Using Technology to enhance learning at higher education institutions

 Technology-enabled learning and the future of higher education present a lot of opportunities that instructors can explore as well as use to enhance students’ experiences (Ramlo, 2021). There has been a lot of experimenting with technology prior to the COVID 19 pandemic in higher education but in the last two years’ technology has helped educators to take delivery of higher education to greater heights (Olivera et al.,2021; Rapanta et al., 2021).

Face-to-face teaching was what staff were mostly accustomed to hence a bit reluctant to adopt online teaching. At times humans can refuse to adopt changes because they are so accustomed to or comfortable with and this is how academics felt about online learning (Ramlo, 2021).

 Before the pandemic, moodle was used as a platform to communicate, inform and place required learning materials for students. Big Blue Button was used from time to time to facilitate discussions and classes. Zoom, google classroom, Microsoft teams, etc. were hardly used. During the pandemic, academics had to explore other options and obviously face-to-face was not an option. During this time zoom became very popular. Online classes were facilitated using zoom, assessments were given using google forms, and assignments (more authentic ones) had to be given to students, these were marked and feedback was given online (Arity & Vesty, 2020). Screen-O-Matic was another free app that was used to record and place PowerPoint slide discussions online.

The COI model was more appropriate to the courses taught in Management and Public Administration discipline as it was based on constructive social learning theory. This will be further discussed as follows; social presence – encouraging students to discuss in groups by creating breakout rooms that allowed students from different campuses to discuss their ideas, opinions, and examples. This helped students to engage in peer learning, contextualize, work on problem-solving questions (business problems or managerial problems) as well as engage in critical thinking. The second aspect is cognitive presence – here students are able to construct and reflect on what they have learned during their classes or lecture discussions. In class, students are given activities where a company is restructured and 10 employees need to be selected who will be made redundant. Students need to apply their knowledge and state how they will make employees redundant, the processes and procedures they will follow, etc. The last point is teaching presence where attention has to be paid to the designing, facilitation, and instructions given to students during a class. Designing the class and facilitating discussions online can be challenging but giving precise instructions can be helpful for example when asking students to design a process map for a service industry using Lucid Chart app. Students can be further encouraged with the use of emojis, thumbs up, or even applause.

All these gestures really help students in the online learning environment and motivate them as they are able to engage in class activities online (Ma et al., 2021).

 

 

References:

Arity, V., & Vesty, G. (2020). Designing authentic assessments: Engaging business students in flow experience with digital technologies. In Tertiary Education in a Time of Change (pp. 21-38). Springer, Singapore.

 

Ma, G., Black, K., Blenkinsopp, J., Charlton, H., Hookham, C., Pok, W. F., ... & Alkarabsheh, O. H. M. (2021). Higher education under threat: China, Malaysia, and the UK respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 1-17.

 

Oliveira, G., Grenha Teixeira, J., Torres, A., & Morais, C. (2021). An exploratory study on the emergency remote education experience of higher education students and teachers during the COVID‐19 pandemic. British Journal of Educational Technology, 52(4), 1357-1376.

 

Ramlo, S. (2021). The coronavirus and higher education: Faculty viewpoints about universities moving online during a worldwide pandemic. Innovative Higher Education, 46(3), 241-259.

 

Rapanta, C., Botturi, L., Goodyear, P., Guàrdia, L., & Koole, M. (2021). Balancing technology, pedagogy and the new normal: Post-pandemic challenges for higher education. Postdigital Science and Education, 3(3), 715-742.