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No going back
Hybrid delivery is the future of higher education .
David Kellerman interviewed by Martin Betts
Learning technology innovator Dr David Kellermann is a senior lecturer in Engineering at UNSW in Sydney . He joined the HEDx podcast to share his thoughts on the journey he believes all universities must take towards a new hybrid learning model of teaching .
As a pioneer of learning technology and innovation he was well prepared for the acceleration of this in 2020 and applied his commitment to equitable access for all students . He fears many other academics were less well prepared for this change , and remain so .
He believes there is more that universities can do to support staff in 2021 and beyond to become skilled in engaging and communicating with students in learning with technology . He believes more investment is required to make this happen , but that the biggest barrier is a lack of leadership and vision . He calls for more universities and leaders to see this as an opportunity rather than a challenge .
MB : The acceleration the sector has seen in adopting online education is something that you ’ d have been well prepared for . What ’ s been your approach to applying new technologies in the learning journeys of your engineering students ? DK : I was very well prepared . In fact , I was kind of rubbing my hands together going , ‘ Oh , this is going to be great . What a fantastic opportunity for us to road test some technology .’
I ’ m really interested in inclusivity and accessibility , and I believe it should be a version 1.0 design element , which is : the first time you employ any kind of tool in education , it should meet all of the requirements of accessibility , and particularly within a framework known as universal design for learning .
The basic principle is that universal design for learning gets rid of even administrative barriers to accessibility . One example I use is that in most office buildings , you have a set of stairs and an elevator , and you might like walking to the stairs , but one day you roll your ankle on the weekend and you ’ re hobbling around on crutches , so you take the elevator .
You don ’ t have to go to the doctor and be diagnosed as a cripple , and then be labelled as disabled and have a team of strong people lift you up the stairs so you can get to your office . But that ’ s exactly what we make students do in the traditional model , who may , for example , have something like dyslexia , where they need to get diagnosed or labelled , and then have a reader sit next to them in an exam and stigmatise them .
In universal design for learning , the idea is that the person just gets on with it ; the tools they need are there . For example , if you have a digital exam and it ’ s got an immersive screen reader tool , nobody has to be diagnosed , nobody needs to be stigmatised . It ’ s there .
I ’ d been employing this principal for a few years in my design . One of those included live broadcast and live production of my lectures , and a complete online
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