EMBRACING THE NEW
Educators are learning to adapt amid pandemic, as technology transforms teaching methods
Educators are learning to adapt amid the pandemic, with technology changing teaching methods.
Post-secondary educators have always been focused on providing students with the learning experiences they need to succeed. But more than a year after the arrival of the pandemic, they continue to see their approach to education evolve. So much so that many professors have not only embraced new and emerging technologies to foster exemplary learning experiences, they’ve accepted that these models of delivery are likely here to stay.
According to Tricia Johnson, an assistant professor in the department of visual arts at Western University, one of the challenges with the initial shift to online learning was delving into OWL (Online Western Learning) and VoiceThread, two little-used learning platforms that had already been in place for years.
“There’s a common misconception that educators have had to invent, or discover, digital education tools entirely during the pandemic, which is simply not true,” she says. “Pre-COVID, the option was there for Western professors to use either platform as much or as little as they wanted, and many professors took the time to create and fine-tune content as needed.”
Once the pandemic hit — and the pivot to online learning became necessary — Johnson says that learning how to effectively use these technologies became a process for many professors who had not yet experienced them.
“Thankfully, a series of workshops, dispersed information and hired course designers helped professors pivot very successfully to teaching online,” says JohnIn son, who opted to create an additional series of demo videos and narrated PowerPoint labs for her first-year studio art course. Eventually, she expanded the idea to her entire course — to great success.
For Jeremy Lucyk, a professor within Centennial College’s publishing program, while shifting to virtual education came with its inevitable difficulties, he says that teaching a niche, postgraduate program afforded him many unique advantages. “It’s fair to say that, because all of my students were already passionate and experienced learners with a deep interest in the publishing industry, they were able to thrive in tech-driven, remote-work situations, which obviously wasn’t the reality for most students,” he says.
“Similarly, my colleagues are more or less used to a largely online work environment —Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Suite are industry standards — and though there were some hiccups in the initial pivoting process, we were lucky to have experience in the field, as well as robust support and training from Centennial.”
Lucyk’s case, in addition to required textbooks and the aforementioned programs, he also added voice-overs before exporting the content as videos.
“I also do live and recorded workplace techniques and centre my assignments in the same programs to get my material across in ways that I hope meet the unique learning needs of students both generally and individually,” he says.
It’s meeting these needs that’s proven an ongoing challenge for educators across the board, he adds.
“In the past, we’ve consistently — and surprisingly — found that it’s students who have resisted the move to online or digital education. We can, and have, produced all the e-texts, online ancillaries and accessible lectures we can, but students often prefer a paper textbook, their own notes and time spent in an actual classroom,” he says.
With that knowledge in mind, the focus of many educators is on how to engage with students virtually while presenting materials in formats that are most effective for myriad learning styles.
As for what the future of post-secondary virtual education holds, though Lucyk is vehemently pro-technology and recognizes that online learning has enhanced education practices of late, he says he’s concerned about an increasing reliance on it.
“This delivery model doesn’t always take into account the requirements of a given field or topic, or the unique learning needs of students generally and individually. In my mind, the question shouldn’t be ‘can this class be taught online?’ but ‘is online the best way to teach this class?’ ”
In Johnson’s case, while she believes the practice isn’t going anywhere, she does expect that adopting a hybrid teaching approach will be likely.
“I don’t think virtual education will totally replace learning in-person, as architectural learning spaces are powerful and necessary,” she says.
“From my perspective and that of many professors I know, there were many moments last year when we realized that certain courses were better conducted online than in person … so we’ll have to move ahead looking for the balance and flexibility that allows us to meet the needs of everyone involved.”