As uncertainty surrounding the longevity of social distancing measures is likely to continue into the autumn at the very least, the rush to move third-level programmes online has sparked a debate over the quality of such courses and how they will compare with those delivered through the traditional means.

Students registering for college in September will expect more than the emergency remote teaching approach that was adopted in the closing weeks of the last academic year. Most will accept that the college social experience will be limited to some degree this year but they will at the very least also expect learning outcomes to be on a par with what was on offer in previous years.

We spoke to a number of academics and asked them whether it is possible to improve learning outcomes through online and distance learning methodologies.

Prof Mark Brown is the Director of the National Institute for Digital Learning at DCU. He says effective online education has very little to do with the delivery of content. Online education becomes highly engaging and interactive where knowledge is built with students through socially interactive and critically reflective learning experiences.

The approach involves far more than just posting lecture slides online and hosting video recordings of lectures on the virtual learning platform.

Well-designed asynchronous, self-directed and small group learning experiences can be far more engaging, interactive and challenging than sitting passively in front of a screen watching a live or recorded lecture, says Prof Brown.

Aside from successfully passing the course the real measure of our success is whether the learning experience was engaging, enjoyable and academically challenging where students develop important transversal skills, including learning how to learn in more critical, innovative and imaginative ways for a rapidly changing future, he says.

One of the biggest obstacles to designing more impactful online learning experiences is the lack of professional development for educators particularly for those who are new to teaching online.

We need to support our educators to develop the knowledge, skills and courage to be creative and imaginative in how they design new digital spaces for learning, says Prof Brown.

It also needs to be noted that in Ireland many online degree programmes receive no Government funding. This is a major barrier and disincentive to universities investing in the development of online education.

Improved learning outcomes

Nuala McGuinn is the Director of NUI Galways Centre for Adult Learning and Professional Development and she believes the right approach to online learning can lead to improved learning outcomes.

Students have diverse learning needs, this was always the case whether they were taught in the traditional classroom mode or via online learning, she says.

One of the advantages of online learning is that it allows students to choose where, when, and how they wish to learn. So a well-designed online course will allow the student to engage with the course material through multiple means.

For a course to transition from one method of delivery to another, it is important to understand that there is no one-size-fits-all strategy.

In an online course, the role of the instructor moves from delivering content and instruction to one of supporting and guiding the construction of knowledge through the facilitation of communication between course participants, says McGuinn.

The good news for colleges is that most already have virtual learning systems and a range of tools in place that can facilitate remote working and distance learning. However, it is important that they are used in the right context and to the right degree.

While instructors have powerful tools available to them through the virtual learning environment, it is important to get the balance right, says McGuinn.

Each tool has its own purpose and a balance is required in the use of these tools so not to overwhelm the learner and also taking into consideration their access to technology and internet connectivity from home, she says.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an educational framework designed to improve the learning experience for students. The approach acknowledges that one size does not necessarily fit all and it offers flexible methods of teaching, assessment and engagement and, according to McGuinn, its principles can be applied to designing online courses without causing much additional work.

The best practice principles of UDL can also be applied in the design of assessments and provides students an opportunity to validate their learning in more creative ways than just end-of-term written assessments and proctored examinations.

Online courses provide flexibility in the timing and type of assessments used and can lead to improved learning outcomes, she adds.

Students can be more prepared ahead of class which means they arrive with valuable background knowledge of the subject area which allows the instructor to focus in on other areas during the live class.

The purpose of these live interactions can focus on the real-world application of learning or an opportunity to consolidate the theory or concepts and foster a community of learning amongst course participants, says McGuinn.

Planning and design

Dr Mary Fitzpatrick, is Head of the Centre for Teaching and Learning at UL. She emphasises the time and effort it takes to design an online course

While there are many benefits to online course delivery and assessment, it is critical that these are as a result of careful curriculum planning and design at programme team level which can take many months, she says.

