{"id":108445,"date":"2020-11-08T21:19:19","date_gmt":"2020-11-09T03:19:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=108445"},"modified":"2020-11-08T14:07:51","modified_gmt":"2020-11-08T21:07:51","slug":"online-education-how-can-we-get-the-next-phase-right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2020\/11\/08\/online-education-how-can-we-get-the-next-phase-right\/","title":{"rendered":"Online Education: How can we get the next phase right?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr. Gamini Padmaperuma<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

Background<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Online Learning has become a household term and is fast\nbecoming a way of life. Schoolchildren and students from state and non-state\nhigher educational institutions, and their teachers and lecturers have started\nexperiencing online teaching and learning during the last several months.\nAlthough online teaching and learning existed in a limited scale before the\nonset of Covid-19, a rapid transition to online teaching and learning occurred\nfollowing the closure of educational institutions owing to the spread of virus.\nThe way and speed with which the educational institutions adapted to and faced\nthe challenges of shifting to online learning are commendable. Higher\neducational institutions and schools, and private tutors have implemented\nonline teaching and learning with varying success. The general satisfaction\nlevel among the students and teachers about online learning appears to be somewhat\nsatisfactory despite certain shortcomings such as internet connection issues\nand associated costs, lack of suitable digital devices to practise online\nlearning and appropriate learning material, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Definitions and\ncontexts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Online learning<\/strong> can be broadly defined as learning\nthat takes place over the Internet. However, online learning is just one type\nof distance learning<\/strong> \u2013 the ubrell term for any learning that takes place\nacross distance and not in a traditional classroom. Online learning can\nbe used in both distance learning and in face-to-face context. Blended learning\nuses a mix of online and traditional face-to-face approaches. This however,\nmakes it necessary for the online learning material to be prepared with appropriate\ndesign features. It is not effective to use teaching material prepared for\nface-to-face context in online teaching without modifications as the two contexts\nare quite different. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Current Situation <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The common approaches to online teaching have been to use\nfree videoconferencing software such as Zoom to organize online lecture\nsessions where the lecturer explains the subject matter using PowerPoint slides\nor whiteboards. Lecture notes are sent to students electronically in advance to\nread and come prepared for the Zoom session on a specified date.  During Zoom sessions, the lecturer explains\nmaterial, solves problems, questions students, answers student queries, etc. In\nsome sessions, video and audio clips are played or sent them for use by\nstudents at their leisure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notes, hand-outs, etc. prepared for face-to-face teaching\nmay not be attractive to all the online learners. There are different types of\nlearners in any given student cohort. Four primary types of learners are Visual,\nAuditory, Reading\/Writing preference and Kinaesthetic. Appropriately designed\nonline lessons shall meet most of these learner types. When particular learning\nmaterial cannot meet all types learner styles, there shall be other\ncomplementary material which can satisfy the unmet styles. Ideally, there shall\nbe different learning material which caters for different types of learners.\nAttention also needs to be given to learners who have visual, auditory and\nother impairments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some institutions have more structured online courses which\nare designed and built using Learning Management Systems (LMS) which also\nenable effective course and programme administration. In other institutions, LMS\nare used primarily for routine course administration purposes only; uploading\nassignments, receiving answer scripts, project submissions, conducting surveys,\nrecording online presence, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The above emphasises the importance of appropriate design of\ninstructions to suit online learning. In order to achieve desired learning\nobjectives, the lessons need to be designed using appropriate instructional design\nstrategies and models. Instructions need to be developed with high visual\nappeal, clearly stated learning outcomes, means for close engagement,\navailability of feedback on student performance, summaries of core content,\nappropriate media components, all delivered in small chunks to sustain student\nattention during the lesson. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the access to many institutional web servers has been\nmade free by many educational institutions in collaboration with telecom\nproviders, poor internet connections in rural areas, costs associated with\ngeneral internet access, heavy dependence on mobile phones (with attendant\nlimitations) for online learning due to lack of better devices such as tabs or\nlaptops have not made online learning a pleasant experience to a significant\nportion of learners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Actions to get the\nnext phase right<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that the first phase of online learning has passed, what comes\nnext? Following are a few specific actions that universities and other\neducational institutions could take to help improve student learning,\nengagement, and experience while operating remotely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These moves may inspire institutions to\npilot new initiatives, learn what works, iterate, and position themselves to\ncreate capabilities that will enhance instruction permanently. However, the\neducational institutions may not be able to handle all of them alone. Due\norganizational, professional and financial support need to be provided by the\ngovernment, public and private sector corporations, non-governmental\norganizations, professional institutions, philanthropists, specialists, consultants,\nalumni, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Focus on access and\nequity:<\/strong><\/em> Moving\nfrom on-campus to remote learning raises issues related to access and equity.