While eager to return to campus life, learners also enjoy the benefits of online education. Institutions must strike the right balance between the two
Students will expect a blended model of teaching going forward, according to a panel at the THE Student Success Forum, held in partnership with Labster.
The pandemic forced higher education to shift online, but while students are eager to return to the social university experience, they have also enjoyed the benefits offered by remote learning.
From simulations to gamification, innovative pedagogies are keeping students engaged in the subject matter, as well as offering more opportunities for learners to interact with faculty.
Courses need to have flexibility built into them, said Seth Racey, senior lecturer of biomedical sciences at Northumbria University. “When you bring students to campus, it has to be for a good reason. And then when you’re delivering online, you have to offer the best quality that you can.”
For Lauren Olley, a biomedical science student at Northumbria University, learners struggle to engage with text-heavy PowerPoint presentations. Simulations, on the other hand, were “so stimulating because it’s almost like you’re playing a game”, Olley said.
But these new online learning techniques offer benefits beyond engaging learners, said Racey. “Students enjoy doing simulations prior to a lab because they see the lab as a high-stakes environment…With simulations, it doesn’t matter because you can just reset the simulation and start again,” he said. This is particularly important for students who have never set foot in a lab due to Covid.
Online learning also helps educators identify the gaps in students’ understanding and previous education, said Sarah-Jayne Boulton, global curriculum lead at Labster, which offers virtual laboratory simulations. “We’ve shifted the way that we think about designing simulations…to really respond to where the gaps are,” Boulton said.
The online environment also enables students to ask questions and engage with their lecturers in a way that wouldn’t be possible in face-to-face lectures, Olley said.
In fact, online learning has promoted equity in education because more students can access education. “We’ve been able to help educators create student equity and student access by giving these [students] these [simulated] experiences,” Boulton said.
However, the move to remote delivery has highlighted the digital divide, and the reality that many students and educators struggle to access the required hardware and software, the panellists said.
Universities have introduced numerous initiatives to support their staff and students, such as loan schemes and supplying devices, said Boulton.
Racey noted that the digital divide is something universities must keep in mind in their learning plans. For example, Northumbria University kept some of its laboratories open so students could access online materials during the pandemic. Going forward, “hopefully digital infrastructure will be a real focus from government and universities alike”, Racey concluded.
Watch the session on demand above or on the THE Connect YouTube channel.
Find out more about Labster.
