Online Learning Update

Adam S. Kamras, UD Daily

Since the spring, thousands of faculty and professionals across all disciplines at the University have been working hard, reviewing course content, evaluating methods of instruction and sharing best practices to ensure that the University’s high standards are not compromised by the shift online. While this change inevitably means that the learning experience will be different, the University’s commitment to academic excellence remains strong, and the work to provide top-notch online courses is guided by more than 25 years of experience at UD in this field, and by extensive research on how people learn.

https://www.udel.edu/udaily/2020/august/online-teaching-best-practices/

Daranesha Herron, KVUE
With classes starting on Monday, some Texas State University students made one last plea for more online courses and to remove the fee associated with them. “We live among other people, not just college students,” said Texas State senior Devin Driver. Just in the nick of time, on Tuesday Driver got what she considers to be good news. Her request to move all of her classes online was accepted, but it came at a cost. “It’s $50 per credit hour,” explained Driver.

https://www.kvue.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/texas-state-students-virtual-learning-options-extra-fees/269-a915429f-19f5-40c4-9f36-95d1dc9ebe7f

NINA AGRAWAL, LA Times
As children begin school in Los Angeles on Thursday, public education is among Americans’ top priorities, and most believe students should continue their education through some form of distance learning, a national poll has found. Nearly the same share of adults, 52%, said they opposed reopening K-12 schools for in-person instruction in fall 2020 amid the pandemic, and close to 80% said they believed hybrid, online-only or home-school instruction would be most beneficial for students.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-08-20/national-poll-finds-majority-of-likely-voters-support-continuing-remote-education

BY JEANNE CAREY INGLE,  eCampus News
These tips for remote teaching during COVID-19 are relevant for teachers at the elementary level straight on up through higher education.  Over the past 3 months I have taken my fully on-ground, in-person classes and put them completely online, done all my advising and research mentoring virtually, and I think I might be doing the work a little better. Don’t get me wrong–I miss teaching my students in person and I can’t wait until we get back to some semblance of normal. But normal won’t be this fall, and possibly not even in the spring of 2021, so I decided, as I prep for the fall, to look at my teaching and see what went right this past semester.

https://www.ecampusnews.com/2020/08/20/5-ways-covid-19-made-me-a-better-instructor/

University of Birmingham, UK

Academics and students must work together to make the most of online learning as universities prepare for a new academic year – ensuring that teaching meets the challenges posed by ‘distanced’ learning, according to a new study. The COVID-19 pandemic closed campuses forcing rapid improvisation, innovation, and adoption of online teaching. This brought new challenges for those taking part who must work harder in an online learning environment to ‘read’ non-verbal or social cues including facial expressions, body language, vocal tone and pitch. Key to overcoming these challenges will be blending real-time ‘intensive’ online engagement with academics and ‘extensive’ online learning experiences.

https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/latest/2020/08/covid-19%20forces%20universities%20innovation%20online.aspx

Scott Simon, NPR

“I’ll be the first to say that for most students, distance learning can’t replace a great in-person experience,” wrote Khan in a New York Times op-ed earlier this month. “Pure distance-learning is suboptimal, but we have to do it out of necessity because of the pandemic.” The problem, Khan says, is that with virtual learning, students are missing out on the vital social and emotional benefits that come from in-person classes. For that reason, Khan presses the importance of placing one-on-one interaction at the center of virtual lessons.

https://www.npr.org/2020/08/22/904652858/making-the-best-of-virtual-learning-some-advice-from-the-founder-of-khan-academy

Fox 35 Orlando

Students at the University of Central Florida will begin the fall semester with faculty and staff acontinuing to train on the new virtual formats. Even though there will be fewer desks in the classrooms, there will be more eyes on the lecture from home. A total of 350 classrooms are being outfitted with cameras and microphones to broadcast over the internet. “We have several hundred classes that we expect will be using that technology,” said Tom Cavanagh, UCF Vice Provost for digital learning. “It allows us to comply with these reduced capacities in the classroom where we can only have say a third of students who we would typically have in that class at any given time.”

https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/ucf-adding-cameras-and-training-for-online-learning

Kathleen J.Sullivan, Stanford
The website Stanford Teaching Commons provides curated guides on designing online classes; articles on such topics as accessibility, asynchronous activity, and inclusion and equity; and links to resources and services that support online education across campus.

https://news.stanford.edu/2020/08/21/stanford-teaching-commons-offers-new-resources-online-learning/

Ryerson University
Fears that online-only education will keep away adult learners this fall can be put to rest. Ryerson University’s Chang School of Continuing Education – Canada’s largest – saw enrolment grow by 51% for Fall 2020 despite all of its courses being delivered online for the first time in the school’s 20-year history of virtual teaching. Gary Hepburn, dean of The Chang School, explains why adult learners are looking to upskill en masse:”While the economy is starting to show signs of recovery, we still have no idea what the long-term impact of the pandemic will be to the job market. Many industries are going to be disrupted. People feel anxious. Now is the best possible time to be looking at continuous learning opportunities,” he says.

https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/fall-enrolment-surges-51-for-adult-learners-at-toronto-s-chang-school-of-continuing-education-818623886.html

Natalie Schwartz, Education Dive

A coalition of advocacy groups and think tanks is pushing a series of consumer protections aiming to help students understand the price of college and get what they paid for. The Tuition Payer Bill of Rights makes six demands, including that colleges refund students for services they don’t receive and allow them to opt out of paying for “non-essential services.” The demands come as students across the nation sue colleges for tuition refunds, arguing that the remote education they’ve received isn’t worth the price.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/tuition-payers-bill-of-rights-proposes-6-protections/583659/

