocs-market-9735">How Australian universities can play in the MOOCs market</a>, David Sadler</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part four: <a href="https://theconversation.com/mooc-and-youre-out-of-a-job-uni-business-models-in-danger-9738">MOOC and you’re out of a job: uni business models in danger</a>, Mark Gregory</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part five: <a href="https://theconversation.com/radical-rethink-how-to-design-university-courses-in-the-online-age-9737">Radical rethink: how to design university courses in the online</a>, Paul Wappett</strong></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/9725/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tim Pitman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
FUTURE OF HIGHER EDUCATION: We continue our series on the rise of online and blended learning and how free online courses are set to transform the higher education sector. Today, Tim Pitman writes on who…
Tim Pitman, Senior Research Fellow, National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education, Curtin University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/9737
2012-10-11T19:55:16Z
2012-10-11T19:55:16Z
Radical rethink: how to design university courses in the online age
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/16169/original/j35rsjj3-1349322833.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C7%2C5080%2C3186&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Online learning has shown a better way to design courses.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">University image from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>FUTURE OF HIGHER EDUCATION: The rise of online and blended learning and the development of free online courses is set to transform the higher education sector. We’ve asked our authors how to remake the university sector so it can best respond to this revolution.</em> </p>
<p><em>For two weeks, we’ll be running a selection of their responses. The series will conclude later this month with a panel discussion in Canberra co-hosted with the Office for Learning and Teaching and involving the Minister for Tertiary Education, Chris Evans.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Time will tell whether Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) represent a tidal shift in the way students consume and experience education. But the free online courses have already spurred something very positive – teachers and academics are radically rethinking the way courses are designed and are looking to technology to see how teaching can be improved. </p>
<p>Even if in no other way MOOCs prove durable, these shifts in unit design should become the new standard, regardless of whether courses are taught online or face-to-face.</p>
<h2>Traditional problems</h2>
<p>MOOCs are courses available for free online from some of the world’s best known universities – they’re revolutionary in many ways but above all, they are leading the way in course design.</p>
<p>Traditionally, academic staff have designed courses within the construct of the semester system. In a 12 week semester, subject content is generally broken down into one or two face-to-face lectures per week that, depending on the discipline, may be accompanied by one or more tutorials or laboratory sessions. </p>
<p>So, academic staff generally design and develop 24 lectures at around an hour long. Each student encounters the same 24 lectures at the same pace, in the same sequence. The constraints of the lecture process means there is little opportunity for students’ exploration of the material; instead, students write, type or record the material presented and retrieve the material later when they are looking to study for the exam. </p>
<p>But there are problems with this approach. First, it assumes that the student cohort is all the same. But we know that different students bring different experience, intuition, discipline, motivation and ability to the table. </p>
<p>For any one or combination of these reasons, some students may struggle to comprehend a notion taught in week two that might be critical to understanding the material that follows, but the lecturer doesn’t necessarily get to see that lack of understanding until the final exam. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/16285/original/ppgn4st3-1349672031.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/16285/original/ppgn4st3-1349672031.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/16285/original/ppgn4st3-1349672031.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/16285/original/ppgn4st3-1349672031.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/16285/original/ppgn4st3-1349672031.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/16285/original/ppgn4st3-1349672031.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/16285/original/ppgn4st3-1349672031.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/16285/original/ppgn4st3-1349672031.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Figure 1: Traditional model for unit design and delivery.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Open Universities Australia</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Second, when the lecturer prescribes a textbook to reinforce and expand upon the material presented in class, the lecturer has no way of knowing whether students have bought the textbook, or taken it out of its packaging, or are reading it at the prescribed pace or in the prescribed sequence, or whether they understand the material contained in it. </p>
<p>As a result, in a traditionally designed course there are few signposts as to how a student is progressing.</p>
<h2>A new way</h2>
<p>Online delivery, though, provides the opportunity to take an entirely new approach. Instead of 24 lectures, great online lecturers prepare around 400 sessions, eight to 10 minutes long, ending with a short quiz. Students’ answers to those quizzes determine which part of the course they progress to next. </p>
