We argue that AI-generated content detectors are best used in conjunction with human expertise and other methods of analysis to ensure the highest levels of accuracy and integrity in content validation and, concomitantly, create assignments as opportunities for application and practice (e.g., project-based assessment) where students cannot rely exclusively on AI-generated texts.
Read MoreFrom telegraphs to telework passing through the “electronic” cottage, “remote work” may have been a part of society longer than we realized. In the early 2000s, advancements in mobile devices and virtual communication technologies, such as video conferencing and online project management tools, accelerated the growth of remote work (Friedman, 2005). In 2010, the U.S. government implemented the Telework Enhancement Act, which encouraged federal agencies to allow employees to work from home (U.S. Office of Personnel Management, n.d.). In the private sector, companies such as IBM and Hewlett-Packard equipped countless employees with the ability to work remotely for years. In a CFO online article written in 2000, Hewlett-Packard’s director of new business stated that out of the 80,000 company employees, “about 25 percent now work full or part-time from home” (Gabrielle, November 15, 2000).
Additionally, the global financial crisis of 2008 played a role in the rise of remote work, as companies sought to cut costs by reducing their office space and allowing employees to work from home (Bughin et al., 2010). The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 normalized the trend of remote work, as many companies were forced to pivot to remote work out of necessity. According to the U.S. Census Bureau (September 15, 2022), the number of people primarily working from home tripled between 2019 and 2021, with roughly 9 million people in 2019 and 27.6 million people in 2021. Today, remote work is a common practice in the United States and around the world.
Today, remote work is a common practice in the United States and around the world. [Illustration by Mônica Lopes]
From a production standpoint, one may believe that it’s necessary to congregate work in one place as a condition for the division of labor. Uninhabited office towers and buildings seemed like a fantasy fiction setting in 2019. This is akin to people not imagining leaving their homes and farms to work in factories in highly condensed areas 300 years ago. Fantasy is turning into reality, and this shift is happening again due to social, environmental, and economic forces that are converging to transfer the locus of work back to home.
Interestingly enough, Alvin Toffler, author of The Third Wave, introduced the concept of an “electronic cottage” as a home-centered space where most of the white-collar work can be performed with the support of technology. In Toffler’s (1980) own words:
Today it takes an act of courage to suggest that our biggest factories and office towers may, within our lifetimes, stand half empty, reduced to use as ghostly warehouses or converted into living space. Yet this is precisely what the new mode of production makes possible: a return to cottage industry on a new, higher, electronic basis, and with it a new emphasis on the home as the center of society. (p. 194)
The COVID-19 pandemic taught us that although face-to-face communication is important in working settings since it can convey nonverbal messages, some tasks do not require much or any external contact or only require it occasionally. Simultaneously, issues of workflow, management, and productivity, along with problems of self-directness and motivation, may arise, but the “electronic cottage” is here to stay. Toffler introduced this concept in his book in 1980, but the concept of remote work has been a part of our society longer than you may realize.
The “electronic cottage” is here to stay. [Illustration by Mônica Lopes]
Early forms of remote work, such as working from home or a remote office, can be traced back to the late 1800s with the invention of the telephone and the telegraph. In the 1960s and 1970s, telecommuting emerged as a possibility for white-collar workers. The term was coined by Jack Nilles in 1973. Nilles, a researcher at the University of Southern California, described telecommuting as the practice of using telecommunications for the daily commute to work (Nilles, 1994). As Nilles explains, telecommuting is a specific type of teleworking, which refers to the use of telecommunications and information technologies to perform work-related tasks. In both telecommuting and teleworking, the focus is on the change in worker’s travel behavior.
In the 1980s, advances in computer technology and the proliferation of personal computers made it easier for people to work remotely. This led to the growth of the telecommuting movement, which sought to promote the idea of working from home or a remote location as one way to reduce traffic congestion and improve work-life balance.
In the 1990s, the rise of the internet and companies and households purchasing laptops further facilitated remote work. In 1995, a survey conducted by the Telework Research Network found that approximately 16 million people in the United States were working remotely at least one day per week (Gajendran & Harrison, 2007).
In the 1980s, advances in computer technology and the proliferation of personal computers transformed office work. [Illustration by Mônica Lopes]
The benefits and drawbacks of working remotely have been extensively discussed in the corporate, higher education, and government sectors over the years. Many issues have come to light, such as data security, the quality of work relationships, and productivity. Supporters view remote work as an effective strategy for attracting and keeping talent (Morning Edition, March 9, 2023) and increasing employee engagement (Tsipursky, September 25, 2023). On the other hand, remote work can have downsides, such as increased work intensity and elevated stress levels, which can adversely impact employees' health (Eurofound and the International Labour Office, 2017). Finally, others argue that the results on the impact of remote work may be inconclusive (Goldberg, October 10, 2023).
