Transparency in Online Pedagogy: A Critical Analysis of Changing Modalities

2021 ◽  
pp. 107769582110224
Author(s):  
Julianna Kirschner

As a result of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, college and university faculty have been tasked with moving their courses toward online modalities with minimal notice. This environment challenged faculty in unique ways, but the need for transparency and communication became more important than ever. To improve the student experience, faculty should consider adapting their strategies to accommodate the online space. Using critical analysis, this piece addresses specific steps faculty can take to improve the transition toward online teaching. These steps include increased access to the instructor and online learning materials, adapting course materials and syllabi, and acceptance of perceived failure.

Governing agencies and administrators of education have typically been operating under the impression that online teaching is Face-to-Face (F2F) teaching using computers. This belief is a negative stereotype of education that is continually disproven by instructors of both modes, students of both modes, and research into the similarities and differences. Traditional pedagogies have a longstanding role in the F2F classroom, which do not always transfer into the online classroom. Rather, online pedagogy should be considered as a distinct area of study that addresses the new and evolving pedagogies regarding technology and online learning. Specifically, this chapter identifies what the differences are between online and F2F education in order to demonstrate the unique and necessary distinction of online pedagogy from traditional pedagogies.


Author(s):  
Arif Nugroho ◽  
Dwi Ilmiani ◽  
Agnira Rekha

<p class="AbstractText">The unexpected shift of English language teaching from face-to-face classroom interaction to online learning activities using digital platforms has resulted in a number of challenges for English teachers and students. Hence, examining the teachers’ challenges and their insights of the online learning activities is highly required. The present study sheds some light on university EFL teachers’ challenges and insights of online learning activities amidst global pandemic. Drawing on the data collected using self-written reflections and semi-structured interviews from 17 Indonesian EFL teachers, the results revealed that the absence of an e-learning platform, lack of students’ motivation and engagement, and time consuming to prepare online learning materials became the primary challenges of the teachers. The results further portrayed that developing a representative digital platform, designing online learning materials, and improving the quality of teaching method were several valuable insights from the teachers. The results of this study contribute to providing fruitful advices for English teachers, students, and school authorities to enhance the efficacy of online teaching and learning activities, particularly during the global pandemic.</p>


Author(s):  
Geraldine Torrisi-Steele ◽  
Glenda Davis

<span>In recent years Australian universities have increased their focus on flexible delivery and online learning. Successful development of online teaching materials requires both knowledge of pedagogy as it applies to multimedia technologies as well as knowledge of the capabilities of current software and hardware. While academics are familiar with the skills and approaches required to operate in traditional environments they are often not equipped to meet the new demands of web authoring and online course design. Consequently, the potential of the online learning environment to improve the quality of the learning experience often remains unrealised.</span><p>To address this issue Griffith University, as part of its focus on flexible learning, has established campus based production centres. The centre offers academics the services of multimedia development teams. An educational designer is allocated to work collaboratively with the academic to assist with the design of the online materials and the integration of the online resources into courses.</p><p>This paper explores the expectations, experiences and perceptions taken from the perspective of ten lecturers within Griffith University, as they engage with the educational designer to develop online learning materials. Motivated by the authors' belief that the development of online learning materials is an endeavour aimed at improving the quality of teaching and learning, this paper seeks to raise some of the issues and concerns which educational designers, as staff developers, need to consider in order to guide interactions with academic staff toward a more fruitful end.</p>


Author(s):  
Sue Bennet ◽  
Ann-Marie Priest ◽  
Colin Macpherson

<span>At Central Queensland University (CQU), like many other universities, there is growing interest in using the Internet to deliver course materials and support student learning, especially for students learning at a distance. However, most staff have little experience of online learning environments and many feel they lack the background knowledge to participate in the formation of online teaching policies, or the skills to design and teach their own subjects online. In an attempt to address this situation, a team from CQU's Division of Distance and Continuing Education (DDCE) developed an online course on a topic that, it was assumed, would be of significant general interest, and invited staff to enrol as online students. The intention was to provide staff with an experience which would not only allow them to evaluate the pedagogical usefulness of this form of online teaching, but also provide a valuable starting point for more specialised training for those who wanted it. This paper discusses current staff development options for online teachers and presents a model in which a first hand experience of online learning becomes the basis upon which university teachers can build to form their own ideas about a particular approach to teaching and learning online.</span>