Where this is the case, the benefits include greater flexibility on the part of the student in terms of accessing material, engaging with resources and setting their own pace of study. It allows for the development of technical skills and critical problem solving in an alternative environment.

For lecturers, it can also generate similar benefits in terms of flexibility but also developing alternative means of engaging with the students in a more global platform.

Notwithstanding the incredible response to the emergency transition to online learning and assessment, there are also many challenges in the situation we find ourselves in.

Where we might think that this is the new normal, there is nothing normal about the way we are working, living and studying, as we continue to live through this pandemic and all the consequences that this brings at a personal, professional and social level. The challenge for the sector is to ensure that we continue work in a collaborative way to support both teachers and students in the next phase of academic planning for the new academic year.

What often takes nine to 12 months to bring online was brought online in a matter of days. This was accepted by staff and students in light of the emergency, yet there will be less tolerance and forgiveness for a less-than-planned approach in autumn 20/21, she adds.

The challenge for the sector, she says, is to plan for the next academic year, in a way that meets the expectations of students and the capacity of staff and institutions, where planning for the unknown is the only constant.

Challenges

Of course, many courses which were forced online due to the spread of the Covid-19 virus would look very different were they originally designed with online delivery in mind.

Adapting is not the same thing as programme design. Dont think that it is anything more than a response to challenges, says Kathleen Hughes who is a lecturer in marketing at TU Dublins College of Business.

Whereas students could usually ask questions during face-to-face lessons, or approach the instructor once the class or lecture ended, the loss of this key characteristic of college learning means measures need to be taken to compensate for the loss of person-to-person communication and class participation.

You can tell when you talk through concepts whether two people have got it, 80 per cent have got it or if theres a couple at the back not really paying attention. Thats all gone, says Hughes.

Most new online learning platforms will offer workable solutions allowing instructors to address students individually or in groups during online sessions.

I can take each group into a private break-out room which is not recorded and have a personal meeting with them while the others are working on something else, says Hughes.

What lies ahead?

The pandemic has already changed how we think about higher education.

Universities and colleges across Ireland and further afield will spend the rest of the summer months working out how they will deliver their courses in a socially-distant context.

A lot has already been learned.

While the purely online model of distance education allows students the freedom to study at their own pace it is unlikely to be adopted in full in the short term especially while some chance still remains of a return to campus.

Instead, most institutions have stated their intention to adopt hybrid models or a blend of online and traditional face-to-face instruction.

Rapidly developing online content will not always result in a best-practice high-quality online offering and the degree to which the blend is applied will most likely depend on the individual course and the resources available to the college.

While some courses were originally developed pre-Covid to incorporate some degree of online teaching not all will fit the online-only format.

Realising the goal of offering a high-quality online programme will require more funding and a good degree of organisational planning on the part of colleges and universities not least because it will require more training and the development of a more sophisticated technological course infrastructure.

Now that programmes have started to move from the traditional face-to-face setting to the virtual learning environment are we likely to see an acceleration of the great onlining of Irish higher education as it was described by one academic?

The pivot to rapidly teach online has forced us to think around corners and fast-track the future. While history teaches us to be wary about making speculative claims about the future it is highly probable that online education will never be the same again, says Prof Brown.

Read more:
University moves online: Where planning for the unknown is the only certainty - The Irish Times

The Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education on Thursday directed Arkansas school districts to prepare an education program for the coming school year that relies on face-to-face and online instruction with the flexibility to blend them and to pivot from one to the other.

In an online webinar to introduce school and district leaders to the state's newly released Arkansas Ready for Learning guide, top-level education agency staff members called for the school systems to begin right away to identify digital lessons and diagnostic tests to use in the 2020-21 school year.

The agency leaders, who offered a range of resources to help the districts, also called for providing computer devices and internet access to students and faculty members, identifying waivers of state laws and rules they will need on a fast track to carry out a blended instruction program, formulating communication plans and modifying their own district policies.