However, it is undeniable that remote work has seen a steady increase in popularity over the past several decades. With the advancements in technology and the social, environmental, and economic forces that we are currently experiencing, the “electronic cottage will become the norm of the future.” (Toffler, 1980, p. 207).
References
Bughin, J., Chui, M. and Manyika, J. (2010) Clouds, big data, and smart assets: Ten tech-enabled business trends to watch. McKinsey Quarterly, 1-14.
Eurofound and the International Labour Office (2017). Working anytime, anywhere: The effects on the world of work. Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, and the International Labour Office, Geneva.
Friedman, T. L. (2005). The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Gabrielle, M. (November 15, 2000). IT: Goodbye, Dilbert. CFO Technology.
Gajendran, R. S., & Harrison, D. A. (2007). The good, the bad, and the unknown about telecommuting: Meta-analysis of psychological mediators and individual consequences. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(6), 1524-1541. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.92.6.1524
Goldberg, E. (October 10, 2023). Here’s What We Do and Don’t Know About the Effects of Remote Work. The New York Times, Business.
Morning Edition (March 9, 2023). How companies can recruit and keep employees who are used to working from home. NPR, Business.
Nilles, J. M. (1994). Traffic reduction by telecommuting: A status review and selected bibliography. Center for Effective Organizations.
Tsipursky, G. (September 25, 2023). Return-to-office mandates: See where you fall on the employee disengagement spectrum. Fortune.
Toffler, A. (1980). The Third Wave. Bantam Books.
U.S. Census Bureau (September 15, 2022). U.S. Census Bureau releases new 2021 American community survey 1-year estimates for all geographic areas with populations of 65,000 or more. U.S. Census Bureau.
U.S. Office of Personnel Management (n.d.). Telework Enhancement Act. U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
-- Please cite the content of this blog as: Correia, A.-P. (2023, November 10). Is Remote Work Still a Thing? Exploring the History of Remote Work in U.S. Ana-Paula Correia’s Blog. https://www.ana-paulacorreia.com/anapaula-correias-blog/2023/11/10/is-remote-work-still-a-thing-exploring-the-history-of-remote-work-in-us ChatGPT, also known as Generative Pre-trained Transformer, is a language model developed by the San Francisco-based company, OpenAI. The company was founded in 2015 by Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, Ilya Sutskever, Wojciech Zaremba, and John Schulman commerce (OpenAI et al., 2015). The company is also responsible for creating other software programs such as GPT-3 and DALL-E2. These intensify the ongoing advancements in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Made publicly available for testing on November 30, 2022, ChatGPT OpenAI’s chatbot has caused a stir on the internet after breaking records by gaining over 1 million users in just one week of its launch (Ruby, 2023).
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
ChatGPT has become popular in various industries, including finance, healthcare, and e-commerce, as a way to incorporate advanced natural language processing capabilities into their products and services. Concomitantly, ChatGPT has been gaining traction in Higher Education.
One of the critical features of ChatGPT is its ability to generate human-like text based on a given prompt. This feature is particularly useful for content creation, language translation, and customer service automation tasks. The model has also been trained on a massive dataset of internet text, allowing it to understand and respond to a wide range of topics and use cases. AI-generated text tools like ChatGPT have been trained to use billions of written works, encompassing different materials, including blogs, novels, and classic literature (Marr, 2022).
Regarding language support, ChatGPT can understand and generate text in several languages, including English, Spanish, French, German, and Chinese. However, the model’s performance may vary depending on the language and the complexity of the task requested.
Potential & Impact
ChatGPT in Higher Education
With its ability to generate human-like text and carry out natural language processing tasks, ChatGPT can potentially impact how students and teachers work in Higher Education. One of the key areas where ChatGPT can make a significant impact is in automating administrative tasks. For example, ChatGPT can answer frequently asked questions and provide course information freeing up valuable time for teachers and allowing them to focus on what they do best: teaching.
ChatGPT has the potential to be highly beneficial in personalized learning support (Trust et al., 2023). By facilitating text-based conversations between students and ChatGPT, learners can interact with an intelligent system that responds in real time, leading to a more personalized and engaging learning experience. ChatGPT can be used in various ways, such as providing instant feedback to students, answering their questions, or generating relevant resources. ChatGPT can act as a “teachable agent,” according to Tate et al. (2023), by engaging students in a text-based conversation and encouraging them to teach ChatGPT a concept as a means of promoting their own learning.
It is also possible to use ChatGPT to promote deep learning by improving student engagement. One example is personalized tutoring, where ChatGPT can provide customized feedback and guidance to individual students based on their learning needs and preferences. This can help students better understand and apply the course content. Another example is scenario-based learning, where ChatGPT can simulate real-life situations and provide students with opportunities to apply their knowledge and skills in an applied context.
Photo by Jonathan Kemper on Unsplash
In addition to improving student engagement, ChatGPT can help to streamline the grading process, providing real-time feedback and offering feedback on students’ writing (Trust, 2023), allowing students to receive quick and constructive feedback on their progress. This can be especially valuable for online learning, where traditional methods of offering feedback and grading can be slow and cumbersome.
