Sissons-Mulrennan-SoTEL(FINAL).pdf
Title: Technology-enhanced learning and designing for uncertainty
ABSTRACT: In this talk, we discuss the affordances of digital technologies to facilitate student-determined learning on practical or ‘hands-on’ courses. We will also examine the constraints that affect the learner experience when courses, designed for blended learning with face-to-face classes, suddenly move online.
We use a case study of a new multimedia undergraduate paper designed within an heutagogy framework. This course, along with all others in the university, had to be moved online mid-way through the semester when an outbreak of Covid-19 in New Zealand in 2021 led to a sudden imposition of a level-4 lockdown.
The case study demonstrates how technology-enhanced learning can be adapted at a time of crisis for practical courses without having to modify the learning outcomes. It also provides empirical discussion points on how authentic collaborative learner-directed modules can be tailored to be delivered on-line. Our experience highlights how the limitations of learning under restricted mobility can be an opportunity for student growth rather than a hindrance.
We were aware while initially designing the course, which formed part of a new journalism major, that we may need to move online at short notice, and so this case study should not be considered as a pure example of “emergency remote teaching” (Hodges et al. 2020). Our approach from the start of the year was to develop our students’ digital capabilities and guide them towards being agents of their own learning (Hase & Kenyon, 2007; Blaschke & Hase, 2019).
The design took a social constructivist approach (Lockey, Conaghan, Bland & Astin, 2020; Vygotsky, 1930-34/1978) that included experiential learning and reflection to increase students’ independence and preparedness. It then built on this using connectivism principles (Siemens, 2004) to link the individual to the class, including employing collaborative peer learning.
Our planning took account of less successful attempts to engage students online (Cowie & Sakui, 2019) as well as the lessons we had learned from the first lockdown in 2020. We considered student engagement, student access to the required technologies and their level of digital competence would be our greatest challenges, also identified as major challenges by Greenhow and Lewin (2021) in their reflections on learning in the pandemic.
Learning strategies we employed included mirroring the culture and emerging practices of professional journalists during Covid-19, developing an online classroom environment that fostered expert-like thinking along with student-determined, small group collaborations and play-based learning. We encouraged a high level of informality in our student-lecturer interactions early on, and held regular discussions around wellness. Once online, we offered extra support as many students were away from home and without a social support system, and some also reported feelings of isolation.
In designing the course, we reconceptualised our role (Cochrane & Munn, 2020) to be learning designers. Hence we modelled emerging journalistic practices and the application of social media technologies, and embedded critical analysis through peer review that achieved a high level of engagement among the students. The strategies were applied in the production of weekly multimedia news bulletins that were published on a purpose-built website, and student e-portfolios supported by multimedia exegeses.