"As many of you have heard the governor state, it is his expectation and desire that we in Arkansas start back to school in August as normal as possible," Arkansas Education Secretary Johnny Key said. "However, we know that in this covid-19 situation that some of those things that we once considered normal will definitely need adjustments," he also said in offering the Arkansas Ready for Learning guide.

The state's plans for the 2020-21 school year come in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic that caused Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson to close campuses to 470,000 public school students in March for what turned out to be the rest of the 2019-20 school year. Students and teachers did schoolwork from home, using paper packets and online lessons, although that was sometimes hindered by a lack of computer devices and/or internet connections in some homes.

The guidebook, which is now on the division's website, suggests tasks to be done in six broad areas of operation before classes start in August and then after school starts.

The areas include academics, human capital, student support communication, stakeholder communication, fiscal governance, and facilities and transportation.

Ivy Pfeffer, the state's deputy education commissioner, said Wednesday that a flexible, blended program to teach grade-level material is needed "for our students who we know can learn at any time, anywhere, if given the right supports."

ON-SITE LEARNING

Mike Hernandez, the state's superintendent for intensive support and services, acknowledged that there are many unanswered questions about the reopening of schools, but that updated information will be forthcoming.

He also said that not all of the state Department of Health guidelines for physical distancing to contain the spread of covid-19 will be feasible in all school and school bus situations, but that other precautions such as the wearing of face masks can be used.

One of the first tasks for districts to do this summer, Hernandez said, is form local Ready for Learning committees whose members have specialized skills to address each of the areas of district operations and can coordinate the return to on-site student instruction and monitor as situations change throughout the school year.

Another immediate task is to select someone to be a point of contact to answer questions about covid-19 and serve as a liaison between a school district and state education and health agencies.

Stacy Smith, assistant commissioner for learning services, described the expectations for an instructional program that combined traditional face-to-face instruction and the use of technology and learning management systems in which lessons can be created and/or uploaded by teachers, completed by students, and then graded and recorded by the teachers.

"When we think about what blended learning looks like in our state and in the future, every district is going to be a little different," Smith said. "The expectation is that all districts have started moving toward some type of blended learning approach. That includes face-to-face and also digital-based instruction.

"The expectation is that all districts will have some type of a learning management system in place for their students.

"All districts will also have digital content aligned to grade-level standards," Smith also said, adding that the digital content may be homemade -- created by teachers in the district -- or it may be produced by vendors or built in to the online learning management systems.

"Your district must be able, at any time, to get lessons into the hands of students," she said.

Districts also must continue their efforts to get computer devices and internet connectivity to students, Smith also said.

The state will use some of the $128 million it is receiving from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act to offer digital content for grades kindergarten through 12, Smith said. The state will provide that for all school systems in the state, but school districts don't have to use it or they can use it to supplement or accelerate their own digital materials.

"If you don't have anything and you need a place to start, I highly recommend you start here," she said about the online material that will be purchased from an education company.

In the final quarter of this just-ended school year, teachers were encouraged to focus on reviewing previously taught lessons in English/language arts and math with their students rather than introducing new concepts.

Smith said that can't be the practice going forward. New skills and content must be taught in all the core academic subjects and career technical education.

The state will provide districts with the option to expand diagnostic testing of student skills beyond the existing diagnostic testing now done three times a year in kindergarten through second grade. The state will provide testing to track student progress throughout a school year for kindergarten through eighth grade, Smith said. In Arkansas, iStation, iReady, NWEA and Renaissance are the testing programs used to provide almost immediate results.

WAIVER PROVISIONS

Courtney Salas-Ford, an attorney for the Elementary and Secondary Education Division, said school districts will need flexibility in regard to state law and rules in an effort to provide a blended instructional program.

Using legal waivers obtained by districts that are already using blended learning as a guide, the state agency has identified waivers that will be needed to accomplish the vision of the blended-learning model -- while also doing what is best for students and protecting staff, Salas-Ford said.

She cited as an example of a possible waiver the requirement for a traditional six-hour instructional school day.

