Getting Back to the New Normal - What does Online Teaching and Learning Look Like Going Forward?

Lucian Tipi, Head of Teaching and Learning Enhancement, Sheffield Hallam University

The end of paperless society has been talked about for decades now. However, the world prints more matter than at any other point in its history. Academia is one of the areas where the printed matter was (still is…) ubiquitous. Has the current Covid crisis given printed matter the boot and online teaching and learning an unassailable boost is as far as higher education is concerned?

Let us examine a bit what we’re likely to keep from our extensive online experiences and ways of doing things of the past year and a half as we all try to get back to the new post-pandemic normal.

The days of the in-person, on-campus, large lectures, where hundreds of students gather together and take notes seem to be numbered. Students like the convenience of pre-recorded or synchronously delivered and recorded materials combined as this do not disrupt (for the sake of a one-hour session typically) their busy schedule that includes paid jobs and commuting.

In a similar vein, it has been proven possible to run large-scale examinations online. Online exams support well a range of students from various backgrounds, including BAME and international students that may be disadvantaged by the requirements of attending on campus. Concerns remain around maintaining academic integrity and the availability of technology for some groups of students. However, both of these issues can be mitigated through the provision of technological solutions for exams invigilation and of computing equipment through the on-campus services (e.g. library, computer rooms, etc.).

What we’re seeing at the moment is the development of teaching and learning delivery models that include a substantial amount of online delivery

All HE institutions in the UK have invested large sums of money, usually millions of pounds over the last 18 months, to acquire various technologies and upskill staff and students. Hardware upgrades to teaching spaces took place so that dual on-campus and remote delivery can take place. All academics are now equipped with portable computing facilities (laptops, smartphones, and tablets). A variety of virtual learning environments enhancements have been put in place, for example, upgrades to Blackboard Ultra and integration with tools such as Panopto. Significant amounts of training were put in place for academic staff to ensure that they can utilise new software tools. A range of productivity and collaboration software was put in place to enable the creation of online teaching, learning and assessment materials, and communities of teaching and learning. Debates rage between academics as to whether Zoom or Microsoft Teams are better at doing this and that activity. Zoom seems to be a favourite in the academic community, Microsoft Teams is preferred by administration teams. Collaborative tools such as Padlet, MIRO and a variety of polling facilities have stimulated learner engagement and are here to stay, as it is clear that they add value to the teaching and learning experience. It would be unacceptable for any HE institution that has invested heavily in technology and training to support academics and students to allow all of this investment to go to waste.

Therefore, what we’re seeing at the moment is the development of teaching and learning delivery models that include a substantial amount of online delivery. Some students will see this as a means to cut costs and to provide less support. Others see this as the best way to enable them to cope with their increasingly busy lives, where they can juggle their study, employment, family and social calendar better. Students’ views are really polarised on the issue of online delivery. What is then the answer? How much online delivery is the right amount? The answer is not the same for all HE institutions, or even within that same HE. What we do on campus must provide what our students have told us for the last year and a half that they were missing: a sense of community and social interaction. To create these, small group activities taking place on-campus will have to be the social engagement engine that stimulates teaching and learning and acts as a catalyst for other value-added activities, such as meeting with friends, developing extra-curricular skills, training on employment opportunities, etc. It’s worth mentioning that obtaining (sometimes even high profile) guest speakers through online means has proven to be much easier given that the time commitments necessary to attend a virtual session are much lower and guest speakers are valued by both the academic staff and the student community.

Surveys of the academic staff community show that given the choice, about two-thirds of academics would prefer to work from home 2-3 days per week. This preference is driven by a multitude of factors including concerns about Covid, the realisation that substantial money savings can be made by spending more time at home and the ability to manage personal and family lives much better. One interesting aspect here is that academics have invested a lot of time and effort into upskilling themselves and therefore do not want that investment to go to waste by returning to the old ways of on-campus delivery. There is of course a balance to be struck, with screen fatigue and blurring of boundaries between home activity and work for both students and staff being a significant issue that will need to be managed going forward. Interestingly, productivity through the increased use of online activity has gone up, but so have the levels of tiredness and inability to disconnect reported by HE staff.

So where does all of this leave us in terms of paperless online teaching and learning vs using the traditional on-campus, heavily supported by printed matter approach? Evidence shows that there is a place for both and that contextual planning of teaching and learning approaches, based on the particulars of the course and students is key to achieving the best results. Online is great and has opened new doors for all, but cannot fully replace the experiences that we all want to have in the physical world that we all live in.

 

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