Worth knowing now on-line lockdown learning is back in NSW and Vic

The Australian Council on Open, Distance and E-Learning surveyed ANZ universities on their 2020 experiences (CMM January 29) and followed up with discussions in April. Sherre Roy (CQU) and Michael Sankey (Charles Darwin U) report on the project finding here.

What was used: LMS tools and discussions and Zoom, followed by Microsoft Teams which was nominated as really resource rich

Big issues in managing on-line: The three most common were, time and workload pressure, “lack of familiarity” with on-line and perceptions among academics that they were being moved from face to face to on-line, “rather than creating new experiences”.

Assisting students: “the importance of coordinated centralised IT and Library support where fundamental to providing a complete package of support for students”.

The take-out: while institutions provided emergency staff support, “some institutions have found is that their educators are not necessarily prepared for a more permanent paradigm shift for creating new experiences in virtual environment.”

“Realising the benefits of collaboration and group-work for students’ learning in an online or blended environment will require investment in developmental opportunities for academics that help them to embrace the paradigm shift and expand their knowledge and skills for learning and teaching in the virtual space.”