Over the past week, I have had the privilege to watch several presentations from current Royal Roads University students and industry experts at the MALAT Virtual Symposium. It was an informative experience, and I hope to capture some of what I have learned in this post.
“You have to design differently.”
One of the most impactful sessions was the What is Online Learning Post-Pandemic? The panel brought up several topics that I have struggled with as a post-secondary educator. In Royal Roads University (2022), Dr. Bates stated, “students studying online are in a totally different environment than in class…you have to design differently.” I can relate to this from my experience transitioning to online teaching at the start of the pandemic. I took the pedagogy from an in-person environment and applied it to my online platform. I thought that online teaching and learning would be similar enough to use the same approach I had used previously. However, as Dr. LaBonte put it, “classroom pedagogy…pushed through a computer screen was not as effective” (Royal Roads University, 2022). Moving forward in this program, I think it will be essential to remember this and how unique every learning environment is. Each unique learning environment requires a different learning design.
The Core of Education
In the session PowerPoint Improv, Childs (2021) discussed what is at the core of education; “relationships, community, connecting learners to learners, and learners to content.” We can connect learners with learners and content through tools like zoom, teams, and Moodle. However, connecting learners in formal online learning environments is much more challenging. It is not easy to foster a sense of community and build trusting relationships unless concerted efforts are made. The classes I have taught online have less student engagement than those taught in person over the past several years. Perhaps going forward, more of a conscious effort to encourage students to connect with each other will help promote a stronger sense of community, and therefore improve students learning experience.
During the first three weeks in the MALAT program, educators have made concerted efforts to help us students connect, fostering new relationships and the sense of community that comes with that will help us as we move through the program. When things get tough, we will have support from our peers to help us succeed. It is essential to foster these connections in the courses I will develop and teach in the future.
Some key elements I can implement into my practice are: the importance of fostering a sense of community among learners to improve student experience and success and recognizing that each learning environment requires a different type of learning design to be effective. I have already learned so much over the last week and am incredibly excited to grow my knowledge in this field over the next two years.
References:
Childs, E. (2021, April 15). PowerPoint improv [Video]. Blackboard Collaborate. https://ca.bbcollab.com/collab/ui/session/playback/load/c5e490c22efb40a5aeacf457516237a1
Royal Roads University. (2022, February 3). What is online learning post-pandemic? [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxazQ6a-WwQ&feature=youtu.be
April 21, 2022 at 3:38 pm
Great post Tim! Super insightful. I agree with everything you said. I think your admission of moving your face-to-face pedagogy online was the approach the majority of educators took during the online transition at the beginning of the pandemic. A big portion of my applied research project was focused on the unique nature of online pedagogy and how it differs from face-to-face. I’d love to speak with you about it sometime, if you’re interested.
I know it’s still early, but have you given any thought to what community building would look like in your own practice? My experience at Royal Roads and their focus on community building has been truly transformative… social learning is so powerful. What are some of the tools you might use to encourage community building in your context?
April 23, 2022 at 1:36 pm
Thanks Christopher! I would like to connect with you and chat about your research project! It is nice to have some people at the end of the program in our first class. I haven’t put a ton of thought into community building yet, but here are my initial thoughts. It is tough to build community in the trades program while online. I only have the students for 2 months a year, and throughout the pandemic, there was little in-person interaction. In face-to-face classes, I play games “Jeopardy” or kahoots to build a community and get the students interacting. I found it hard to do this online. What drew me to Royal Roads was how they really had a focus on the community building
I am looking forward to learning more about their approach as I go through the next few years!