ChatGPT has been used to generate automated summaries and transcripts of online lectures. This allows students to quickly and easily review the key takeaways from an online lecture and provides a valuable resource for students who may have difficulty understanding the spoken word. ChatGPT can also be integrated into online discussion boards or virtual reality environments to facilitate more meaningful interactions between students and instructors. One may argue that students can benefit, particularly in terms of productivity and efficiency. By using ChatGPT, students can streamline their research and study processes, saving time and increasing productivity.
Another relevant aspect of ChatGPT’s potential in Higher Education is language learning. Due to its ability to carry out natural language processing tasks, ChatGPT can facilitate conversational practice, providing students with personalized feedback on their pronunciation and language skills. When integrated into online courses, ChatGPT has the ability to understand and generate text in multiple languages. This allows educators to create multilingual online course materials, making their courses more accessible to global audiences. Additionally, ChatGPT can offer writing and communication assistance for students, particularly those who face language and learning challenges, as well as individuals who are learning English as a second language (Tate et al., 2023).
Looking broadly, we acknowledge the potential of generative AI and integrate it into education, just as we use other tools such as computers, calculators, and pen and paper. By incorporating AI into the curriculum and teaching students how to use it responsibly, we can help them gain a better understanding of its ethical implications in society, formal and informal education, and lifelong learning (Bozkurt et al., 2023).
Obstacles & Constraints
ChatGPT in Higher Education
Simply put, ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence language model that generates text by analyzing input data. However, it does not have the capability to comprehend the intricacies of human language and conversation fully. Its responses are solely based on the information fed to it during the training process (Bogost, 2022).
An important aspect to consider is that ChatGPT can only offer information dated before September 2021. If there are inquiries regarding topics from before the Internet era, such as a paper on the 1968 flu pandemic, there will be limited sources to draw from. Therefore, it is unsurprising that numerous limitations and constraints of ChatGPT have been pointed out. For starters, when using ChatGPT in Higher Education, one of the obstacles is the lack of context awareness. Since the model is trained on a massive dataset of internet text, it does not have the ability to understand the specific context of the prompt. As a result, it may generate text that is not entirely relevant or accurate and lead to errors or inaccuracies in its generated text. On the same token, ChatGPT can produce content that imitates the style and format of real news stories but incorporates fabricated statistics and quotes from fictitious sources (Vincent, 2019).
Another obstacle faced when using ChatGPT is its lack of creativity. ChatGPT generates text based on patterns it has learned from the data it was trained on, which means it can produce repetitive or generic text. Also, it needs help understanding the tone of a given text, which can lead to inappropriate responses or feedback. This is a constraint when using ChatGPT to generate feedback on student assignments, as it may not be able to understand the nuances of human communication and can generate feedback that is unsuitable to the student’s needs.
Creativity comes into play when the learner or user prompts ChatGPT. That leads to Prompt Engineering or the art of asking ChatGPT questions (Mok, 2023). Prompt engineering is a technique used to help artificial intelligence understand what to say or write. It involves selecting and designing the right words to guide the model toward producing the desired type of response. This technique helps to improve the accuracy and consistency of language models when generating natural language text. Educators are currently working on collecting and sharing ideas on using generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Dall-E, and Midjourney) to enhance their teaching methods and improve academic research. They collaborate to gather and exchange innovative ideas on incorporating these tools into their scholarship (Nerantzi, 2023).
A significant constraint of generative AI is algorithm bias (Bozkurt et al., 2023). Algorithm bias refers to the tendency of an AI algorithm to produce biased outputs or results that are unfair or discriminatory toward specific groups of people. This can happen if the algorithm is trained using biased data or instructions, leading to biased decisions or predictions. In the case of generative AI, algorithm bias can severely limit its potential. Generative AI systems are designed to create original content, such as images or text, based on the data they have been trained on. For example, if a language model is trained on biased data, it may generate text that perpetuates harmful stereotypes or discriminates against certain populations. Consequently, algorithm bias is a major concern because it can reinforce and amplify existing social inequalities and discrimination (Bembeneck et al., 2021).
Concluding Thoughts
ChatGPT in Higher Education
With the release of GPT-4 this week by OpenAI, ChatGPT and other forms of generative AI in Higher Education are here to stay. GPT-4 is now able to understand and respond to both images and text, making it a multimodal AI tool. OpenAI reports that the updated version has improved accuracy and expanded knowledge, along with the ability to “see” images and “reason” (OpenAI, 2023).
Generative AI has the potential to revolutionize the way we learn and teach. By leveraging the power of generative AI, educators can provide more personalized and satisfying learning experiences. Students may be able to maximize their productivity and achieve their academic goals in a more efficient manner.
