{"id":55946,"date":"2021-02-10T00:00:28","date_gmt":"2021-02-10T08:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=55946"},"modified":"2021-02-10T09:55:06","modified_gmt":"2021-02-10T17:55:06","slug":"distance-learning-how-to-avoid-falling-into-techno-traps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/distance-learning-how-to-avoid-falling-into-techno-traps\/","title":{"rendered":"Distance learning: How to avoid falling into \u2018techno traps\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

As another virtual university semester unfolds \u2014 the second or even third for some since the beginning of the pandemic \u2014 fatigue and declining satisfaction with this remote format seem to be increasingly felt on both sides of the screen.<\/p>\n

On the one hand, there are\u00a0students worried about the quality of the courses<\/a>\u00a0they are taking, but above all, they are missing out on campus and community life. On the other hand, there are\u00a0teachers feeling breathlessly short of resources<\/a>, who have been pushed overnight to change their practices and run their classes from home.<\/p>\n

Beyond the purely pedagogical impacts, the\u00a0issue of mental health for everyone is of concern<\/a>\u00a0today. Having personally had to give online courses to more than 250 undergraduate students over these past weeks, I have been able to experience these issues and to feel the limits of this new way of teaching.<\/p>\n

Web influencer or academic expert?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The temptation \u2014 but also often the pressure \u2014 to draw out a host of technological tools to capture and maintain the attention of students or facilitate their collaboration is often very strong. Certainly, the idea of teaching a class live on\u00a0Twitch<\/a>\u00a0or in a fictional world on\u00a0Minecraft<\/a>\u00a0and then continuing the discussion on Discord or Slack can be exciting. But in this particular context, the teacher is sometimes more of a\u00a0online influencer<\/a>\u00a0than an academic expert.<\/p>\n

These technological choices also confront teachers with limits, both logistical and human. What can we say to the many students who access this content from their cell phones and therefore from their cellular data, or to\u00a0those who do not yet have a computer<\/a>\u00a0and a high-performance internet connection?<\/p>\n

What to do with students who have to share their workspace with the rest of the family, who don\u2019t have a good grasp of these different tools or who have to learn how to use a range of different applications for each of their courses?<\/p>\n

These issues also illustrate the very real risk of creating\u00a0new barriers <\/a>to inclusion in education.<\/p>\n

So, before mobilizing such hardware, it is important to consider not only the ability of students to grasp it, but also the ability of teachers to train themselves sufficiently to offer a positive learning experience. More importantly, this is also an opportunity to learn about other modes of distance education and finally to move away from a vision requiring more and more tools and overstimulation.<\/p>\n

A more human approach<\/strong><\/h4>\n

What if one of the answers to the challenges of distance learning is to go back to basics and set up contexts that are less \u201ctechno\u201d and more human?<\/p>\n

In their work on the\u00a0experience economy<\/a>, consultants Joseph Pine and Jim Gilmore explore how value can be created based on the experience of \u201cguests\u201d (whether as consumers in shops or visitors to museums). They propose four categories for experience: educational, entertainment, escapist and esthetic. \u201cEsthetic\u201d experiences, they argue, are those in which participants are invited to adopt a contemplative posture. The experience then aims at harmony of the senses and attaining a kind of individual fullness.<\/p>\n

An example of that could be a visit to a museum, where people walk around, sit on a bench and get lost in their thoughts. It contrasts sharply with an entertainment experience such as a music show or an amusement park. It\u2019s a celebration of slowness, of a more subtle but equally engaging non-technological stimulation.<\/p>\n

This kind of call for a slower, more informal pedagogical approach isn\u2019t new. Moreover, the idea of lowering the pace, or to prune the content a little to facilitate retention without affecting the quality, was\u00a0slowly gaining ground<\/a>\u00a0long before the pandemic.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Offering podcast courses or transmitting evaluations via audio not only gives you a break, but also gives you more flexibility as to when and where to view this content. (Shutterstock)<\/p><\/div>\n

Create an atmosphere conducive to reflection<\/strong><\/h4>\n

So, instead of using yet another collaborative tool during a Zoom course, why not simply create an atmosphere conducive to reflection through a warm decor, a little nature, something to watch or music that is pleasant to listen to?<\/p>\n

Similarly, why not open the virtual rooms earlier, or close them later, for those who want to exchange in a more informal setting. Why not send the content in advance so as to take advantage of these so-called \u201csynchronous moments\u201d to interact and inject some human warmth?<\/p>\n

Finally, it is possible to enhance non-visual stimuli to allow students to take a break from their screens for even a brief moment. The simple act of recording podcast episodes or transmitting assessments via audio not only gives students a break for their eyes but also offers more flexibility in when and where they can view the content. The opportunity has also come to rediscover the charms of a simple telephone conversation, instead of another videoconference.<\/p>\n

Since this virtual mode of teaching is expected to continue at least until next fall or winter and to play a greater role in university curricula after the pandemic, it is not too late to imagine modes of engagement that are more mindful of individual constraints.<\/p>\n

According to Pine and Gilmore, any good experience must be thought of in the broader context in which it takes place. So, rather than relying on the equivalent of an online lecture, let\u2019s reconsider. Keep in mind the constraints of the moment and imagine courses that allow you to vary the contexts in which you immerse yourself, whether it\u2019s by the fire or even under the comforter!<\/p>\n

Author Bio:<\/strong> Louis-Etienne Dubois is Assistant Professor, School of Creative Industries, Faculty of Communication and Design at Ryerson University<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As another virtual university semester unfolds \u2014 the second or even third for some since the beginning of the pandemic \u2014 fatigue and declining satisfaction with this remote format seem to be increasingly felt on both sides of the screen. On the one hand, there are\u00a0students worried about the quality of the courses\u00a0they are taking, […]\n… learn more→<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":55947,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15645],"tags":[366193],"coauthors":[11733],"class_list":["post-55946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","tag-techno-traps"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDistance learning: How to avoid falling into \u2018techno traps\u2019 - World leading higher education information and services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/distance-learning-how-to-avoid-falling-into-techno-traps\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Distance learning: How to avoid falling into \u2018techno traps\u2019 - World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As another virtual university semester unfolds \u2014 the second or even third for some since the beginning of the pandemic \u2014 fatigue and declining satisfaction with this remote format seem to be increasingly felt on both sides of the screen. 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