scholarly journals Converting to Online Course and Program Delivery: The University of South Australia Case Study

Author(s):  
Bruce King ◽  
Holly McCauslan ◽  
Ted Nunan

The University of South Australia's (UniSA) approach to converting its distance education programs to online delivery is to manage it as a part of establishing an online teaching and learning environment for all of its programs. UniSA's move to online teaching and learning derives from a clear vision of its future, is informed and directed by a comprehensive framework for teaching and learning, and enabled by appropriate structures, processes and resources. The institution has chosen to develop a relatively low-cost, easy to use online teaching and learning environment that has facilitated large-scale conversion to the online mode for all teaching and learning, including traditional distance education.

Author(s):  
Victor X. Wang

Teachers in today’s information society are required to rethink their teaching approaches to accommodate the learning needs of children and adults, either in the traditional classroom settings or the virtual environment. Logically speaking, children require instructors to teach them by using the pedagogical methods. Likewise, adults require teachers to help them learn by using andragogical approaches such as facilitation methods. When it comes to teaching children or helping adults learn in the online teaching and learning environment, it is the epistemological positions of the teachers that predetermine their instructional methods. In this chapter, the author compared and contrasted those pedagogical teaching methods with those andragogical approaches.


Author(s):  
Christine Clark

Drawing on the concept of “Buddhist detachment,” this chapter focuses on how the “distance” between students, and between students and faculty, imposed by the online teaching and learning environment, though typically viewed as antithetical to progressive educational pedagogy, can actually be integral to its realization.


Author(s):  
Catherine F. Flynn

Higher education has a long history of incivility, and the advent of distance learning has further exacerbated the issues. Increasing incivility in our society adds another challenging dimension to combating incivility and maintaining a supportive, educational environment. This chapter addresses the challenges of maintaining civility in the online teaching and learning environment that facilitates access 24/7. Specific issues relevant to disruptive actions in distance learning are covered, as well as strategies for preventing and reducing online incivility. Promoting a sense of connectiveness and social interaction is recommended, while also maintaining a professional relationship. Online culture is discussed as a key element in establishing an effective online environment.


Author(s):  
Katrina Kirby

During the times of COVID-19, teachers quickly had to address the barrier of virtual learning and adapt to a new world of online teaching. This chapter will look into effective practices for online teaching and learning. Additionally, it investigates parent communication in the classroom and how that has changed and developed during this season of COVID-19. This chapter will explore how the learning environment rapidly changed, developed, and improved. It also looks at useful resources that allow for online learning to continue to evolve and grow. In addition, this shift into an online world and how it can be transferred over when learning returns full time to classrooms to grant continued, uninterrupted learning are explored. Looking at how students from low socio-economic backgrounds were affected with the immediate shut down of schools and services, we must examine how to better set our students up for success for the future. Reflecting how schools can better prepare families will create an environment that is proactive, not reactive.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 791-811
Author(s):  
Lesley Gourlay

Abstract The term ‘quarantine’ is derived from the Italian quarantena, from quaranta, referring to the forty days of isolation traditionally imposed during the era of the Black Death in Europe. This paper examines this and related contemporary terms, in order to consider the complex and contradictory nature of enforced sites of isolation, with reference to the historical literature. The centrality of spatial practices in the current pandemic is emphasised, with a focus on the normally unobserved, micro practices of individuals under ‘lockdown’. The paper reports on an interview study conducted at a large UK Higher Education institution during the Covid-19 ‘lockdown’, and analyses the accounts of six academics, focusing particularly on their embodied and sociomaterial practices, with reference to the etymological analysis. The paper considers the extent to which their reported experiences reflect the various meanings of the term sequestrato, going on to propose that their working practices, particularly focused on screens and video calls, are characterised by a need to ‘perform the university’. I speculate on how the ontological nature of the university itself has been fundamentally altered by the closure of the campus and lockdown, proposing that the site of the university is now radically dispersed across these sequestered bodies. I conclude by calling into the question the accuracy of the term ‘online teaching and learning’, instead suggesting that in a fundamental sense, none of these practices is in fact ‘online’ or digital.


2021 ◽  
pp. 132-136
Author(s):  
Sandra Healy

Covid-19 affected educational institutions worldwide, and many moved online engaging in Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning (ERTL). It had a particular impact in Japan due to the low levels of computer usage in Japanese educational institutions and a reliance on traditional methods. This study uses semi-structured interviews with five participants to explore their perceptions of the move to online learning in a Japanese university context. Four factors emerged as significant: participants’ experiences prior to entering university; the importance of Social Networking Systems (SNS) in the process of becoming part of the university academic community; changes in spoken interactional patterns; and changes in learning patterns. It was found that the disruption due to ERTL led to fresh ways to learn and promoted an inclusive environment.


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