Month: April 2020

Team four’s Initial Summary of a Learning Event and Approach to Critical Inquiry

The current global pandemic and resultant restrictions on gatherings, has challenged educational institutions to rapidly transition from in person, to remotely delivered courses. Among the challenges this type of transition presents is how to preserve academic integrity in a remote, uncontrolled setting, particularly considering assessments. Respondus (2020) offers solutions for remote assessment proctoring. For our shared learning experience, our team  selected video tutorials created by Respondus (2020) about two of their products; Respondus Monitor, and LockDown Browser. After viewing all of the available videos and conducting further research, we have gained an understanding of how this software works and some of the rationale driving institutions to adopt it. Each team member agreed that the products could be a user-friendly and straightforward proctoring solution for both institutions and students alike.

Respondus Monitor and Lockdown Browser provide “cost effective, scalable, and convenient solutions for protecting the integrity of online exams” (Respondus, 2016, 3:10). Essentially, Lockdown Browser works by preventing learners from accessing unauthorized content or resources during their exam, while the companion Monitor feature offers a means of authenticating a user’s identity via facial recognition and then monitoring their behaviors during an exam by use of a webcam (Respondus, 2020). Teclehaimanot, Hochberg, Franz, Xiao and You (n.d.) noted that in order for educators to prevent the issue of academic dishonesty, student identification and authentication is vital. Both Lockdown Browser, and Monitor are available to be used within many popular Learning Management Systems (LMS) (ex. Brightspace, Blackboard etc.), which renders these tools as accessible solutions which are easily integrated into existing LMS’s. The Respondus company offers easy-to-understand arguments and pitches for how and why to use their software.

Not all online assessments require protective software measures and programs, such as those provided by Respondus. Some even feel that businesses in this industry “are selling a narrative that students can’t be trusted” (Harwell, 2020, pp.9),  however, summative assessments that require high academic standards and integrity are arguably definitive candidates for such programs. Particular summative assessments must take verification of student identity and technical issues, such as student hardware usage, software, and bandwidth into consideration (Benson & Brack, 2010). The tests given must be fair, meaning the test environment and restrictions associated must also demonstrate equality to all students taking the exam. This can be a challenge when students are not co-located in the same classroom. The Respondus Monitor program tutorial particularly sought to address the above issues of students taking an examination from different locations. The tutorial program did an exceptional job of visually and cogently describing how the specific monitoring software addresses potential issues of students taking an exam from greater distances; and to give the software credibility, the company was not haughty when describing the fact that students may require greater bandwidth, combined with an adequate internet connection, in order for the software to be trustworthy (Respondus, 2016).

The clear and concise arguments for how-and-why a particular learning provider should use this software, combined with the user-friendly online tutorial environment to navigate the potential software, makes the overall potential of using these softwares a real contender within a plethora of potential learning environments.

References

Benson, R., & Brack, C. (2010). Online assessment. Online learning assessment in higher education: A planning guide (pp. 107-151). Whitney, UK: Chandos Publishing Oxford. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.royalroads.ca/lib/royalroads-ebooks/reader.action?docID=1582338&ppg=128

Harwell, D. (2020, April 01). Mass school closures in the wake of coronavirus are driving a new wave of student surveillance. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com

Respondus. (2016). Respondus monitor: Protecting the integrity of online exams [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=197&v=hv2L8Q2NpO4&feature=emb_logo

Respondus. (2020. April 16). Retrieved from https://www.respondus.com/products/monitor/

Teclehaimanot et al. (n.d.). Ensuring Academic Integrity in Online Courses: A Case Analysis in Three Testing Environments. Retrieved from https://members.aect.org/pdf/Proceedings/proceedings17/2017/17_12.pdf

 

Reflections on leadership

This course has been unexpectedly timely. Our cohort has looked at our own experiences with leadership, learned about leadership styles and theories while watching local and world leaders navigate health care and associated crises brought on by the COVID-19 virus.

I’m looking through new lenses, thinking about leadership from new angles with a better understanding of the attributes of effective leaders. While I still have deep appreciation for Reflective leadership (Castelli, 2016) with its grounding in values and flexibility in looking to the future, I’m gaining a better working understanding of distributed leadership (Julien, Wright, and Zinni 2010) as the institution where I work (like many) is thrust into an online-only course delivery model.

Within the distributed model, leadership is thought to lie within every member of the community, and that when it is their time and space to emerge as leader, they do. When their time is over, someone else emerges as leader. This most closely resembles the relay-like passing of the baton that is happening within my work spaces currently. Instructors are consulting with instructors from different schools in silo-breaking collaboration. Groups of faculty are working with traditional, hierarchical leadership to brainstorm and build new initiatives that will enable our students to complete the programs they are currently in. Everyone is bringing their own strengths to bear in problem-solving, and willingly sharing their resources. The multiplicity of change that we’re navigating together is benefiting greatly from a better understanding of the complexity of our organizational systems (Weiner 2009), and how one change within the system has cascade effects to other parts of the system.

Within my work spaces the traditional leadership has been clear and communicative of the day-to-day things we have needed to know to navigate the rapid changes over the past few weeks. It is interesting to note that Sheninger’s (2019) first pillar, Communication, is central to effective leadership at this time. Communication is being done through a variety of digital media simultaneously in an effort to reach as many people as possible with good, reliable information. We’re watching digital communication methods for work proliferate daily as all people, not just leaders, explore the flexibility and efficacy of digital communication.

While the timing couldn’t be better for our cohort to participate in and observe leadership through these new lenses, it’s been a difficult time to implement planning and project management as many changes are being rolled out without planning, but out of necessity. There simply hasn’t been time to create the scale of change that we’ve undertaken with any forethought. It’s times like these where the strength of our leadership is what makes and breaks the changes. We have to have trust in our leaders as they ask us to implement change. We have to trust in our own ability to be leaders when it is our turn.

References:

Castelli, P. A. (2016). Reflective Leadership Review: A Framework for Improving Organisational Performance. The Journal of Management Development; Bradford 35(2):217–36. doi:10.1108/JMD-08-2015-0112
Julien, M., Wright, B., & Zinni, D. (2010). Stories from the Circle: Leadership Lessons Learned from Aboriginal Leaders. The Leadership Quarterly 21(1):114–26. doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2009.10.0009
Sheninger, E. (2019). Pillars of Digital Leadership. International Center for Leadership in Education. Retrieved February 1, 2020 (https://leadered.com/pillars-of-digital-leadership/).
Weiner, B. J. (2009). A Theory of Organizational Readiness for Change. Implementation Science 4(1):67. doi:10.1186/1748-5908-4-67