"We know under a blended model with virtual options, that's just not going to work," she said.

State law already allows traditional districts and charter schools to obtain waivers of some state education laws and rules. But the process includes multiple steps, including approval from the local school board as well as getting input from other stakeholders. Provisions of the Ready for Learning plan -- which will be reviewed by the Arkansas Board of Education at its June 13 meeting -- envisions suspending many of the Act 1240 steps. That would be authorized by a governor's executive order.

"Instead we will have a streamlined process whereby a district that is interested can complete and sign an assurance and application document. Those applications will be due by June 26," Salas-Ford said, adding that those districts that apply will be in essence seeking waivers that have been identified by the state agency as necessary to implement blended learning.

The applications will be submitted to the state Education Board and approved "on the condition that the districts agree to include certain requirements in their district support plans," which are due Sept. 1. The support plans must be posted on each district's website.

"The waivers are just what are needed to implement the blended learning model," Salas-Ford said. "They will be narrowly tailored to that and in some cases have additional limitations on them."

For many of the districts, the waivers would create the need for modifications to a district's school board-approved policies. The Arkansas School Board Association has drafted a resolution that will enable school boards to modify or suspend their policies that are in conflict or not consistent with the approved waivers, she said.

Photo by Democrat-Gazette file photo Ivy Pfeffer, deputy commissioner of the Arkansas Department of Education, is shown in this file photo.

Stacy Smith, assistant commissioner for learning services, is shown in this photo. (Democrat-Gazette photo)

A Section on 06/05/2020

Excerpt from:
State tells schools to prepare blend of in-person, online education - Arkansas Online

After schools closed during the coronavirus pandemic, teachers scrambled to put their lessons online, suddenly trying to teach lessons they had always done in person over Zoom, Schoology, or Google Classroom.

And throughout all this, parents and educators alike were left to wonder: What will the aftermath look like?

Certainly what school leaders are going to be worried about is, are students coming back in the fallif we can indeed come back in the fallnot nearly as prepared for this grade as we thought they would be or as we generally expect them to be? St. Louis Universitys dean of educationGary Ritterexplains.

According to Ritter and several other experts on early childhood education and development, the answer is, It depends. It depends on the child; it depends on their homelife; it depends on how the teacher adapted to online teaching.

One thing all the experts mentioned was how online education highlighted inequities in the schooling system. Most of a childs success was dependent on what sort of access they had: Did they have technology at home? How about high-speed internet? Were their parents there to help them with the material and staying on top of schoolwork?

These inequities can make an already challenging situation even more difficult for students.

In terms of whats going to be needed for the fall, I think its going to be very important that we do address the clear digital divide that we have in our community, Dr. Dannielle Davis, an associate professor of education at Saint Louis University, says.

This divide tends to follow socioeconomic lines. Lower-income families will often have less access to reliable technology, and parents with less time to help out. Ritter warns that these fault lines may also follow district lines since school districts with fewer resources will be able to help kids less.

There are more things you have to do if youre serving low-income kids, he says. So now, its certainly the case that its harder for school leaders serving high concentrations of low-income kids to figure out how to navigate the instructional needs, in addition to all the other needs theyre navigating.

However, Ritter says online learning was likely difficult regardless of resources, just by the nature of the beast.

Its hard for most teachers to engage kids most of the time anyway.Its going to be way harder for them to engage students on a new medium with all kinds of distractions, Ritter says, So even in the best-case scenario, Im skeptical that it would have been as good as whatever is occurring in the classroom.

Davis, however, says parents shouldnt be too worried. She was homeschooled on and off throughout her life, homeschools her son and teaches online classes for kids ages nine through 17, so she was familiar with online schooling even before the pandemic.

In her experience, kids with an online education can do just as well as those who attend classes in person.

She does acknowledge that its critical to involve the parents and teach online correctly, though.

I think that if we provide parents with the resources, the supportif we train teachers to creatively involve families within this process of learningI think that learning can occur and can occur at a high level. I really do, she says.