Mike Anderson, KSL

Universities across Utah announced they are reducing student fees for the upcoming semester, saving the average student around $150. However, officials with Utah State University said they will have to pass costs for recent investments in online learning improvements to their students this fall. Computer technology is making it possible for classrooms to be online and in-person at the same time, something that some students hoped could make the school safer from the coronavirus.   “For me, it doesn’t matter one way or another, but I was trying to be thoughtful and considerate of others,” said student Jaren Carlson. He said he decided to stay home early to do his part in reducing the spread of COVID-19. Now, he found out it’s going to cost him up to $180 more than it would to attend class in-person.

https://ksltv.com/443672/online-learning-for-usu-students-may-cost-more/

Rhea Kelly, Campus Technology

In a recent survey of learners of all ages around the globe, 79 percent of respondents agreed that colleges and universities will fundamentally change because of the COVID-19 pandemic. And 88 percent said that online learning will be part of the higher education experience moving forward. The survey, conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Pearson, polled 7,038 people aged between 16-70 years old in seven countries about key trends in education and work.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2020/08/13/survey-majority-of-learners-believe-the-pandemic-will-fundamentally-change-higher-education.aspx

TROY MARKOWITZ, Campus Technology
Today’s universities measure student learning outcomes (SLOs) through in-class assessments targeting the micro and macro level of a learner’s knowledge acquisition. At the micro level, these assessments take the form of quizzes, mid-term and final exams, and evaluations of assignments submitted by students. At the macro level, SLOs feed into what administrators expect every student, regardless of specific curriculum, program, or major, to master in order to graduate. When SLOs align with skills that employers seek from new-hire candidates, recent graduates can achieve the ultimate outcome: employability.

https://www.ecampusnews.com/2020/08/19/how-to-align-slos-with-employability/

Susan Grajek and D. Christopher Brooks, EDUCAUSE Review
We propose a different approach, a way for higher education leaders to reframe the work ahead and to judiciously consider how technology can be most helpful. First, leaders should think about their institutional strategic priorities as a set of Grand Challenges: challenges that are as important as they are difficult and that pertain specifically to the institution as well as more broadly to the higher education ecosystem. Next, leaders should adopt a Grand Strategy, which can provide a cohesive principle and vision to help them consider their resources holistically and focus on their most consequential priorities. Finally, leaders should take into account digital transformation (Dx), which can advance this Grand Strategy.

https://er.educause.edu/articles/2020/8/a-grand-strategy-for-grand-challenges–a-new-approach-through-digital-transformation

John O’Brien, EDUCAUSE

Amid the unsettling uncertainties, two important trends that started well before fall have accelerated and intensified in the shadow of the pandemic. We should work to ensure these trends continue long after the current crisis has calmed. Amid the unsettling uncertainties, two important trends that started well before fall have accelerated and intensified in the shadow of the pandemic. We should work to ensure these trends continue long after the current crisis has calmed. Digital transformation and wellness are two important trends that have accelerated and intensified in the pandemic milestone of 2020.

https://er.educause.edu/articles/2020/8/making-bets-for-fall-two-important-trends

Johns Hopkins University

A Coursera class is open to teachers worldwide; it shares perspectives on creating accessible coursework in a time of remote learning.  As faculty work to adjust their courses in the lead-up to Johns Hopkins University’s first-ever fully-remote semester, they have to consider the ever-changing needs of the diverse undergraduate student population.

https://hub.jhu.edu/2020/08/18/coursera-inclusive-learning/

Kevin R. McClure, EdSurge

“Burnout this fall is going to be on 100,” noted Ana Rosado, a doctoral candidate in history at Northwestern University, in a tweet that’s been liked over 8,000 times. In response, Jessica Calarco, a sociologist and professor at Indiana University, tweeted it feels like she’s “already in week 11 of a 15-week semester.” Despite the efforts of college leaders to push ahead with something approximating a normal fall term, the truth is that many of us don’t feel normal. It’s not a question of whether higher education institutions will see a significant uptick in burnout among staff, faculty and graduate students this fall. The more important question is how college leaders will address it.

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2020-08-14-burnout-is-coming-to-campus-are-college-leaders-ready

Elizabeth Redden, Inside Higher Ed
Colleges confront what it means to bring students back to campuses as their fall plans become realities. Will many institutions make it through the fall without outbreaks? Observers are questioning how college leaders are balancing the health and safety of faculty, staff, students and members of surrounding communities with the financial and political pressures driving the push to reopen campuses. Are they striking the right balance?

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/08/18/after-spring-and-summer-planning-higher-ed-faces-its-moment-truth

Chris Bliss, Stanford

With the benefit of results from a student survey that highlighted the main obstacles students encountered during the spring quarter, Stanford leaders have been working over the summer to improve the remote educational experience for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as for instructors. These improvements will be key given the recent announcement that undergraduates will not be on campus in the fall.

https://news.stanford.edu/2020/08/17/stanford-makes-strides-improve-online-learning-pandemic-environment/

Rebecca Koenig, EdSurge

Many consumer protection laws make sure that if people don’t receive what they paid for, they get their money back. Should that apply to higher education? That’s the case being made by a new “tuition payer bill of rights” backed by a coalition of nonprofits and think tanks from across the political spectrum. It makes six demands aimed at empowering students to decide how much to pay for college and making sure they get their money’s worth. The first proposed entitlement is the one most tied to current events: the right “to be refunded for services not rendered.”

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2020-08-13-lawsuits-over-tuition-refunds-prompt-new-student-consumer-bill-of-rights