<p>So, students doing the same unit will start at the same point, but their journey through the material will be entirely different; some will need to interact with every one of the presentations while others may need to interact with far fewer of them. And students may interact with the same number of presentations, but in an entirely different sequence. </p>
<p>In this mode, students’ experience is completely personal and adaptive to the way in which they are learning.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/16284/original/5jpb7b9q-1349671858.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/16284/original/5jpb7b9q-1349671858.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/16284/original/5jpb7b9q-1349671858.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/16284/original/5jpb7b9q-1349671858.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/16284/original/5jpb7b9q-1349671858.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/16284/original/5jpb7b9q-1349671858.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/16284/original/5jpb7b9q-1349671858.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/16284/original/5jpb7b9q-1349671858.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Figure 2: Unit design in the online world.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Open Universities Australia</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Online, you also have the great benefit of more information about how an individual student is progressing. The emerging science of learning analytics means a unit designed in a particular way will reveal that, say, a student who fails to successfully complete a component by the end of week 3 is 65% more likely to fail than another student who has successfully completed that component.</p>
<p>Teaching and support staff can essentially pinpoint the moment before the student starts to fail and intervene to stop it happening. With appropriate resourcing, we can find out exactly what is preventing the student from being able to successfully progress through the material: is it motivation, work pressures, personal issues, or that the student just doesn’t understand the material? </p>
<p>In the traditional model, teachers wouldn’t know there was a problem until it was too late and the student had already failed the exam. But in this alternative model, much more information is available.</p>
<h2>Seeing things differently</h2>
<p>Changing course design also changes how we see the student. Students are not then just empty vessels into which we pour information on the assumption that it will turn into knowledge. But instead we can give individual learners, who learn in different ways and at different speeds and via different paths, a better chance at learning. </p>
<p>If implemented widely, this will lead to far better learning outcomes for a wider range of students (without compromising standards) and also – unashamedly – to far better financial returns for both the institution and the government’s investment in funding access to education.</p>
<h2>Research vs teaching</h2>
<p>So, why isn’t this already widespread? The answers are not straightforward, but part of the answer lies in the fact that for the majority of university staff it has been too daunting or challenging to radically change the design and delivery of units. And, importantly, the incentives to make these changes are, frankly, not there. </p>
<p>While <a href="http://www.open.edu.au/oua/cole/">research into online learning</a> can help with the former, the issue of incentives is more complex. Remuneration and promotions are tied predominantly to research outputs, and teaching and learning are seen as being of secondary importance. </p>
<p>In such circumstances, it is difficult to see why lecturers would invest time and effort in developing content in a completely different way. This is the major challenge that universities, unions and the government will have to come grips with if we want to improve student learning. </p>
<p><em>We’d love you to take part: leave your comments, join the discussion on <a href="http://twitter.com/conversationEDU">twitter.com/conversationEDU</a>, <a href="http://facebook.com/conversationEDU">facebook.com/conversationEDU</a>.</em></p>
<p><strong>This is part five of our series on the <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/future-of-higher-education">Future of Higher Education</a>. You can read other instalments by clicking the links below:</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part one: <a href="https://theconversation.com/online-opportunities-digital-innovation-or-death-through-regulation-9736">Online opportunities: digital innovation or death through regulation?</a>, Jane Den Hollander</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part two: <a href="https://theconversation.com/moocs-and-exercise-bikes-more-in-common-than-youd-think-9726">MOOCs and exercise bikes – more in common than you’d think</a>, Phillip Dawson & Robert Nelson</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part three: <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-australian-universities-can-play-in-the-moocs-market-9735">How Australian universities can play in the MOOCs market</a>, David Sadler</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part four: <a href="https://theconversation.com/mooc-and-youre-out-of-a-job-uni-business-models-in-danger-9738">MOOC and you’re out of a job: uni business models in danger</a>, Mark Gregory</strong></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/9737/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Wappett works for Open Universities Australia.</span></em></p>
FUTURE OF HIGHER EDUCATION: The rise of online and blended learning and the development of free online courses is set to transform the higher education sector. We’ve asked our authors how to remake the…
Paul Wappett, Chief Executive Officer, Open Universities Australia
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/9735
2012-10-09T19:38:29Z
2012-10-09T19:38:29Z
How Australian universities can play in the MOOCs market