This can be done by allowing students to work more independently, conducting their own research on subjects, or relating lessonsto the world around them.

In some cases, online learning was a good thing for students and parents. Parents got to spend more time with their kids. Kids with anxiety or who were bullied in school may have felt more comfortable at home. Students who learned better independently could often complete lessons at their own pace. But for the majority, online learning presenteda challenge.

I think its always worth thinking of those odd cases, but for the most part, kids probably miss interacting, Ritter says. Isolation on top of concern about the virus could take its toll. All the mental health challenges and wellness challenges, on the internet its going to obviously be much harder for most parents and most kids.

Steve Zwolak, executive director of University City Childrens Center, says he has seen this toll firsthand as kids begin returning to the center in what theyre calling a reunion instead of a reopening.

The concern is that social distancing might turn into emotional distancing, he says. He tells the story of three kids who came back and showed dramatic signs of feeling abandoned by their teachers, either by distancing themselves or leaping into teachers' arms in tears.

For younger kids especially, its difficult to get the same sort of interaction through a computer screen. Zwolaksuggests parents sit with their kids through lessons whenever possible to help mitigate what's lost.

With summer comes an opportunity for parents to help their kids catch up or stay on track for when school returns in the fall, whether its online or in person. Davis suggests going back through the work kids did during the school year and giving them some extra help in subjects they struggled with. She also recommends encouraging regular reading and discussion. Ritter says its important to make sure kids are doing something productive semi-regularly.

Outside of school work, Davis says parents should observe their kids and see how they learn and how their skills, both social and academic, are developing.

In the end, Ritter says he believes the kids will be okay.My hunch is, kids are resilient. My hunch is, lots of kids in a more micro level have situations like this all the time, Ritter says. I suspect, for each individual kid, a few weeks of getting subpar instruction happens. I had a bad fifth-grade math teacher. I didnt learn much math in fifth grade. And I recovered, I figured it out.

Read more from the original source:
After children shifted to online education, parents wonder: What have they lost? - St. Louis Magazine

COVID-19 has turned the world upside down. All sectors, including the education sector, have been drastically affected all sectors including education. The world is searching for new strategies to cope with this pandemic and its aftermath. Higher educational institutions are now looking at online teaching-learning as a window of hope. Many institutions and teachers have taken efforts to incorporate online education and are trying to use tech tools to such as Learning Management Systems (LMS) and web conferencing platforms such as Udemy, Educadium, CourseCraft, and Skillshare, and are trying out different means of reaching out to their students who are quarantined in their own homes and towns and villages. The apex bodies such as the UGC and AICTE have also appealed to teachers and have advised students to make effective use of web learning. But sceptics and cynics have created myths about web learning, which we need to debunk so that we can transition effectively so that knowledge and skill sharing is not disrupted but is continued in different ways through diverse platforms and tools.

Online teaching is meant for the young and techno-savvy

I have heard people say: Ive another two years to retire and Im not inclined to learn anything new, especially online teaching, at this stage of my life. Or Oh, these online teaching practices are for those in their 30s, surely not for those in their 50s. A few others have commented: Virtual teaching is for those who are techno-savvy, not for people like me who are averse to technology.

The fact is that everyone young and old, and those who are conversant with and averse to technology has to embrace technology and live with it. In other words, technology in tertiary education has come to stay and all teachers have to make a clear and conscious shift despite their age and attitude. Successful people in any walk of life are those who love and welcome change.

Online teaching is only a stopgap arrangement

There is no denying the fact that we are living through difficult times because of the coronavirus pandemic. Against this backdrop, quite a few argue that online teaching is only a stopgap arrangementat the most for a semester or two. Some feel that when normalcy returns, it will be back to chalk and talk. So, why bother to learn new teaching methodologies? The fact is that online teaching has already become an integral part of our educational system and irrevocable changes have been made in our teaching-learning process. COVID-19 has drastically altered our teaching methodologies and there is no going back. The winners are those who embrace technology and look at online education not as a long-term game changer.

