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Education anywhere , anytime , anyplace
Online learning must incorporate student needs and expectations .
By Patricia Davidson
The COVID-19 pandemic has sent a seismic impact across the whole of society that is challenging values and norms . Around the world individuals are facing existential threats , such as what the future of work will look like , and sadly we remain challenged by increased geopolitical tensions . One of the most impacted areas of society during the pandemic has been the education sector – from pre-schools to universities .
Lockdowns and isolation have been a stark contrast to the usual vibrant and interactive campuses that have been traditionally thought to foster teaching and enable learning . The large numbers of international students that make up a significant proportion of the domestic higher education markets in Australia , the US , the UK and other countries appeared to evaporate overnight , creating not only pressures in educational delivery but also a burden on university budgets .
This massive disruption has caused us to fundamentally change how we do our business in universities in teaching , research and community engagement . Institutions from all around the world have rapidly moved programs online and connectivity has been achieved by Zoom and other platforms . While many universities had incorporated some form of online education pre-COVID into their coursework , this shift at scale was very challenging . But what has been encouraging is that many institutions in both high and low income countries were able to pivot .
The most pressing challenge in the sector was and continues to be poor access to an internet connection . Collaboration among institutions , faculty staff and students in this challenging time has allowed many organisations to keep students on target and on track for graduation . We are very thankful for this .
A big winner from this rapid change has been online education as a pedagogical approach . Many sceptics who had viewed online education as an inferior modality have come to see the value and application of an important pedagogical approach , and for those less impressed it has been a lifeline .
A similar digital trend in society has been the adoption of telehealth in the pandemic which has improved access to health care . Previously uptake was patchy due to regulatory and reimbursement issues as well as patient and provider hesitancy . As society seeks calibration in a post-COVID era finding the place for online education is a critical question on all educators ’ minds . How do we leverage the benefits and minimise burdens of technology ? The potential to increase access and address diversity , equity and inclusion are critical issues to address as we chart our future .
This is not to say it has not been smooth sailing in this digital expansion . Almost universally , student satisfaction and engagement scores have fallen . We also
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