We need to get online learning right before the next crisis hits

George Veletsianos recently contributed an article to The Globe And Mail about being proactive in investing the time and effort into online learning. Besides the COVID-19 Pandemic, climate-related crises have and are likely to continue disrupting the much-preferred mode of in-person learning.

“Design makes or breaks online learning, which is the exact reason why much of the online learning that happened during the pandemic – what researchers have dubbed emergency remote learning – was indeed awful. It was designed and delivered by professionals who were never trained for it, who never signed up for it and who were doing it while dealing with grief, loss, anxiety and the broader repercussions of the pandemic. What students need more than access to education is access to well-planned and purposefully designed education.”

Read the full article – https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-we-need-to-get-online-learning-right-before-the-next-crisis-hits/. George Veletsianos is a professor of education and Canada Research Chair in Innovative Learning and Technology at Royal Roads University.

What all academics should know about the growth mindset: your science-based superpower for success

Bailey Sousa and Alexander Clark (June 23 2022) recently published an article in University Affairs about mindsets and their influence over success and failure. “While most people reading this will still believe they have dominant growth mindsets, unless you devote at least an hour a week to your personal growth, be careful of this conclusion.” The authors list four simple changes one can make to strengthen a growth mindset:

  1. From proving to improving
  2. From better than others, to better than before
  3. From demonstrating to developing skills
  4. From failing to succeed to successful failure

“While we continue to luxuriate in reassuring ourselves that we embrace learning, many practices in academia both show and reinforce fixed mindsets in ourselves, our workplaces, and in our students. Yet, our cultural preoccupation with talent holds us back en masse from the very successes we seek.”

What all academics should know about the growth mindset: your science-based superpower for success, by Bailey Sousa and Alexander Clark – https://www.universityaffairs.ca/career-advice/effective-successfull-happy-academic/what-all-academics-should-know-about-the-growth-mindset-your-science-based-superpower-for-success/

Why and How to Teach Teamwork

A recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Why and How to Teach Teamwork written by Jane S. Halonen and Dana S. Dunn (November 15, 2021), provided some great suggestions on how instructors could improve the structure and design of group projects. “We ask students to exercise their leadership and interpersonal muscles, but we rarely offer any instruction on how to operate effectively in a group.” There is great value in improving students’ experience with working in groups, and adopting even one of their suggestions could make a huge difference.

The article requires a username and password (access is free), but the key takeaways are:

  1. Link group projects to future success on the job.
  2. Improvise a model of a dysfunctional group.
  3. Have students practice how not to cooperate in a group.
  4. Guide their group discussions with a structured list of questions.
  5. Dedicate precious class time to group projects.
  6. Enlist students to provide feedback to one another.
  7. Ask groups to rotate the leadership role.
  8. Conduct equity reviews at the end of major projects.
  9. Require self-assessment.

Why and How to Teach Teamwork, by Jane S. Halonen and Dana S. Dunn – https://www.chronicle.com/article/why-and-how-to-teach-teamwork?cid=gen_sign_in

Preparing for Return to Campus – A Trauma-Informed Approach

BCcampus recently published a short article providing suggestions for a compassionate transition for instructors and students as we head into the fall semester. Whether classes will be face-to-face, blended or online, recognizing the impact that prolonged stress can have on the “ability to process information, make choices, and stay focused” (Joudrey, 2020), we can better support students by incorporating trauma-informed pedagogy. This includes establishing consistent routines and offering flexibility.

Source: Preparing for Return to Campus – A Trauma-Informed Approach (https://bccampus.ca/2021/07/28/preparing-for-return-to-campus-a-trauma-informed-approach/)

Resources:
Joudrey, Susan, “Trauma-informed Pedagogy: What It Is and How It Can Help Now,” Focus, November 23, 2020. https://focus.clt.dal.ca/blog/trauma-informed-pedagogy-what-it-is-and-how-it-can-help-now

Debbie Zacarian, Lourdes Alvarez-Ortiz, and Judie Haynes, “5 Essential Trauma-Informed Priorities for Remote Learning,” ASCD, April 7, 2020. https://www.zacarianconsulting.com/2020/04/08/5-essential-trauma-informed-priorities-for-remote-learning/

Academica Group Explores the Impact of COVID-19 on Postsecondary Choices

Drawing on data from students across Canada, this two part series provides some insight into how both prospective and current postsecondary students are perceiving the upcoming academic year. In Part Two’s findings, students expressed the importance of flexibility and accessibility when it comes to online learning.

“Understand that not all students have a stable and strong internet connection, or have a working microphone or webcam to participate.”

Part 1: Hoping for Normal: Prospective Students talk COVID-19

Part 2: Considering the Return to the Classroom

State of Video in Education 2019: Insights and trends

Since being introduced in the fall of 2016, Panopto has become a staple in over 20 courses on our campus. Its heaviest use is for recorded lectures in online courses, and to a lesser extent, for lectures in face to face courses, and also for accepting student video assignments.

The open-source video platform Kaltura, recently released their 6th annual report on the State of Video in Education. The majority of participants were from higher education, and the report shares how educational institutions are utilizing video and explores its impact as a teaching tool. Video can be used to personalize the learning experience, even in a traditional academic institution, by offering video as a choice in the use of tools and assessments. Despite the hesitation among some instructors to foray into recording, typically through an aversion to video and/or audio recordings of themselves, a lack of resources, or an intimidation by the technology, video is undeniably a solution in providing flexibility for all students.

The report is available online as a PDF https://corp.kaltura.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/The_State_of_Video_in_Education_2019.pdf.

2018 Annual Survey of Online, Digital and Distance Learning in Canadian Post-Secondary Education

Canadian Digital Learning and Research Association has release their annual survey of online credit courses offered by Canadian colleges and universities. Some of the highlights include:

  • 1 in 5 students in Canada take at least 1 online course a year;
  • more than 2/3 of Canadian post-secondary institutions consider the learning outcomes of online courses to be equivalent to those of face-to-face courses, with some rating them superior; and,
  • 82% of Canadian post-secondary institutions offer online courses for credit, including 91% of universities.

Download the full report at Tracking Online and Digital Learning in Canada.