Who could have guessed that distance education would be the compass of 2020! This is not only the alley for students and lecturers alike, but it opened up new horizons with unending possibilities and ongoing potential in the world of technological communication.
Covid-19 is the new buzz word, and within days the big C became the topic of many (if not all) conversations. This C suddenly does not remind us of the summer holidays, but rather fills us with a new fear that we have never encountered before.
Dr Nelda Mouton, an educationalist at the Business School of the North-West University (NWU) with extensive experience in education issues, makes a few suggestions. “Let’s change it to the C of vision, of possibility, of new strategic thinking in a new ‘abnormal’ world, which suddenly became the new normal. Ouchh …”
“From a Business School perspective, this is a new, bumpy road with potential. Now we can fearlessly introduce new technologies in our online endeavour. The days when lecturers could focus only on lecturing have passed. Now we find ourselves in a world in which we are in a mega-paced, technological environment in which constructivism gains new and more meaning. Within our newly created environment, the student-technology-lecturer role constructively created a cognitive presence that is grounded in many forms of communication.”
That being said, lecturers’ constructivist thinking further builds on connectivism, social constructivism and socio-culturalism, according to Dr Mouton. “This awareness creates a social presence that urges us to include each and every student’s personality and background.”
More than ever before, the value of language, collaboration and interactions directly contributes to the active role of learning. This opens up new possibilities that are quite different from the face-to-face classroom sessions in which students provided energy to the way we teach. In contrast, she adds, the distance classroom is a very lonely place for lecturer and student alike, and this new “virtual” space can be like opening Pandora’s Box, as the feeling of isolation may be overwhelming for the lecturer.
“Students also need to change their mindset, as they need to instinctively focus on self-regulated learning skills. We as lecturers need to constructively assist students to acquire these skills with which they are constantly being challenged to invest in quantitative reasoning and higher-order thinking skills. With these skills they are also guided to assess their arguments to defend their reasoning. This will guarantee student-lecturer success to some extent. As a distance lecturer, one should focus on collaboration in which group interaction can promote socialised learning, as this could form a foundation to motivate students to learn and to promote learning satisfaction.”
Dr Mouton says that an environment can be created in which there is mutual trust, knowledge and respect. “From a lecturer’s point of view, it can be accomplished by creating a virtual space to meet the student. Interaction with other students from diverse socio-cultural backgrounds is an important element in considering student engagement. Virtual interaction with other students is important, as it can be argued that if lecturers know their students, it may add to student motivation and self-discipline in order to achieve success.”
Within this distance environment, knowledge of blended learning, synchronous and asynchronous methods, a flipped-classroom approach, web-based learning and project-based learning are keys that can unlock student potential and performance. This having been said, the lecturer must keep in mind that communication with students must be timeous and the delay factor can negatively influence student learning. Based on the above, Dr Mouton has compiled a five-step framework to assist distance lecturers in this virtual environment.
Step 1: Construct your thinking
Prior to planning your module, you need to think of your learning design in which social, technological and didactic challenges are recognised as interdependent dimensions of a successful learning experience.
Step 2: Plan the framework of your module
The learning environment that you need to create should motivate students and facilitate meaningful and worthwhile learning.
Step 3: Collaboration
During this step you need to think about your assessment strategies, the interactions you want to focus on, group activities, assignments and specific house rules for students to adhere to. Here you need to provide a road map for the semester for the students that contains all your activities, assignments and formal and informal opportunities for meetings.
Step 4: Technology
Decide on the technology you are going to use to assist you for this semester. I suggest one in each category:
- The platform used by the institution, e.g. SAKAI, Moodle
When setting up your page on the platform, add only tabs that the students will use, and only make them visible to students when there is information in those tabs. Tabs that are suggested include Announcements, Study Guide, Resources, Assignments, Markbook and Chatroom.
- A video resource platform, e.g. Panopto
It is recommended that you use the same video resource platform throughout. You must be able to embed your video on the platform of the institution. The platform must be easy to download and cost-effective.
- A meeting platform, e.g. Zoom, Skype or Microsoft Teams
On this virtual platform you can invite all your students to open up an informal conversation. The idea is that students should meet each other, start forming groups and exchange information. Plan similar meetings two or three times a year just to create ongoing connectivity with students. Lecturers should take cognisance of the fact that online group activities do not necessarily result in collaborative interaction or learning.
- A social media platform, e.g. WhatsApp, Facebook, ChatBot
At this stage, students will engage with each other and will feel more comfortable working in groups. It is suggested that the groups be set up in WhatsApp, for example, to stimulate further conversation and work engagement. Groups should consist of three to seven members at the most.
Step 5: Introductory video
It is suggested that the lecturer record a video (not longer than six minutes) in which the lecturer introduces themself, gives an overview of the module and provides the protocol for further discussions.
In conclusion, distance (online) education is a new challenge to all. “I can say with a considerable certainty that the NWU Business School grasped the impact and potential of this new environment and that we are facing endless possibilities in our newly found ‘normal’ world.”
Dr Nelda Mouton