Yet, it is essential to acknowledge the pitfalls of this technology. Algorithmic bias, content quality, currency, and accessibility issues must be addressed to ensure that ChatGPT is used to its fullest without exacerbating existing inequalities. At the end of the day, while technology can significantly enhance the educational experience, it is the human-to-human interactions that make education genuinely transformative.
References
Bembeneck, E., Nissan, R., & Obermeyer, Z. (October 21, 2021). To stop algorithmic bias, we first have to define it. Brookings.
Bogost, I. (December 7, 2022). ChatGPT Is Dumber Than You Think. The Atlantic.
Bozkurt, A. et al. (2023). Speculative Futures on ChatGPT and Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI): A Collective Reflection from the Educational Landscape. Asian Journal of Distance Education, 18(1), 53-130. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7636568
OpenAI, Brockman, G., & Sutskever, I. (December 11, 2015). Introducing OpenAI. OpenAI Blog.
OpenAI (March 14, 2023). GPT-4 is OpenAI’s most advanced system, producing safer and more useful responses. OpenAI Blog.
Marr, B. (December 21, 2022). ChatGPT: Everything You Really Need To Know (In Simple Terms). Forbes.
Mok, A. (March 1, 2023). ‘Prompt engineering’ is one of the hottest jobs in generative AI. Here's how it works. Insider.
Nerantzi, C. (February 2, 2023). Creating a collection of 101 creative ideas to use AI in education. #creativeHE.
Ruby, D. (February 8, 2023). ChatGPT Statistics for 2023: Comprehensive Facts and Data. DemandSage.
Tate, T. P., Doroudi, S., Ritchie, D., Xu, Y., & Uci, M. W. (2023, January 10). Educational research and AI-generated writing: Confronting the coming tsunami. EdArXiv.
Trust, T. (January 2023). ChatGPT & Education.
Trust, T., Whalen, J., & Mouza, C. (2023). Editorial: ChatGPT: Challenges, Opportunities, and Implications for Teacher Education. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education.
Vincent, J. (2019). AI researchers debate the ethics of sharing potentially harmful programs. The Verge.
-- Please cite the content of this blog as: Correia, A.-P. (2023, March 15). Is ChatGPT the new buzz in Higher Education? Ana-Paula Correia’s Blog. https://www.ana-paulacorreia.com/anapaula-correias-blog/2023/3/15/is-chatgpt-the-new-buzz-in-higher-education E-learning, or electronic learning, has come a long way in recent years and has become an integral part of education and training. With the advent of new technologies and the growing demand for online learning, e-learning has seen significant growth and is expected to continue to do so in the future.
Based on Januszewski and Molenda’s definition of Educational Technology, e-learning is defined here as the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance through the appropriate use of different technologies. The mode of delivery is online, and it targets a variety of audiences ranging from K-12, corporate, higher education, and other organizations. Particular focus on the ethical practice of e-learning: a practice that considers your learners, the environments for learning, the needs of the society, and the “good” of society (think who is included, who is empowered, and who has authority are new issues in the design and development of learning solutions) (Januszewski & Molenda, 2008).
As we start a new year, it seems relevant to explore the latest trends and frameworks in e-learning and how they are shaping the future of education and training. So, whether you're a student, a teacher, or a professional educator, keep reading to learn more about the future of e-learning and how it is shaping the way we learn and interact with others.
Virtual Learning Communities
Learning communities are the keystone of learning together.
Learning communities are the keystone of learning together. We will see a greater emphasis on collaboration and community-building to help fight feelings of isolation common among online learners and teachers in virtual learning communities. Learner-generated content is valued and rewarded, leading to online learning and teaching democratization (Correia et al., 2019). For example, addressing social challenges while learning contributes to a pedagogy of engagement.
E-Learning platforms are being developed to allow learners and teachers to collaborate and connect in virtual learning environments, creating a sense of community and belonging and making learning more social and democratic.
Microlearning
Bite-size content, sometimes called snack content, is a concept borrowed from the fast food industry with easily “digestible” content nuggets as fast learning.
There is a significant emphasis on microlearning and bite-sized learning content. With people’s increasingly busy schedules, shorter and more focused learning sessions are becoming more popular. This trend is particularly relevant for online learners, who can learn at their own pace and schedule and want to learn in bite-size chunks (Sharma, 2022). Microlearning also allows learners to consume content on demand and at their own pace, making it a highly effective and flexible way to learn.
Bite-size content, sometimes called snack content, is a concept borrowed from the fast food industry with easily “digestible” content nuggets as fast learning. The popularity of learning podcasts, whose average duration is between 20 and 40 minutes, is due to their compatibility with fast learning. With the launch of Clubhouse in March 2020, training rediscovered the interest in audio. Learning podcasts are revolutionizing the use of audio from a pedagogical perspective.
Mobile devices rapidly deploy snack content, leading e-learning to adopt mobile learning fully. This trend is making traditional forms of e-learning through computer-based and instructor/facilitator-based learning more an alternative to training than the norm. E-Learning platforms and course materials are optimized for mobile devices to make them more accessible to learners.