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/16265/original/yzbp5zqw-1349654356.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C444%2C1187%2C955&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Massive open online education could be the answer to addressing community and industry needs.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Head image from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>FUTURE OF HIGHER EDUCATION: The rise of online and blended learning and the development of free online courses is set to transform the higher education sector. We’ve asked our authors how to remake the university sector so it can best respond to this revolution.</em></p>
<p><em>For two weeks, we’ll be running a selection of their responses. The series will conclude later this month with a panel discussion in Canberra co-hosted with the Office for Learning and Teaching and involving the Minister for Tertiary Education, Chris Evans.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Universities with global reputations have been the first to establish themselves as big name players in the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) market. Their ventures, including Coursera, Udacity and edX, are all dominating this space with large numbers of students enrolled.</p>
<p>The billion dollar question for Australian universities is: how can we compete with the world’s most prestigious institutions in the MOOC space? On a comprehensive scale, maybe we can’t. </p>
<p>But their popularity has shown one thing conclusively – there is a hunger for learning out there in the community that is not being met by normal avenues. </p>
<p>Australian universities should embrace this challenge and see it as an opportunity to cater to this market for learning, personal and professional development by engaging with our communities and local industry to see what skills and knowledge are needed.</p>
<h2>A fork in the road</h2>
<p>What do we know so far? Levels of interest are staggering: courses with 100,000+ registrations. Coursera, for example, reports that more than 1.3 million people have tried at least one of their MOOCs. </p>
<p>Despite the excitement around these big numbers, there is still much uncertainty. Drop-out rates run at around 85-90%, with lack of time, motivation, technical and cultural confusion cited as reasons for withdrawal. Sustainable business models have also not yet been developed while it is still unclear what value completion is in terms of credit for credentials, or how MOOCs align with regulatory requirements.</p>
<p>But the interest in MOOCs cannot be so easily dismissed. The scale is a phenomenon which renders comparisons with traditional enrolment and retention rates unhelpful. It is one thing to withdraw from a degree where so much personal (and often familial) investment has been in the qualification and quite another when it is free, enrolment takes seconds and the decision to withdraw is painless.</p>
<h2>Why join a MOOC?</h2>
<p>Understanding why people have been drawn to MOOCs is a key part of the puzzle for Australian universities. Many join a MOOC to simply explore an interest or to experiment. Many others seek to develop specific areas of expertise in a range of educational, technical or professional employment settings.</p>
<p>As e-learning consultant Lou McGill <a href="http://www.jisc.ac.uk/events/2012/07/webinarmooc.aspx">recently noted</a> some are motivated to join a MOOC for unique networking opportunities with others who have similar interests, those already in their preferred profession or with students currently enrolled in the courses delivered in more traditional environments.</p>
<p>But edX’s <a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/09/12/edx-explores-demographics-most-persistent-mooc-students">recent survey</a> tells us that successful students overwhelmingly preferred their MOOC experience to their previous engagement with comparable courses. </p>
<p>While this may be a specific comment on the quality of the EdX course, it is surely telling us something about the learning preferences of today’s students and the extent to which our offerings are meeting their needs and expectations. </p>
<h2>What next?</h2>
<p>So how do we respond? One model we’ve seen already is collaboration between elite institutions both for brand positioning and shared development, like University of Melbourne has <a href="http://theconversation.com/melbourne-uni-signs-on-to-coursera-with-others-expected-to-follow-9720">done recently through Coursera</a>.</p>
<p>Another approach, as is being used at UTAS, is a targeted development of courses that relate directly to community needs. </p>
<p>One example is our plan for using MOOCs to help with our understanding of dementia – an area of acute social need at the local, national and global level. These MOOCs will explore the current scientific knowledge of the disease including development, progression, treatment options and societal impacts, drawing on substantial <a href="http://www.utas.edu.au/wicking/">research expertise within the university</a>. </p>
<p>The MOOCs are designed for a broad range of students from professional health disciplines, carers, individuals with the early stages of the disease, health policymakers and social scientists. Over the longer term, we will use analytics to assess what approaches and activities work best in terms of student learning.</p>
<p>While the MOOCs are designed to address an acute social need, they will also showcase the work of the university and offer an articulation to the Associate Degree in Dementia Care for students who complete the course.</p>
<h2>Embracing the unknown</h2>
<p>This is just one example where a university could help address an issue important to the community. But you can easily imagine many more areas where a MOOC could help with professional development or help give the training that industry needs.</p>
<p>There are no guarantees of success and there are considerable challenges to overcome, including the issue of the business model. But providing further information and education on the basis of need is our attempt to maximise the opportunities of this disruptive moment.</p>