Online teaching is not egalitarian

Some argue that online teaching subtly favours those who have access to high technologies and turns down the disadvantaged sections of society. There may be some truth here but the larger fact is that online education is meant for all. In most cases, all that the students need is a smartphone and most have smartphones with Internet connectivity. Most students can access Zoom or Google Hangout or Cisco WebEx Meeting using their smartphones. Therefore, the claim that online teaching will exacerbate the social and economic divide among students is not justified. It is true that in rural and semi-urban areas, high speed Internet may not be available around the clock. But online teaching, especially the asynchronous mode, will certainly help all students because of its flexibility.

Technology will eventually replace the teacher

Till the dawn of the third millennium, higher educational institutions in India were preponderantly teacher-oriented. The last two decades have brought some welcome change in that there have been conscious attempts to make the curricula student-centred. But this pandemic has brought in yet another paradigm shift the conscious and deliberate move towards technology. Earlier, teachers were synonymous with chalk and duster but are now seen with laptops and head-phones and that would sum up the change in pedagogy.

There is an innate fear in teachers, especially the old timers that technology will eventually replace them. Teachers need to be reassured that they cannot be replaced but also need to be told that their role has changed significantly. Earlier, they were seen as the repositories of knowledge. But now they are seen as syllabus designers, content developers, knowledge sharers all through the medium of technology. Therefore, they need to develop a different set of skills, especially knowledge of Learning Management Systems (LMS).

Students prefer face-to-face interaction, not online teaching

This is a subtle form of resistance. Teachers who are not very comfortable with technology and are hesitant to switch over to online teaching use a weak argument that their students prefer face-to-face interaction and not online teaching. This stems from a wishful thinking that teachers are indispensable and, without them, the teaching-learning system would collapse. The youth are not only conversant with technology but are also willing to embrace change in any form. They constantly look forward to new ideas and love to experiment and innovate and, therefore, will not have major issues in switching over to online education. Most students, if properly oriented, will switch over to online learning seamlessly and the onus is on the educational system, especially teachers, tofacilitate this transition smoothly. To these students, it is not a question of either/or but both technology and teachers.

Online teaching-learning is not as effective as face-to-face mode

There are quite a few advantages in face-to-face classroom transactions. The biggest is that teachers can think on their feet, strategise according to the content and the mood of their students and constantly monitor students intake. Unfortunately, these are absent in online teaching-learning. The content, mode and manner of delivery are already programmed for each module and teachers have little freedom once a module is prepared and delivered. Besides, the attention span of students in the online mode, especially in the asynchronous mode, is unpredictable. Therefore, it is argued that face-to-face interaction is better than online instruction.

There are merits and demerits in both ways. But good teachers are always good, whatever the mode. A good teacher will always adjust the content and delivery according to the mode and will ensure that there isnt a big gap between input and intake. Therefore, the question of which is a better mode doesnt arise.

Degrees and diplomas obtained through online education are not valid

In India, education is synonymous with offline education, which is equated with schools and colleges in their physical structures. The nation is still reluctant to accept degrees and diplomas earned through the online mode, which and subconsciously they are deemed inferior. Online education is assumed to be meant for those who dont make it to regular colleges or universities for want of sound financial and/or academic credentials. Even in the job market, online degrees and diplomas are not treated on par with regular degrees and diplomas.

Two clarifications are required. The kind of online e-learning that we are discussing is, in fact, a blend of online and offline. Face-to-face interaction is supplemented with online teaching and this is due to the fact that regular classes cannot be conducted because of the lockdown, forcing teachers and institutions to switch over to the online mode. Therefore, it is strictly speaking not an online programme as such. Second, technically, there is no distinction between the degrees and diplomas earned through online or offline education. Both are virtually the same.

Extraordinary times and situations call for bold and radical solutions. In this new ecosystem created by this pandemic, teachers have to constantly reinvent themselves to address the exigencies born of this crisis and offer students whatever is relevant and helps them adapt to a crisis thereby making them resourceful and resilient.