Immersive Learning
The future promises many improvements with haptic feedback and olfactory impressions.
Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) enhance learners’ interactive experience and make online learning more immersive. VR and AR can create realistic simulations and scenarios, allowing learners to experience a subject in a way that would not be possible in traditional online classes. They are particularly impactful for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) subjects.
So far, the cost of developing training for VR/AR devices has been prohibitive. Though, with the advances in these technologies, the development will become less costly and accessible to education budgets. For example, Meta has proposed a significant advancement, particularly with avatars and the ability to transmit the micro-signals of each participant through Meta Quest Pro headsets in real time. The photorealistic avatar built with a simple smartphone completely changes the quality of the relationship. Teachers and trainers can increase and maintain their teaching presence and support learners in all steps of the learning journey.
The future promises many improvements with haptic feedback and olfactory impressions. What remains to be built is an ecosystem that easily allows for content production and has enough learners to make it a somewhat profitable business model.
Artificial Intelligence
2022 was the year of breaking new frontiers in AI thanks to the Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3 (GPT-3).
Education has been mostly untouched by the hands of Artificial Intelligence (AI) (Aamir, 2022), but this is changing too. 2022 was the year of breaking new frontiers in AI (The Economist, 2022) thanks to the Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3 (GPT-3) launched by OpenAI. This deep learning algorithm generates more than 175 billion parameters simultaneously and is capable of building texts out of nothing without supervision. MidJourney, another version of GPT-3, proposes creating artistic images in sophisticated styles. Content creation is being developed with a quality never seen before.
The uses still need to be established, but the potentials are enormous. AI can personalize learning experiences, provide real-time feedback, and analyze student data to improve learning outcomes. Producing on demand allows for creating custom-made content live. And on the same principle, there is nothing to prevent thinking that the same technology could also generate podcasts and videos on demand. In the long term, each learner could build their own training; they just have to learn how to make well-formulated requests and prompts to artificial intelligence.
Online Learner Satisfaction
Learner satisfaction is an essential indicator of success when teaching online.
Learner satisfaction is an essential indicator of success when teaching online. AI ensures massive data processing and a multifaceted understanding of learners. E-Learning platforms use data and analytics to create personalized learning experiences for learners, tailoring the content and pace of the content to the individual’s needs and preferences.
The AI permits personalization at a granular level, can measure and consider prior existing knowledge, track learner progress and boost confidence while learning online (Bernhardt, 2022). E-learning platforms will use AI to adapt to the learner, their pace of progress, and their individual learning needs and preferences. Personalization not only increases learner satisfaction but also improves the quality of the learning experience for the individual.
Peer Pedagogy
A peer-to-peer pedagogy that gives the power back to learners and puts the learner at the center of the learning.
Peer pedagogy or peeragogy was developed by Howard Rheingold in 2012. A peer-to-peer pedagogy that gives the power back to learners and puts the learner at the center of the learning.
The trend is for learners to have autonomy and become the creators of learning and story makers. This requires an agile and operable pedagogy based on real-world issues and societal challenges (Diebold, 2023). To a certain degree, AI will add to this make-your-own training movement.
These are some of the trends expected to continue in e-learning in the following years, but it is worth noting that e-learning is a rapidly evolving field, and new trends and technologies are likely to emerge. The promise of online learning and teaching of learning anywhere, anytime, and anything … and the excitement of this promise is being fulfilled with several new technologies and emerging trends transforming how we learn and interact with others. Whether through microlearning, peer-to-peer learning, virtual and augmented reality, or artificial intelligence, the future of e-learning will be exciting and one to watch for.
Aamir, R. (October 20, 2022). Top 24 eLearning Trends you must know in 2023. Resourcifi.
Bernhardt, M. (April 28, 2022). The AI Learning Revolution and the End of One-Size-Fits-All Learning. Forbes.
Correia, A.-P., North, C. A., Korkmaz, C., Simmerman, V. E., & Bruce Wallace, K. A. (2019). Authentic online discussions: A narrative inquiry into sharing leadership & facilitation among teachers and students. International Journal on E-Learning, 18(2), 165-189.
Diebold, S. (10 Janvier, 2023). E-learning 2023 : 10 tendances à surveiller. AFFEN.
Januszewski, A. & Molenda, M. (2008). Educational Technology: A Definition with Commentary. Routledge.
Rheingold, H. (January 23, 2012). Toward peeragogy. Connected Learning Alliance.
Sharma, M. (July 30, 2022). Top New eLearning Trends to Watch in 2022. eLearning Industry.
The Economist (June 9, 2022). Artificial intelligence’s new frontier.
-- Please cite the content of this blog as: Correia, A.-P. (2023, January 17). E-learning 2023: Six Trends to Watch. Ana-Paula Correia’s Blog. https://www.ana-paulacorreia.com/anapaula-correias-blog/2023/1/17/e-learning-2023-six-trends-to-watch A new podcast produced and published by Ohio State’s Center on Education and Training for Employment, CETE Works Podcast, focuses on a future where all learners reach their highest potential. The podcast explores current topics impacting educational and workforce transformation. Special thanks to Fara Allen, the host of the CETE Works Podcast.
