Online lectures are not the future
Like many of us, my past couple months have been a series of events I would’ve never imagined; From narrowly escaping travel bans, saying premature goodbyes to classmates, and being uncertain of how long I’d be stuck at home, everything seemed like it has been turned on its head. But amidst all this uncertainty, one thing that has been notably unaffected is my college education.
In mid-March, I flew into the United States from Buenos Aires, just as the country closed its borders to contain the spread of the virus. As a third-year student at Minerva Schools, I had been studying there since January as part of my global rotation, along with 170 other classmates. After arriving home safely and preparing for self-quarantine, I woke up on Monday morning to take my scheduled brand management class. But rather than sitting in my room listening to a passive lecture, I was actively participating in discussions, brainstorming with classmates, and collaborating to solve a real-world case study — just as usual.
Minerva’s virtual classroom allows us to log on from anywhere in the world while simulating interactive in-person discussions. We engage in real-time; asking questions, typing up short responses, and transitioning from small group collaboration to class-wide debriefs. With learning virtually already the norm for me and my fellow classmates, the classes have ironically provided a sense of normalcy amidst the pandemic.
As massive school closures continue across the globe, more than 1 billion students have stepped into the world of fully online education for the first time. I see Instagram updates from my friends of their Zoom lectures and online exams, tinged with comments of humorous skepticism. California State University, the nation’s largest four-year college system, just announced that its Fall semester will be online. Meanwhile, schools without virtual learning infrastructures are at risk of racking up learning debt for the foreseeable future. Learning is going fully digital — whether we like it or not — and we are at a critical point in determining how this trajectory will proceed. Especially with an uncertain timeline of lock-downs and social distancing, we need to talk not only about shifting school online but also about rethinking virtual learning infrastructure.
Moving lectures online is only the short-term solution; We should also be investing in creating more active, engaging learning experiences that are specifically built for virtual environments. Many are asking the question, “How do we enforce non-cheating policies for students taking tests at home?” “How do we get students to focus during online lectures?” I think the next set of questions we should be asking is How can we measure student outcomes through methods other than standardized tests? How can we leverage digital tools and discussion-based curriculum to better engage students on a virtual platform? Can we use this unique moment in time to further improve educational access and quality?
Many institutions and organizations in the learning space, have already started to tackle some of these questions. In between difficult Coronavirus updates, it has been uplifting to see education providers such as Byju adding free learn-from-home classes, Minerva providing a visiting scholars year, and SNHU reimagining campus-based learning through their full-tuition Innovation Scholarship. In line with these rapid developments, there is an opportunity for systematic change — for educational institutions to actively push for better virtual learning, policymakers to support the creation and funding of digital infrastructure, entrepreneurs to continue innovating solutions that meet the needs of a diverse set of learners, and administrators to help ease these transitions while ensuring that students do not get left behind. With a continual and collective aim towards creating the best learning experience for students, I’m hopeful that education can not only continue, but become better amidst this crisis.
Practicalities considered, there are real constraints including households that don’t have laptops or stable wifi, as well as the many obstacles and learning curves to digital education that are making the transition difficult. There is a lot of work to be done, but the trajectory looks hopeful. Google recently announced it would donate 4,000 Chromebooks and 100,000 mobile hotspots to rural learners in California and donors across the country have helped install Wi-Fi hotspots to bridge the digital divide. As we’re all seeing, virtual learning doesn’t just ‘happen’, nor is it a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. It takes good infrastructure, purposeful pedagogy, and an approach tailored to online environments. While not easy, it is more than possible.
As a transfer student from a traditional university, I’ve experienced in-person courses as well as fully virtual ones. I’m often asked how I can bear the “dullness” of online classes while others simply dismiss the idea of virtual learning. I get it — learning online somehow seems less ‘real’, and it is already highly stigmatized. But my experience at Minerva has allowed me to see virtual education in a vastly different light; Online learning no longer refers just to a passive, ‘learn-at-your-own-pace’ model. Rather, it is about leveraging the power of technology to create highly effective and unprecedented learning environments. Whether that means using a live platform with seminar-style discussions or project-based learning that makes cheating obsolete, it is more important than ever that we invest in these learning opportunities.
Quickly assembled online classes or instructional methods will have to work for now and there are already various resources on making online lectures more engaging and leveraging existing digital tools. But the current status quo of passive online lectures cannot be our future education system. Instead, we need a fundamental shift in the way we view, approach, and structure virtual learning — for the long term. It doesn’t have to be boring, it doesn’t have to be passive, and, most of all, students should not fall behind or feel stuck when the tools for creating successful virtual learning already exist.
There are many things that seem outside our control at the moment, but shaping the future of virtual is not. In fact, this is the time in which our education system is more malleable than ever to innovation and systematic change — let’s make it count.
