As we all know, COVID-19 had driven a boom in distance education (DE), as universities were forced to transition rapidly to on-line course delivery back in March. While reviews of that remote learning panic were understandably mixed, DE (done well) is a much better alternative to another educational lockdown, if the predicted second pandemic wave arrives.
I have taught DE for more than 20+ years, starting with correspondence courses and moving to the new Learning Management Systems that provide teaching options we only dreamed about before. So, from the perspective of lessons learned the hard way, I offer some reflections on DE (done well):
To begin, DE is not cheaper or less work. Investment in technology (for both institutions and students) is required, along with developing the expertise to set everything up properly ahead of course delivery.
Done well, DE should be mostly asynchronous (apart from tests). This means not bringing everyone together in a virtual classroom at the same time. F2F classes require students to accommodate themselves at the institution – where to be and when, what to bring and even what to wear. DE instead requires the institution to accommodate itself to students. So, rules about required times, internet access, using web cameras, and even a dress code, do not consider the different circumstances in which students are living. Ignoring this reality very quickly further increases social, cultural, geographic and economic inequalities.
Asynchronous teaching allows students to view lectures (perhaps repeatedly), access discussions, and do assignments in their own time frame, within the larger parameters of the course. If that means finding a coffee shop somewhere with free WIFI, no problem. (Asynchronous DE also manages the problem of teaching across different time zones.)
Crucially, DE is not somehow worse than F2F learning. Consider it different, instead – and that difference can be helpful. For example, very few students will speak in class. Limitations of time, language, culture, or of being able to think and speak quickly, make general participation impossible. Online discussions remove all those barriers, allowing – even requiring -- everyone to say something.
However, this does not mean one huge, online global course is the answer. Instructors and institutions bring their own perspective to whatever is being taught, even if the core content (say, in sciences) might be similar.
Nor is DE ‘impersonal’. I have developed very good, helpful relationships with students by email – never having seen each other in person – in ways that actually would be more difficult in a F2F context.
In a time of pandemic, DE (done well) also bridges us toward a new educational reality. DE courses can prepare students for when F2F might be possible again, without losing their place in the international educational system. The technology costs are offset by the savings in staying at home. Given the struggles many students have working in English, DE is also good practice, because (on-line) there is no other choice.
In Canada, I doubt face-to-face instruction will return before September 2021, at the earliest. Until then, distance education (done well) is a constructive path forward.
Learning from experience
17