In this episode, I discuss the promise of online learning and teaching of learning anywhere, anytime, and anything … and the excitement of this promise. I relate happiness to learners’ satisfaction and share my experiences of being an online teacher, student, and designer. In this context, I use Lyubomirsky’s (2007, p. 32*) definition of happiness as “the experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one’s life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile.”
Successful learning
… is when the teacher is happy being a teacher teaching online, and the student is happy being a student learning online.
Credits: @jacquiemunguiaThe podcast episode ends with a reflection on how learning organizations, like Ohio State’s Center on Education and Training for Employment, have responded to the pandemic and how professionals are redefining their priorities. “If we’re learning something from this pandemic, it’s that we have a very clear perspective that life is short, and we don’t want to waste our time doing things that we don’t love. If you love your job, you have that fulfillment that comes from doing a good job. If you don’t, please don’t waste your time, just look for a passion, look for another job, because that feeling of doing your job is worthwhile to pursue…”
*Lyubomirsky, S. (2007). The how of happiness: A scientific approach to getting the life you want. Penguin Press.
When we hear about scholarly publication, our mind immediately goes to peer-reviewed articles (printed or in digital formats). This is understandable. Peer-reviewed articles are often the standard for success in academia, because these articles are reviewed by our peers, they are perceived as high-quality.
Scholarly work
It is written by a scholar(s), meaning an individual or group of individuals who are highly educated in a particular field of study, and results from research conducted in that field of study.
Scholarly work is written by a scholar(s), meaning an individual or group of individuals who are highly educated in a particular field of study, and results from research conducted in that field of study. Because of advances in digital technologies, scholarly work has been published in different formats. Scholars, like us, are relying on digital portals to disseminate our work, hence the emergence of public scholarship. Public scholarship encompasses various modalities of creating and sharing knowledge for and with the general public and different communities. Public scholarship influences the field of educational technology and drives the scholarly work of researchers. As an example, George Veletsianos, Professor in the School of Education and Technology at Royal Roads University, offers several examples of publishing for broader audiences in outlets like Educase Review, The Conversation, and Inside Higher Ed.
Credits to Lorenzo Herrera.
Blogs are another example of publishing scholarly work in a new way. Many scholars create blogs to communicate research findings and reflections on relevant research topics of their interest and to help advance knowledge in an accelerated way. The Educationalist, a newsletter offering a diverse perspective on issues of technology in Higher Education is written by Alexandra Mihai, Assistant Professor of Innovation in Higher Education at Maastricht University. Mihai’s top postings address and provide resources on feedback and active learning issues for online learning.
Podcasts are another useful mechanism for disseminating knowledge and considerations. Consisting of a series of digital audio files that can be downloaded by all for easy listening, podcasts allow for quick information exchanges, discussions on any imaginable topic, and entertainment. The fact that podcasts are readily available, and people can listen to them whenever they like is an important reason for their success. In 2016, Sophie Bailey, educational technology consultant, launched The EdTech Podcast with the purpose of increasing communication between “ed” and “tech,” which is now downloaded between 2,000 and 3,000 each week across 145 different counties. Podcasts series such as the future of technology for education and what matters in educational technology have proven big successes.
Podcasts are also being used in Higher Education to communicate scholarly work with audiences outside academia. Ohio State’s College of Education and Human Ecology Inspire Podcast aims precisely to do that. On their latest episode and anticipating the International Students’ Day (November 17), the stories of international students in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic are explored: International students: “the worst year but the best year.” In January of 2021, the Center on Education and Training for Employment (CETE) at the same university released the CETE Works Podcast, focusing on ever-evolving situations that frame the nature of education and the future of work. The episodes’ themes range from translating workforce problems into training solutions to equity and inclusion in education.
Podcasts
Podcasts are also being used in Higher Education to communicate scholarly work with audiences outside academia.
Op-eds and editorials also serve as meaningful vehicles to provide voices to discuss pertinent and timely issues. These tend to be brief, written pieces published in outlets like Educase Review, The Conversation, and Inside Higher Ed with the intent to reach larger audiences. Patricia Young, Professor of Literacy, Culture, Instructional Design & Technology at the University of Maryland, recently published a piece on The Conversation that discusses the future of college teaching. This article represents a perfect marriage of journalist flair and academic rigor.
The increasing influence of social media in academia is another way to widely disseminate scholarly work. According to a survey from the Babson Survey Research Group and Pearson* (2011), college faculty are twice as likely as other workers to be using social media as part of their job, and more than 80 percent of faculty are using some form of social media in their teaching.
