For students in Charles Conteh\u2019s second-year public policy course at Brock University, online learning means more access to their professor and an engaging, active digital classroom environment.<\/p>\n
Conteh, an Associate Professor of Political Science who is also Director of Brock\u2019s Niagara Community Observatory, has been teaching at the University for 12 years. But over the past five, he has increasingly used online learning to further engage his public policy students.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are students who initially express concern asking if they\u2019re going to get as much from the online class as being in the classroom, but my students and I have found this class just as engaging as a brick-and-mortar environment,\u201d said Conteh. \u201cMake no mistake, online learning is not passive learning. You are actively thinking through the material.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like Conteh\u2019s Political Science students, the vast majority of Brock undergrads will be learning in an online environment when the Fall Term starts on Wednesday, Sept. 9. Only a small number of classes will be held on campus as Brock continues to prioritize the health, safety and well-being of its students, faculty and staff while also following public health guidelines around the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
Lynn Wells, Brock\u2019s Provost and Vice-President, Academic, said students\u2019 engagement this Fall will be vastly different to what they experienced in March, when the pandemic abruptly ended in-person classes and faculty members had 10 days to transition to a fully online environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn March, when the world changed on us so suddenly, faculty members had to move very quickly to an online environment,\u201d she said. \u201cThat really wasn\u2019t ideal, but it was a necessity.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the five months since then, countless hours have been spent collaborating and transforming courses.<\/p>\n
\u201cBrock has done a phenomenal job of preparing for fall,\u201d Wells said. \u201cThere\u2019s a really strong sense of engagement on the academic side, but also on the administrative side to ensure the institution will be safe for the small numbers of students who will be on campus and to make sure the technology is in place to ensure students in online classes will be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said that meant not simply taking what had been in-person classes and uploading presentation slides to Sakai, Brock\u2019s online teaching and learning platform, \u201cbut actually transforming their classes so they\u2019re engaging in an online environment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith some time over the summer, you\u2019ve had experts in the Centre for Pedagogical Innovation helping instructors with more interactive elements, more videos and other resources being used to make those classes truly engaging.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Conteh, that engagement starts immediately when he uses videos to explain the structure, timelines and expectations for the course.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the start of the term, students are more engaged and interested, so I leverage that attention and curiosity and get them fired up for the course by explaining the five or six key things they need to know,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Conteh uses an asynchronous course schedule where students don\u2019t have to login to view lessons at the same time as when he is on the platform.<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven the challenges of technology and logistics of being at home, I believe the more flexibility you give students, the better,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to provide students the space they need, but you have to establish very clear timelines for assignments and communicate that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Communication, he said, is key.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the in-person model, you\u2019re going to class every week and you\u2019re very present to remind students what they need to do,\u201d he said. \u201cYou don\u2019t have that in an online course, so I compensate for that by having set days that I send out reminders of due dates and provide updates on how the course is progressing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Conteh said he finds seminars to be more engaging in an online environment because they allow everyone to have an equal voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a brick-and-mortar environment, some students can sit there for an hour and not say a word. But online, they have to actively answer questions, respond to others and be engaged.\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Wells said she wants students to know that while the 2020-21 academic year might look different than expected, it\u2019s just as important as the rest of their post-secondary education.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, delivery will be different out of necessity, because we have to safeguard people\u2019s health and safety,\u201d she said, \u201cbut we\u2019re committed to delivering a high-quality education. We\u2019re working hard to make sure the learning environment will be very good and the student experience will be delivered at a high level.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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