<p><em>We’d love you to take part: leave your comments, join the discussion on <a href="http://twitter.com/conversationEDU">twitter.com/conversationEDU</a>, <a href="http://facebook.com/conversationEDU">facebook.com/conversationEDU</a>.</em></p>
<p><strong>This is part three of our series on the <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/future-of-higher-education">Future of Higher Education</a>. You can read other instalments by clicking the links below:</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part one: <a href="https://theconversation.com/online-opportunities-digital-innovation-or-death-through-regulation-9736">Online opportunities: digital innovation or death through regulation?</a>, Jane Den Hollander</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part two: <a href="https://theconversation.com/moocs-and-exercise-bikes-more-in-common-than-youd-think-9726">MOOCs and exercise bikes – more in common than you’d think</a>, Phillip Dawson & Robert Nelson</strong></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/9735/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Sadler works for the University of Tasmania as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Students and Education). Together with Professor Whelehan, he has an Ofiice for Learning and Teaching (OLT) grant to work on open educational resources and serves on the Strategic Advisory Committee of the OLT</span></em></p>
FUTURE OF HIGHER EDUCATION: The rise of online and blended learning and the development of free online courses is set to transform the higher education sector. We’ve asked our authors how to remake the…
David Sadler, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Students & Education), University of Tasmania
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/9726
2012-10-08T19:21:32Z
2012-10-08T19:21:32Z
MOOCs and exercise bikes – more in common than you’d think
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/15957/original/hykwdpvp-1348798903.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=50%2C0%2C5565%2C3741&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Are you motivated or do you need a social setting and role models to keep you driven?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Exercise bike image from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>FUTURE OF HIGHER EDUCATION: The rise of online and blended learning and the development of free online courses is set to transform the higher education sector. We’ve asked our authors how to remake the university sector so it can best respond to this revolution.</em> </p>
<p><em>For two weeks, we’ll be running a selection of their responses. The series will conclude later this month with a panel discussion in Canberra co-hosted with the Office for Learning and Teaching and involving the Minister for Tertiary Education, Chris Evans.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>If you have an exercise bike in the back room, you could be the small selection of people that use it everyday to get fit. But then again, you could be one of many more who bought it in the hope of regular practice but were unable to make it part of your routine.</p>
<p>The MOOC or Massive Open Online Course, which has come to prominence this year, often has much the same effect. Students may enrol in the online free courses from <a href="https://www.coursera.org/universities">prestigious universities</a> in their tens of thousands, but overwhelmingly they bomb out with attrition rates up to <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/peter_norvig_the_100_000_student_classroom.html">80-90%</a>. </p>
<p>For most would-be participants, the MOOC is like the unloved exercise bike that haunts you with feelings of inadequacy and failure.</p>
<h2>The theory is sound</h2>
<p>MOOCs have gathered a lot of attention recently for good reasons. They are built by excellent charismatic teachers from brand name universities; they are very convenient and free to access. Predictions suggest that they will inevitably replace much that universities do. Among polite academics, you can fill a room with instant fear just by saying the acronym. In one sublime syllable, this spectre seems to spell death for conventional teaching or even blended-learning. </p>
<p>The MOOC also comes at a time when the Australian government and universities are trying to <a href="http://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/page/policy---advocacy/bradley---cutler-implementation/">broaden participation</a>, including a government target to get 40% of 25-34 olds holding a bachelors degree or higher qualification by 2025. In this context, the free-to-try education may be seen as a tempting capacity-builder on a sector that is already stretched, particularly when trying to target students who may be under-prepared or from rural, regional, or outer-metropolitan areas. </p>
<p>Existing programs designed to bridge these students’ transitions to higher education <a href="http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol33/iss5/2/">privilege pastoral care and often have high staff to student ratios</a>. Sending students to “do a MOOC” would be a free trial-by-fire: and we could give the stars who complete Norvig’s Artificial Intelligence course entry into a computer science degree at an Australian university. </p>
<p>Perhaps the Australian Institute of Sport could do the same with exercise bike users with the most succesful to become track cyclists? But of course, herein lies the problem.</p>
<h2>Beginners need not apply</h2>
<p>For many academics MOOCs make sense – they are a bit like the elite athlete, who might need do training at home, for which the exercise bike is a great all-weather, convenient option. But for the average person new to physical activity, the exercise bike is alluring but ultimately problematic. </p>
<p>It is low stakes: nobody knows how good or bad we are on the thing and it’s very cheap compared to the gym. Beyond the initial investment of the equipment there aren’t really any costs, no punctures or hazards. But because nobody else is around to witness your struggles, there is also no feedback (apart from beeps and glowing lights).</p>