The writer is the Dean, School of English & Foreign Languages, Gandhigram Rural Institute. Email josephdorairaj@gmail.com

See the original post here:
Seven myths about online education - The Hindu

Unlocking the Potential for Virtual Desktop Infrastructure

Virtual desktop infrastructure isnt new; companies have been creating and deploying virtual desktops for decades. VDI typically leverages local stacks to deliver performance thats nearly identical to user experiences during in-person access.

The process is fairly straightforward: IT teams designate a data center server for VDI, install virtualization software and then create virtual machines that effectively mimic local desktops. The result? Students logging in to local VDIs are greeted by the same desktop setup as on-campus alternatives.

Control is the biggest selling point for VDI solutions. Since virtual instances are spun up and managed on local stacks, university IT staffs enjoy granular control over security, resource access and digital sprawl. In addition, many schools have already deployed VDI solutions to reduce hardware footprints across physical classrooms. This serves an increasingly mobile student population, which in turn offers a ready-made starting point for more extensive VDI implementations.

MORE ON EDTECH:Learn how higher ed IT leaders can drive digital workplace adoption.

By leveraging the as a service trend popularized by evolving cloud environments, DaaS solutions make the best use of public and private cloud resources to manage desktop instances at a distance. As noted by TechRepublic, the DaaS model has all hardware handled by cloud providers. This means local IT teams wont need to worry about maintenance, upgrading or compatibility issues.

Joyner puts it simply: A true DaaS solution is one where youre going to purchase a virtual desktop from a provider. Many will have canned offerings, such as Windows 10 instances that allot specific GPU and CPU resources.

While this means the configuration of specific apps and services still falls on in-house IT pros, the biggest benefit that DaaS brings is flexibility: New desktops can be created and customized on demand.

No matter which approach schools select, Joyner notes, user experience is king. Students expect services and resources to work as they do on campus. If you experience an unexpected lag, latency or lack a key functionality, this will frustrate users and limit the efficacy of online learning tools.

But VDIs and DaaS solutions offer so much more than easy interactions and straightforward access.

MORE ON EDTECH:Learn how the remote learning pivot could shape higher ed IT.

For example, virtual desktops excel at converting unused physical resources such as powerful PCs sitting untouched in computer science labs into easily accessible desktop instances. This is ideal for students who need to access GPU-intensive applications such as AutoCAD, even if they cant attend classes in person.

Meanwhile, DaaS offers the ideal solution for scalability. Since these desktop instances are cloud-based, they can be spun up or scaled down on demand, allowing schools to respond easily if enrollment rises quickly or suddenly levels off.

Both also come with potential pain points, however. According to Joyner, VDI solutions require more in-house expertise compared to the cloud, especially if schools choose to host these virtual instances entirely on-premises.

When considering cost, however, initial DaaS outlay often seems much more budget friendly. But as instances expand and usage increases over time, the price of offsite performance can outpace on-premises alternatives.

Its also worth noting that this isnt an either-or proposition. As noted by Joyner, schools can mix physical and virtual resources if they need scalability but also security. Theres no need to toss one or the other away.

The shift to learning at a distance wont disappear, even as pandemic pressures ease and students slowly return to physical classrooms. Its therefore critical that postsecondary schools find a desktop delivery framework whether its VDI, DaaS or a combination of both that empowers student success with familiar UX functionality, secure access to key systems and effective application of existing IT resources.

Read more here:
VDI vs. DaaS: Which Virtual Solution is Best for Online Learning - EdTech Magazine: Focus on Higher Education

GLOBAL

Many solutions found in the United States to problems caused or exacerbated by COVID-19 might work in African universities, and vice versa, he told a webinar series on Educational access at higher education institutions in the age of COVID-19.