Many scholars are becoming influencers in the Twittersphere by their own merit, persistence, and courage. As they increase their number of followers and intensify engagement, they become voices that shape educational technology as a field and across the globe. These influencers include Maha Bali, Sharla Berry, Vanessa Dennen, Lucy Santos Green, Nandita Gurjar, Stephanie Moore, Natalie Milman, Nadia Naffi, Nicola Pallitt, Enilda Romero-Hall, Torrey Trust, just to name a few.
Credits to Jordan McDonald.
As we consider venues to publish our scholarly work, it is critical to consider the many facets of scholarly work and explore outside the peer-reviewed academia box. Work produced as a result of our research efforts and accumulated expertise needs to transcend the traditional journal publications. Sharing our findings, considerations for future work, and posing new questions through these new portals allows us to reach a far more diverse and extended audiences. Isn’t that what science is designed to do? Digital technologies have allowed us to diversify venues for publication. Let us take advantage of that and translate our scholarly work into formats that people worldwide can read, cite and talk about.
*Moran, M, Seaman, J., & Tinti-Kane, H. (2011). Teaching, learning, and sharing: How today’s higher education faculty use social media. Pearson Learning Solutions and Babson Survey Research Group. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED535130.pdf
As we engage in a high number of online experiences at all levels, the questions around the quality of these experiences are even more piercing in the context of the COVID pandemic. Thus, this reflection on what makes an online learning experience extraordinary. What will truly resonate with the online learner and offer a life-long impact? Here are SEVEN important principles that I apply to my online teaching and learning that have been proven to be successful in creating exceptional online learning experiences.
Put Yourself in the Learner’s Shoes.
ONE) Put Yourself in the Learner’s Shoes. I have experienced firsthand being an online learner as well as an online instructor. I have engaged in virtual design work, joined a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), and researched the synchronicities of geographically distributed teams. Besides, I have designed, developed, and delivered dozens of online courses and modules. I have collected feedback from many online learners on what they expected from online learning. This myriad of lived understandings informs my online teaching every day. It is important to connect, care and empathize with the online learner and tailor a learning experience that meets their needs and fulfills their aspirations.
TWO) Make it Count. Especially when we teach adult learners, they expect their lives and professional experiences (e.g., work-related activities, family responsibilities, and previous education) are integrated into their online learning. Adult learners want to know why they are learning what they are learning and see a clear relevance and application to their professions and lives. That is why I connect their experiences to the course content and provide suggestions on how they can apply new knowledge and skills to their contexts of practice.
Apply it to the Real-World.
THREE) Apply it to the Real-World. Online learners are eager to push the limits of their class projects and use them as exemplary artifacts on their professional portfolios to (1) showcase their knowledge and skills; and (2) meet their potential or current employers’ expectations. They want to use what they learn and to solve problems and have a positive impact on their lives and the communities that they inhabit. Students who take my online courses engage in experiential e-learning and work in teams to address educational issues that have been brought to them by real-world community partners. Concomitantly, they learn that collaboration is a symbiotic relationship, i.e. a win-win situation for all parties including their team members and their partners. When I guide students through their projects, I help them to negotiate the balance between learning and service, as they are acting simultaneously as learners in the course and learning design consultants on a project. This approach results in mutual benefits for both the students and community partners.
Share the Center-Stage.
FOUR) Share the Center-Stage. To have learners committed to the online learning experience, they need to feel that they have an authorship role in it. To promote learner ownership and facilitate engagement, I offer students the opportunity to lead weekly asynchronous discussions. Online discussions are led by and for the students. More specifically, each student is invited to create and facilitate asynchronous discussions during at least one week of the semester, although they had the opportunity to volunteer for additional weeks. I identify the weekly topics in advance and select the core readings/views. Even though asynchronous discussions have been dominated by the instructor’s moderation in the past, I feel it’s more than time to share the center-stage with our students. Student-focused discussions foster meaningful dialogue and engagement on their part and prepare them for facilitating discussions outside of the class.
FIVE) Aim at Deep Learning. When creating online learning experiences, my goal is to achieve deep learning – that is, learning that is situated in applied contexts and knowledge that is construed from rich interactions with teachers, peers, and reality. The interactions with their peers, with me, and the communities where they live, are at the core of the online experience. I attract students from a variety of programs into my online courses which allow for peer-to-peer interaction to be richer because of the variety of their backgrounds and experiences. This also situates the educational problems we address to originate from an array of communities and networks.
Express Yourself.
SIX) Express Yourself in Different Formats & Venues. Throughout the online learning experience, learners should be encouraged to use audio, video, and images to help create their meanings and express their points of view. They should be able to fully utilize the multimedia capabilities of the learning management system adopted. They wanted to create content for the course that allow the full expression of their points of view. During synchronous and asynchronous discussions, students feel confident in using a variety of media (e.g., video, text, music, still images, and infographics) to express their reflections and take-aways from the weekly readings, to introduce themselves to each other, and develop a sense of social presence, and to problematize and conceptualize concepts and procedures. Online learners are eager to explore other forms of expression other than writing/text. They want to expand their ideas and test new ways of conveying their thoughts and the learning experience should provide an outlet to maximize this expression.
