We are busy developing an exciting agenda for OnlineEd 2022 so keep your eyes peeled for details. Register for the event and be the first to hear about new sessions and speakers!
If you are interested in speaking at the event, please contact Christine Le Couilliard at christine@clecevents.co.uk.
In the meantime, check out the first 4 exciting sessions announced:
What Will it Take to Tackle Both the ‘Ed' and the ‘Tech’? Navigating the transformation of education with agility – and at scale
We can debate whether the pandemic was/is a new wake-up call, propelling the already increasing interest and need for alternative educational methods, modalities, tools, and techniques.
However, before we jump headlong into what worked and what didn't work, we should pause and reflect on whether our responses to clear and present danger – which was to educate everyone remotely and immediately – are necessarily what we’d have done if we’d time to thoughtfully navigate what is, and what has arguably been, an emerging opportunity.
It’s time to:
- Rethink and realign the purpose of education
- Reflect on education delivery mechanisms
- Focus on whether the shifts in learning modalities affect outcomes for your students
- Look deeper into how decisions on the way education is delivered affects the students’ educational experiences and content
- Navigate the uncertainty of what works and what doesn’t – learning from test and learn strategies
Mike McGinniss, VP, Digital Platform Services at Southern New Hampshire University will reflect on where the learner sits in the delivery of transformational objectives. The focus is on how your faculty and staff need to change in response to changing student needs and/or delivery mechanisms of delivering education.
Admissions, Advising, Learning, Financial Aid, Analytics will be affected. Backend processes must be friction-free if frontend performance is to meet future expectations.
Mixed-Mode Education (MME) – opening synchronous learning – where next?
In Spring 2021, Queen Mary University of London began piloting Mixed-Mode Education (MME). Students, unable to return to campus because of the global pandemic, could participate in synchronous learning opportunities alongside their on-campus peers. Delivering the format required exceptional contributions from all academic and administrative staff involved – the learning curve was steep.
Shoshi Ish-Horowicz, Head of Innovation & Learning, and Danielle Thibodeau, Innovation & Learning Manager at Queen Mary University of London describe how this new initiative has been rolled out across the university and how Queen Mary educators have developed their MME practice.
Covering:
- How the university committed to the MME project
- Pedagogical development and technical skills - channelling support from multiple professional services teams
- Agile learning and quick responses along the way
- The fundamental importance of inclusion and accessibility to the students’ experience of MME
- The impact MME may have on future educational offerings, throughout higher education
Blended Learning in Health Professional Education in a Developing Country - How to simultaneously support both students and teachers
There are many hurdles to overcome. Expectations are high. Online education in a developing country presents special challenges.
Narasimman Swaminathan, Professor of Physiotherapy and Vice Principal, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences at the Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research in Chennai, India describes the very real benefits that a mixed format of learning has delivered at his institute.
But success did not come easy. Based on his first-hand, front line experience Professor Swaminathan describes the challenges, hurdles, barriers and obstacles (and pain points) and the practical, creative solutions introduced to ensure success.
Blended learning can succeed when other approaches may not.
To err is Human - a poignant statement to remember
In South Africa COVID-19 was responsible for an immediate transfer of teaching, learning and assessment to the online environment.
Although our pharmacology modules were prepared for hybrid learning, for me the full switch to online took place while I still had ongoing research responsibilities. I had also just started a new management role.
Professor Werner Cordier, Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Pretoria, describes how he sought to cope with the unexpected and unwanted challenges he now faced. The initial belief was that knowledge and passion would overcome all obstacles.
Professor Cordier reviews what actually happened and what are the lessons for the future.
He describes:
- Very real impacts on the academic teaching staff
- Efforts made to provide manageable technology platforms
- How teaching will be undertaken in the future
Professor Werner will share:
- What he achieved during lockdown
- What he lost and what he gained
- What best practice adaptations are needed in the future to be better equipped to handle major transitions
- How it changed his view of what it means to be a professional academic