Author(s):  
Jialu Chen ◽  
Yingxiao Han ◽  
An Li

In recent years, with the development of society and the progress of science and technology, online learning has penetrated into people's daily life, and people's demand for high-quality curriculum products is more and more strong. From a macro perspective, the continuous growth of national financial investment in education, the continuous upgrading of China's consumption structure, the development of 5G technology and the popularization of AI intelligence make online teaching less limited. The online education industry is showing an explosive growth trend. More and more online education institutions are listed for financing, and the market value is soaring. However, in 2019, except for GSX, the latest online learning platforms such as New Oriental, Speak English Fluently and Sunlands, have been in a state of loss. Most of these agencies seize the market by increasing advertising investment, but at the same time, they also bring huge marketing costs, which affect the financial performance of the company. With the enhancement of Matthew effect, large-scale educational institutions occupy a large market through free classes and low-price classes, while small and medium-sized institutions with weak capital strength are often unable to afford high sales costs, facing the risk of capital chain rupture. Taking new Oriental online as an example, this paper analyzes the problems existing in the marketing strategies of online education institutions. It also puts forward suggestions on four aspects, which are target market, differentiated value, marketing mix and marketing mode, so as to make sure that online education institutions can control marketing expenses and achieve profits by improving course quality, expanding marketing channels and implementing precise positioning.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 221258682110070
Author(s):  
Ka Ho Mok ◽  
Weiyan Xiong ◽  
Hamzah Nor Bin Aedy Rahman

The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has forced online teaching and learning to be the primary instruction format in higher education globally. One of the worrying concerns about online learning is whether this method is effective, specifically when compared to face-to-face classes. This descriptive quantitative study investigates how students in higher education institutions in Hong Kong evaluated their online learning experiences during the pandemic, including the factors influencing their digital learning experiences. By analysing the survey responses from 1,227 university students in Hong Kong, this study found that most of the respondents felt dissatisfied with their online learning experiences and effectiveness. Meanwhile, this study confirms that respondents’ household income level and information technology literacy affected their online learning effectiveness. Moreover, this study highlights the significant contributions of the community of inquiry, which places social presence on the promotion of a whole person development that could not be achieved when relying mainly on online learning. Findings encourage university leaders and instructors to search for multiple course delivery modes to nurture students to become caring leaders with the 21st century skills and knowledge set.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 5471
Author(s):  
Chuan-Yu Mo ◽  
Te-Hsin Hsieh ◽  
Chien-Liang Lin ◽  
Yuan Qin Jin ◽  
Yu-Sheng Su

In order to enable online learning to continue developing when the COVID-19 pandemic passes, this study aimed to identify the critical factors that affected the use of e-learning by university students during the pandemic. These critical factors will help to increase the efficiency of future development and deployment of online learning systems. Through a literature review, this study employed the technology acceptance model, social support, and task–technology fit as the theoretical basis to establish the framework of the online learning environment with regards to the technology acceptance model in the context of emergency management. A questionnaire survey was administered to students in universities that had implemented online teaching during the pandemic, and 552 valid responses were collected. The survey explored the factors affecting the willingness of higher education institution students to continue using online learning, and the following conclusions were drawn. (1) The easier an online learning platform was to navigate, the better it was perceived by the students, and thus the students were more willing to use it. (2) Ease of use and usefulness were associated with the teachers’ choice of platform and their ability to achieve a satisfactory fit between the course design and platform navigation, which thereby affected the students’ learning outcomes and attitude towards use. (3) The positive attitude of teachers towards teaching increased the students’ perceived ease of use of online learning. (4) During the pandemic, family support—a major support for teachers in online teaching—enhanced teachers’ attitudes towards, and willingness to provide, online teaching. A high level of support showed that the parents urged the students to learn and complete online learning tasks as instructed by the teachers, implying that family support could affect the students’ habits towards, adaptation to, and identification of online learning. The study results provide insights into the factors affecting the willingness of teachers and students to continue using e-learning platforms.


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