\nThere are the immediate logistical challenges of ensuring students have the\nbasic technology they need to learn remotely. Some possible actions include: offer\nstipends for internet access and laptop rentals or purchases. Provision of\nloaned equipment and hot spots for internet access to under-resourced students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consideration also needs to be given to\neffects on mental health and stress created by the epidemic, and also to mitigate\nthe additional difficulties encountered by physically impaired learners due to\nshifting to online education, e.g. provision of recorded lessons with captions,\netc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Support faculty<\/em><\/strong>:<\/em> Most academics are working hard to respond\ncreatively to teach their students to the same standards. What methods work\nbest in a remote environment will differ by discipline and the technology\navailable. There are a few broad ways that institutions can help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • Offer more teaching support.<\/em> Many\ninstitutions have centres that offer support to faculty in their teaching;\nthese should be scaled up and shift their orientation to support the academics\nin design and development of online learning material and learning\nenvironments.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
    • Use social media and online forums to share best practices.<\/em> Highlighting\nand explaining successful remote-teaching practices during faculty meetings can\ncultivate a sense of camaraderie, as well as a culture of sharing and\nimproving. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
      • Set up a structure for the faculty to get regular\nfeedback on their teaching.<\/em> Two sources are: student surveys and engagement\ndata derived from LMS. These surveys should be used not to judge professors,\nbut to give them information on how students are responding and where they can\nimprove. Survey results can also give administrators a sense of where they\nmight need to intervene to support student learning.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
        • Create online \u2018student centres\u2019.<\/em>  As\ninstitutions move to remote learning, they can think about how to use existing\ntools to move in-person gatherings online and open up spaces for discussions,\nevents, wellness classes, study groups and online tutoring. This is to offer\nvirtual spaces in lieu of physical ones to enable the university community to\ncontinue to connect. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
          • Activate stakeholders.<\/em>  One\nway to start is by identifying and activating tech-savvy students and staff to\ncoach faculty and other students to use online tools. Another possibility is to\nask alumni and community members to provide remote mentorship and coaching to\nsupport students with remote learning, career discussions, and virtual\ninternships.  <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
            • Invest in cybersecurity to ensure the continuity of\nteaching and learning.<\/em>  This is to ensure security and data privacy\nwhile enabling teaching and learning to go on. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

              Summary                                                                                                     <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Often with limited experience and training, our\neducational institutions have hurriedly shifted to online learning and\nteaching. Many have done so in an exemplary manner; others have not been as\nsuccessful, at least so far. This can provide institutions with an opportunity\nto experiment and innovate. Universities may find that they have a new\nremote-learning capability that can be integrated with on-campus instruction,\nto everyone\u2019s benefit, when this crisis has passed. This added online education capability can directly\nassist the government in meeting its commitment to increase the intakes to\nuniversities and provide access to higher education to all who qualify.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Author:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Dr.\nGamini Padmaperuma, a Fellow Member of IESL and a former Senior Lecturer at\nOUSL, holds a PhD from the University of Canterbury, NZ. His PhD thesis was on\nInstructional Design for Computer-Based Learning. email: gamini_pad@hotmail.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

              Dr. Gamini Padmaperuma Background Online Learning has become a household term and is fast becoming a way of life. Schoolchildren and students from state and non-state higher educational institutions, and their teachers and lecturers have started experiencing online teaching and learning during the last several months. Although online teaching and learning existed in a limited […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[133],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-108445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108445"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108445\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}