<p>Instead, <a href="http://eprints.bham.ac.uk/426/">for the beginner, a group class is more suitable</a>. Seeing others do what you want to do is very motivating; you feel a sense of commitment to the group, and your investment buoys you along.</p>
<p>In theory, the exercise bike is a brilliant invention; but its psychological effects are clear. It makes exercise socially introverted: we can pump away and no one will know about our exertions and embarrassments until we emerge like Hercules, except that we’re more likely to give up. </p>
<p>If somebody asks us or wants to check up on our progress, we are tempted to lie: “Oh I use it all the time, almost daily!” After all, your pride is at stake. These delusions possibly align with the <a href="https://theconversation.com/credentials-in-the-cloud-how-will-moocs-deal-with-plagiarism-8581">cheating problems in MOOCs</a>. What is cheating in such a low-stakes circumstance but a dishonest salvation from feelings of inadequacy? </p>
<h2>Insecure learning</h2>
<p>It has been suggested that the massive attrition in MOOCs is due simply to curiosity-driven or tentative toe-in-the-water enrolments, more like sampling, of little significance in terms of commitment. </p>
<p>Again, academics who have proved themselves by gaining a PhD, will not be vulnerable to any insecurities when they abandon the MOOC after taking a look around. And while everyone will have different reasons for discontinuing, not all of them will be so cavalier as to consider it educational window-shopping. Of the 80–90% of people who give up, we cannot assume that they are all indifferent to withdrawing, some will feel the disappointment of another abandoned attempt at education. </p>
<p>In a MOOC, however, nobody cares how you feel when you stop showing up, any more than the exercise bike feels compassion for your lack of persistence. The MOOC is the degree zero of the pastoral tradition.</p>
<h2>Online limitations</h2>
<p>In a sense, anything available online and free is a good thing for lots of people, but our obligation as educators is to see that the material is understood. We have responsibilities for the time that we occupy the attention of our students and the hopes that they put into their studies. </p>
<p>At its core, the MOOC assumes that students are self-regulated learners who already have the academic and ICT skills necessary to succeed at study. But all students are people whom we have to look after academically; and in this duty of care, the MOOC has everything counting against it.</p>
<p><em>Do you think you could learn solo on a MOOC? Or do you think you need a class context with student-teacher interaction? Please leave your comments below.</em></p>
<p><strong>This is part two of our series on the <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/future-of-higher-education">Future of Higher Education</a>. You can read other instalments by clicking the links below:</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part one: <a href="https://theconversation.com/online-opportunities-digital-innovation-or-death-through-regulation-9736">Online opportunities: digital innovation or death through regulation?</a>, Jane Den Hollander</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part three: <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-australian-universities-can-play-in-the-moocs-market-9735">How Australian universities can play in the MOOCs market</a>, David Sadler</strong></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/9726/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert Nelson receives funding from the OLT for a project on assessment-as-learning.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Phillip Dawson receives funding from the Office for Learning and Teaching, and NetSpot. He is also the Editor of the Journal of Peer Learning.</span></em></p>
FUTURE OF HIGHER EDUCATION: The rise of online and blended learning and the development of free online courses is set to transform the higher education sector. We’ve asked our authors how to remake the…
Robert Nelson, Associate Director Student Experience, Monash University
Phillip Dawson, Lecturer in Learning and Teaching, Monash University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/9736
2012-10-07T19:32:11Z
2012-10-07T19:32:11Z
Online opportunities: digital innovation or death through regulation?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/16042/original/r8gz37gn-1349065646.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C7210%2C4284&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A flexible online learning environment is what Australian university students want, so what's getting in the way?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Student image from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>FUTURE OF HIGHER EDUCATION: The rise of online and blended learning and the development of free online courses is set to transform the higher education sector. We’ve asked our authors how to remake the university sector so it can best respond to this revolution.</em> </p>
<p><em>For two weeks, we’ll be running a selection of their responses. The series will conclude later this month with a panel discussion in Canberra co-hosted with the Office for Learning and Teaching and involving the Minister for Tertiary Education, Chris Evans.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>The steady measured progress of innovation in higher education has been replaced with an explosion of new ideas. The change is both exhilarating and frightening. Each day there are new innovations, as more and <a href="http://hackeducation.com/2012/09/24/pathbrite-and-portfolios/">more experts</a> explain where these changes might take us. </p>
