Going online? What universities should do next

Never in the past decade, since I’ve been professionally engaged with it, have I seen so much written about online learning on a daily basis. It has certainly become a fashionable topic, with many different opinions being debated but also, thankfully, with a lot of useful tips on how to move courses online in an effective manner. But while corona crisis brought online learning to the front page, we should by no means take it for granted that this sudden boost in popularity will have (only) positive consequences for teaching and learning in the virtual environment.

In the past weeks universities all over the world have been forced to switch from face-to-face to online teaching in a matter of days. Such a disruption is challenging for all those involved (students, teachers, university administration) because it is unexpected and requires a swift response. But for universities in particular this is an even greater challenge. In general, Higher Education institutions are known to be rather conservative environments, fond of preserving their own identity and not always keen on experimenting. Thus, even though digital technologies have become ubiquitous, universities have so far been engaging with them mainly at a superficial level. Especially in the educational process, teaching online has often been perceived as less serious than face-to-face teaching, resulting in a small number of adopters among teachers, often those who already had an interest in teaching and wanted to experiment with different modes. Moreover, the levels of support offered by universities for teaching with technology differ widely, with more systematic support offered in the US and UK, while in many European countries this is often organised on an ad-hoc basis.

Crisis mode

And here we are. March 2020. Corona crisis hits. One by one universities announce they are moving all their teaching online with immediate effect. In an instant, online learning- the “black sheep”- becomes the only way to safeguard “instructional continuity”. Even with a high level of emergency mobilisation, it is clear that this situation leaves both teachers and students largely unprepared, with many of them having never taught or attended an online course before and in (too) many cases with very few resources at their disposal to learn on the go. This also puts a lot of extra pressure on the existing support structures (where they exist!). While the situation is far from being ideal, we are now in “emergency online teaching” mode. All of a sudden technology is no longer a “nice to have”, but pretty much the only thing we have to maintain contact with students and with colleagues. Realistically speaking, in most cases this will not result in an optimal online learning experience. Nor is this really expected at the moment. But I think it is very important to make this very clear.

In these extraordinary circumstances, technology can help universities to continue delivering their courses until the semester ends. The situation is extremely volatile and there is a lot of uncertainty as to how long all this will last. With that in mind and in order to make the best use of what technology can offer, universities should consider these issues:

• communication and expectation management: with many students and teachers facing a totally new situation (the total absence- and impossibility- of face-to-face contact makes this different to blended learning scenarios some might have used in the past), it is crucial to explain each measure clearly and open communication channels accessible to everyone;
• choice of technology tools: this is not a moment to introduce people to new tools and platforms. If possible, universities need to make the most of the existing tools; sometimes this requires a little bit of extra thinking to combine or repurpose them if necessary. At least those Learning Management Systems might turn out to have more useful functions than uploading course materials and posting grades.
• online teaching ≠video lectures: although recording lectures may seem the obvious thing to do right now, this will not translate into the best educational experience. Students are less likely to listen to long video-lectures, especially now when they are stuck at home with a whole new daily routine. So it is a good moment to encourage and support teachers to think of new ways of engaging students. There is no time for formal training, but compiling practical resources on online learning practices and providing teachers with a forum to exchange ideas can be a useful first step and something to build on in the next months.
• assessment: this is a tricky one. With the situation likely to run into the exam season, assessment is going to be rather complicated and many universities might need to adapt their exam regulations. Technology enables various types of assignments, depending on the discipline, but online assessment is not yet a mainstream procedure in many institutions. Students and teachers need clarity on this issue in order to perform well, so new assessment modes should be a high priority for university management right now.

Beyond the crisis

Even though at this point we would need a crystal ball to read into the future, it is important to try to think beyond the crisis and prepare accordingly. If we learned anything from this experience it is that sustainable measures need to be put into place in order to be better equipped next time a crisis occurs (and no doubt it will) or in case the corona crisis is prolonged into the next academic year. This involves serious investment both into infrastructure and into support structures. Whatever form these structures take, the idea is to have interdisciplinary teams including teaching staff, administration, instructional/ learning designers and IT staff working together on a regular basis. In the long run, this work flows will lead to a seamless integration of technology into the teaching and learning process. In “normal times”, this translates into a hybrid learning environment that is engaging and supportive for the students. In “crisis times”, it means ensuring continuity by maintaining high quality standards and without putting extra pressure on any of the groups involved. In order to effectively integrate technology in their courses, teachers also need specialised training on learning design. While some universities offer this type of workshops, they are often not mandatory and therefore attendance is low- although I suspect many teachers now wish they attended when they had the chance.

This crisis has shown the role technology can play in keeping us connected and at least to some extent, allowing teaching and learning to go on remotely. Hopefully many students and teachers will make the most of this experiment and have positive experiences. Maybe some of them will see the value of incorporating some technology tools in future face-to-face courses too. And maybe for some teachers this is an occasion to reassess their teaching and perhaps dare to approach it differently. A lot of this will depend on how universities will react during and after this crisis. Will we see Higher Education institutions finally engaging with the digital age in a strategic, responsible manner, making sure technology is not just an “emergency tool kit” but an essential ingredient connecting the academic community?

I will continue to write on this topic in the next weeks so if you want to read more you can follow me on Twitter or sign up for my newsletter.