New Avenues of Learning

 The World Economic Forum recently published an article on “Universities After Covid”, by  Kyungmee Lee, a Senior Lecturer in Technology Enhanced Learning at Lancaster University. The article is relevant to teachers and students alike, the main idea being that face-to-face university teaching can be improved through insights gleaned during the global pandemic. Here is a summary of the most relevant points:

• Online learning during the pandemic was flexible, inclusive and compassionate; this is what all educational frameworks should be like from now on.

• The digital learning support systems that were set up during the pandemic should remain in place as lecturers should be encouraged to be creative in the way they design and deliver their courses.

• The solidarity and sympathy that was engendered between students and teachers during the global crisis should be appreciated and maintained, whether online or face to face.

• Some of the small-scale online activities that were used to replace long lectures, enhancing student focus and engagement, would work well if integrated into the curriculum.

• Blended learning should become more widespread; certain parts of lessons or modules could be moved online for greater flexibility.

• Heightened sensitivity towards digital and educational inequality must be maintained after the pandemic.

• Online accessibility removes physical barriers that can hamper learning for some.

It is hard to disagree with any of this, really. The lessons learned from the trauma of the pandemic should be cherished by universities rather than forgotten. We have come to understand, for example, that when students say they want face-to-face lectures, what they mean is this, as elegantly expressed by Sheffield Hallam’s vice chancellor: “…it’s not that they want to have lectures, they want to go for coffee with their mates after it and talk about it. They want to engage. So what you really need to do is say, how do you most effectively use your campus to stimulate engagement?”(as cited in Weale & Adams, 2021). A good question in need of reflection.