<p>New ideas are flourishing around <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/massive-open-online-courses">Massive Open Online Courses</a> or MOOCs, badging, portfolios, assessment, and other ways of extracting value and efficiency from the digital learning experience. Just six months ago most of us had never heard of MOOCs, but if you search for this very odd acronym now you get a flood of results.</p>
<p>Much of the digital innovation so far has come from the United States, but what about Australia? There are some urgent questions around whether we, too, are able to nurture innovation.</p>
<h2>Regulation and restriction</h2>
<p>There is, at the moment, a reasonably rigid regulatory environment for Australian universities: the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) is the regulator and the Australian Qualifications Framework Council (AQFC) sets the framework within which we must operate. </p>
<p>There are rules, for example, about the volume of learning and the time required to receive an award. But will these rules matter with the transition to online self-paced learning? </p>
<p>Currently incorporating new technology within this regulatory framework is difficult. For example, I’ve been trying to get digital badges to count towards the testamur; and using micro badges as a way to build interesting portfolios for those who do not want whole degrees. Shoehorning some of these innovations into the Australian Regulatory Framework is testing. </p>
<p>And what if they don’t fit? There will be risks in trying out new ideas and providing students with a better flexible, mobile education. But the bigger risk might well be sticking with the old paradigm. Our students may look elsewhere for other institutions, whether they be here or abroad, online or face-to-face.</p>
<p>How TEQSA, the <a href="http://www.teqsa.gov.au/higher-education-standards-panel">Standards Panel</a> and the AQFC get up to speed on these new disruptive innovations must be a consideration for anyone about to launch their own MOOC or looking to reconfigure their award content and accreditation. </p>
<h2>Challenges ahead</h2>
<p>There are two other challenges that I see as potential barriers to Australian-driven innovation.</p>
<p>The first is the short supply of venture capital to test new ideas. For example, <a href="https://www.coursera.org/account/signin">Coursera</a>, the current darling of the new disruptive environment, was started through venture capital in the US. It enabled them to develop a stylish and flexible new learning platform which has set a new standard. </p>
<p>Coursera, along with other groups like EdX have an exclusivity that means prestige is assured. So far, only top ranked universities can join, which means only a few institutions from Australia. Like the very rich who marry within a small cohort of similar families, with MOOCs the Ivy League and the Sandstones are likely to only partner up with each other. </p>
<p>While it’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/melbourne-uni-signs-on-to-coursera-with-others-expected-to-follow-9720">a good signal that our best institutions</a> are accepted into companies such as Coursera, what are we, the large majority who actually educate the wider population doing to develop and foster our own new teaching and learning tools? The game is slowly changing with some MOOC platforms becoming more flexible about who they partner up with. But we need to find ways to access capital and soon, or risk being left behind.</p>
<h2>Risky business</h2>
<p>The second challenge is risk aversion, which in a way comes back to regulation. The appetite to try the new, to innovate always has some pain. Introducing new things into a class of second year students is sometimes met with howls of despair and the associated drop in satisfaction recorded in our evaluation systems. </p>
<p>As education institutions, we have become slaves to getting a “good” score. We need to be braver. This does not mean being fool hardy and it does not mean using our classrooms, in the cloud or on location, for hasty experiments. </p>
<p>But it does mean we should be looking at ensuring our students learn in ways that will demonstrate their skills and enable them to be successful in the new economy.</p>
<p>Our old ways will not wash anymore and if we don’t change, our students <em>will</em> go elsewhere. The cloud, which enables international providers to engage our students for education and credit, is but a click away.</p>
<p>Will Rogers famously summed it up: “even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there”. The paradigm shift is occurring and we all, educators, regulators and governors, need to be thinking and innovating with an increased appetite for risk - or we will be run over.</p>
<p><em>We’d love you to take part: leave your comments, join the discussion on <a href="http://twitter.com/conversationEDU">twitter.com/conversationEDU</a>, <a href="http://facebook.com/conversationEDU">facebook.com/conversationEDU</a>.</em></p>
<p><strong>This is part one of our series on the <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/future-of-higher-education">Future of Higher Education</a>. You can read other instalments by clicking the links below:</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part two: <a href="https://theconversation.com/moocs-and-exercise-bikes-more-in-common-than-youd-think-9726">MOOCs and exercise bikes – more in common than you’d think</a>, Phillip Dawson and Robert Nelson</strong></p>
<p><strong>Part three: <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-australian-universities-can-play-in-the-moocs-market-9735">How Australian universities can play in the MOOCs market</a>, David Sadler</strong></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/9736/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jane Den Hollander is Vice Chancellor of Deakin University and a Universities Australia Board member
</span></em></p>
FUTURE OF HIGHER EDUCATION: The rise of online and blended learning and the development of free online courses is set to transform the higher education sector. We’ve asked our authors how to remake the…
Jane Den Hollander AO, Vice-Chancellor , Deakin University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.