To what lengths would you go to avoid online learning?
The corona crisis seems to make us more creative… for better or worse. As universities are starting to make plans for the fall semester, I am surprised each day by the ideas they put forward. There’s nothing wrong with trying to design the “campus of the future”, but what I’m reading these days has very little to do with innovative learning spaces.
After a semester of emergency remote teaching, many universities are now planning to open their campuses, at least partly, in autumn. With the pandemic threat not yet out of the way, you can imagine that the reopened campus will not look like anything we now associate with a thriving learning space. From strict traffic rules inside the campus, to limited numbers of socially distant students in the classroom, from plexiglass walls to limiting the freedom of students to talk to their peers- a lot of logistical, pedagogical and safety challenges arise.
Universities seem to prefer this dystopian scenario to committing and investing into quality online instruction. It’s true, online pedagogy, when done well, is a real investment, especially at the level of human resources, i.e. dedicated instructional designers to work with faculty on course and curriculum design. Delivering quality online (and blended) learning is also a serious commitment at management level, one that still seems a step too far for many universities. The underlying perception that online education is a second class mode of instruction seems to prevail, sadly also among students, few of whom have had the chance to follow quality online courses so far. Yes, it might have saved us during the pandemic, but we don’t trust technology enough to engage with it to design the future of education.
This attitude is very familiar to me from the extensive research I’ve done in the past years. But even I am surprised by the lengths some universities go to just to avoid investing in online learning. I personally have a hard time imagining learning taking place in these newly adjusted spaces. And by learning I don’t mean teacher-led knowledge transmission (which, by the way, also might feel weird from behind plexiglass), but active, student-centred learning. The kind we’ve been talking about for the past decades. Remember simulations, problem-based learning, group work? Remember the interactive moments in the lecture we are all striving for? You think Zoom meetings are awkward? Well, think again: the socially distant classroom might limit pedagogical potential (I’m not even talking about potential for innovation!) even more than online learning is perceived to.
Instead of trying to engage in a more positive way with the digital space and look for learning opportunities, it is all too easy to strive to recreate “the old normal”, to go back to our comfort zones. Unfortunately, this now means offering our students a sub-optimal learning experience doubled by an awkward social experience on campus. I am curious to see what’s next…
Thanks for reading! I am looking forward to reading your thoughts or suggestions in the comments below. For more insights, analysis and tips on (higher) education, online teaching and UX design, follow me on Twitter and/or sign up to my newsletter!