One of the primary challenges that colleges and universities faced during the pandemic was ensuring that all students had access to learning materials, instructors, and support. Beyond boosting bandwidth and Wi-Fi, institutions that wanted to provide an equitable instructional environment invested in online-friendly course design, easily accessible reference repositories, and interactive support systems to level the playing field for all students.
During the recent Fierce Education virtual event, Higher Education: Technologies and Strategies in the New Blended Learning World, Dr. Krishna Pakala, Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering at Boise State University, addressed the topic of “Ensuring Student Accessibility in a Blended Learning Environment.” He noted that we are experiencing a paradigm shift in higher education. “We need to create a learner-centered ecosystem,” Dr. Pakala said. “It is essential to provide opportunities for learning and to use technology to impact and increase flexibility and ease for all students—particularly for STEM learning.”
To view all of the sessions on demand go here.
Dr. Pakala focuses on supporting student success inside and outside the classroom through his student-centered learning model. During the pandemic, he used digital technology and community building to keep his students engaged in learning. He also used social media platforms, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook, to reach out and maintain human social connections to offset the separateness of social distancing.
The Empathetic Syllabus and Student Success Model
Emerging technology is one of the hallmarks of his teaching, and Dr. Pakala uses an empathetic syllabus with flexible guidelines where intellectual curiosity is intact and social connections and personal accommodations are included. During the pandemic he changed his syllabus to make it more community focused. He included flexible guidelines so that intellectual curiosity, social connections, and personal accommodations would all remain intact.
The student success model Dr. Pakala has designed is supported by equally important elements inside and outside the classroom, including engagement, retention, access, community, active learning, peer support, assessment, and resources. During the pandemic, when students could not be together, he increased his community building efforts to keep students engaged and active learners.
Dr. Pakala’s approach is supported by researchers from Cornell University. They assert that online learning environments can be designed to reflect and leverage the social nature of learning. “Previous research points to the critical role that community can play in building and sustaining productive learning and that teaching presence, defined as the core roles of the online instructor, is among the most promising mechanism for developing online learning community.”
Using Social Media for Authentic Connections with Students
In his efforts to keep his students engaged and learning through the pandemic, Dr. Pakala learned how to use all the social media platforms to be an authentic communicator and community builder with his students. He added a new outcome to his syllabus: Develop human connections by embracing togetherness. Initially, he created the content, but gradually students began to contribute their own. He began with:
- Sharing family moments and celebrations, such as pet day to improve morale.
- Making videos to highlight students.
- Sharing a moment from each day to connect students to their community.
- Re-emphasizing the importance of social connection outside the classroom.
Students embraced the idea of digital togetherness and are now creating the content and expanding their own learning communities.
The second presenter was Mark Fuller, Product Marketing Manager from Labster. His company produces virtual labs. Fuller spoke about the learning tools they create to expand access for students. They design their labs from the ground up using Universal Design to ensure the labs overcome barriers to accommodate student differences. For example they:
- Built the screen reader to higher standards
- Added alt text
- Adjusted text size
- Clarified instructions
- Use various genders and body types when depicting scientists
- Translate simulation interfaces into other languages
- Provide web accessibility guidance, not just compliance
- Have created an open and transparent design process to adapt to a changing world.
For other more articles from “Higher Education: Technologies and Strategies in the New Blended Learning World” go to:
How to Choose Interactive Tools, Strategies to Improve Student Assessment
Universities Stepped Up Their Technology Game to Meet Pandemic Challenges