To strengthen the social presence and create a true online learning community, I have shared with the class my Southern European upbringing and international background, which have a major impact on my life and work as a teacher and researcher. To illustrate this influence and the value of social bonds, I set up a “Café,” which is an informal social space in the learning management system. I found that the “Café” fosters a discussion that supports socialization beyond readings, assignments, and technical issues. Participation is always voluntary, but it quickly becomes a place to share challenges and victories and post available positions in the field and professional development opportunities.
SEVEN) Extend it Beyond the Class. Real-world implementation beyond the online learning experience is an indication of the impact and success of it. The goal is to create an experience that continues to live beyond course completion and the end of the academic semester.
Master of Learning Technologies at The Ohio State University.
I often explore entrepreneurial opportunities when I teach about learning design since it’s important not only to expose students to alternative careers in this field but also to facilitate the understanding of entrepreneurial thinking – that is, the concept of entrepreneurship as “a way of life, and a need driven desire to create and innovate” (Kao et al., 2002, p. 29). In other words, students are encouraged to apply what they learned into endeavors that live beyond the class or module. As an example, in November 2020 a design team enrolled in my course on Applied Instructional Design won the Crystal Award (2nd place) presented by the Association for Educational Communications & Technology, Division of Distance Learning. This award recognizes innovative and outstanding multimedia-based distance education courses or multimedia-based distance learning projects. They compete with a self-paced online module, The Circulatory System and Associated Diseases, created for The Ohio State University’s College of Nursing Community Health Worker Training Program.
In sum, bringing authenticity to the online learning experience and following a learner-centered design contribute to exceptional online learning experiences. One that excels when compared with experiences focused on the transmission and replication of knowledge and exclusively based on reading and writing/text as forms of expression. The quality indicators used to determine the quality of the online experience are first and foremost the online learners’ accounts and what they do with the knowledge and skills they gained.
References
Correia, A.-P. (2020). Finding Junctures in Learning Design and Entrepreneurship: A Case of Experiential Learning in Online Education. In M. J. Bishop, E. Boling, J. Elen & V. Svihla (Eds.), Handbook of Research in Educational Communications and Technology (5th edition) (pp. 689–712. Springer. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-36119-8_32
Correia, A.-P., Liu, C., & Xu, F. (2020). Evaluating videoconferencing systems for the quality of the educational experience. Distance Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/01587919.2020.1821607
Correia, A.-P., North, C. A., Korkmaz, C., Simmerman, V. E. & Bruce Wallace, K. A. (2019). Authentic Online Discussions: A Narrative Inquiry into Sharing Leadership and Facilitation Among Teachers and Students. International Journal on E-Learning (IJEL), 18(2), 165-189.
Kao, R. W. Y., Kao, K. R., & Kao, R. R. (2002). Entrepreneurism: A philosophy and a sensible alternative for the market economy. Imperial College Press.
-- Please cite the content of this blog as: Correia, A.-P. (2021, March 18). The pursuit of an exceptional online learning experience: Seven principles to guide development. Ana-Paula Correia’s Blog. https://www.ana-paulacorreia.com/anapaula-correias-blog/2021/3/18/the-pursuit-of-an-exceptional-online-learning-experience-seven-principles-to-guide-development Last month I gave an invited talk for the 3rd DCT Virtual Week with STEM women scientists offered by the Portucalense Univerisdade’s Department of Science and Technology (Porto, Portugal). It is always quite energizing to speak about my academic work in my first language, Portuguese. Participants were both from Portugal and Brazil.
The session titled “Online Teaching & Project-Based Learning: Towards an Emerging Online Pedagogy” discussed key societal shifts in a pandemic world that demand for online pedagogies that foster engagement and collaboration. This talk explored current issues in online learning and teaching and their relation to project-based learning. It described online learning experiences designed and delivered with this approach in mind. It ended with an examination of experiential e-learning as an emerging online pedagogy. Especially in more applied areas, such as educational technology, online courses ought to offer learning activities that push the boundaries and expose online learners to real-world encounters with professional-like situations.
Experiential e-learning builds on the Kolb’s experiential learning cycle where four learning modes—concrete experience, abstract conceptualization, reflective observation, and active experimentation—are organized into a cyclical pattern. Experiential learning in higher education is often approached through case analysis, role-playing, and live or computer simulations. These activities allow learners to apply what they are learning to new situations and to learn by doing. But they lack the messiness of reality because they neglect critical relationships that can only be encountered when working in real contexts.
Related Publications & Resources on the topic were shared with the audience. Most of the references are in Portuguese and Spanish and were curated to offer a multilingue collection of resources on project-based learning, experiential learning, authentic online discussions, emergency remote learning, principles of online education, and cyberculture.
For more information check:
presentation slides in English
session recording in Portuguese