Held on 27 May, the webinar was the third in a six-part series of public dialogues hosted by the Alliance for African Partnership, a consortium of 11 universities in Africa and MSU. It was titled Dialogue #3 Educational access at higher education institutions in the age of COVID-19 and may be accessed here. University World News Africa is one of the dialogue partners.

Backdrop

COVID-19 reared its head just four months after Stanley previously president of Stony Brook University in New York was appointed president of MSU, one of Americas leading public research universities, with 55,000 students. We are global in our outreach, he said of MSU. We are very proud of the fact that we are a global university.

An alumnus of the University of Chicago and Harvard Medical School, Stanley was a professor of medicine and of molecular microbiology at the University of Washington, and one of the top recipients of support from the National Institutes of Health for research on defences against emerging infectious diseases.

As an infectious diseases specialist, Stanley watched, with his knowledgeable eye, what was happening in Wuhan, and the spread of the disease out of China to Europe, America and elsewhere.

At first he hoped COVID-19 could be contained, as coronavirus predecessors SARS and MERS had been.

But then I realised we were dealing with something that we havent seen around the world in decades. In the past century, the most severe previous global epidemic was HIV in the 1980s, and we are still dealing with it, Stanley pointed out.

I would not have predicted that the United States would lead the world in the number of cases, and lead the world, by far, in the number of deaths. As of 3 June, there were 1,869,013 COVID-19 cases in the US and 107,648 Americans had died.

The response

Two of the first cases of COVID-19 in the US occurred in Michigan. Stanley appointed a task force in February to plan for contingencies. The university quickly went online on 11 March before other US campuses, though most followed rapidly.

Most students left campus, as did 88% of staff. Within two days we were teaching everybody online, remotely. That was an amazing accomplishment, Stanley said, thanks to academics and other staff at MSU. The university continued to host about 2,000 students on campus, including international students.

MSU completed a semester including final examinations, and held a virtual commencement for students. It was a sea change and yet everybody responded well.

Some access and equity challenges

Not everything went perfectly, however. The university has been addressing issues around inequality and access as they arise and there have been more issues than anticipated.

Being off-campus and working fully online has been a huge challenge, especially for economically disadvantaged students with home situations that are unconducive to learning or getting online as has happened almost everywhere, and certainly in Africa.

MSU provided some equipment to students in need, and there have been major financial aid programmes. It is also allowing some students to remain on campus, where they can access wi-fi, and where students have the social interactions that are so important.

The pandemic in America has had disparate effects on populations. For instance, African Americans represent about 14% of the population in Michigan but people of colour have suffered 40% of deaths from COVID-19. This is a terrible thing, said Stanley, pointing to serious problems with healthcare and poverty in the United States.

Many students have had to deal with both disruption of their education and devastation of their families.

The financial consequences of the pandemic have been extraordinary in the US. Aside from income losses hitting universities, there have been financial consequences for students, many of whom have lost employment, as have family members.

Weve frozen tuition [fees] for the coming years so there is no increase in cost for students, Stanley said. MSU has been working very hard to access government and institutional funds. It has found work for students who had lost employment, in areas supporting post-COVID activities.

Stanley outlined an interesting access and equity initiative at MSU that helped students desperate for income as well as disabled students who were facing difficulties with online learning. Hard-up students were employed to caption online courses for the hearing impaired, and to narrate courses and charts for the visually impaired, to improve course quality.

Staff overload

The problem of staff overload, which many universities faced pre-COVID-19, has only escalated. This is a really challenging issue for us, and it has been complicated by the fact that many of our faculty are working from home as well, and they have children they are having to care for at the same time they are doing their faculty duties, Stanley said.

In response, the university has tried to set up support services for staff. Also: Were trying to be very understanding about things like the tenure clock. A year has been added to the process so academics on the tenure track dont have to worry about fulfilling all the requirements during this stressful and distracting time.

Further, faculty have themselves been very good, setting up online chat sessions so they can decompress after courses, and coffee breaks to help provide moral support.

Quality and sharing

Last year MSUs College of Education was ranked first in the world for education by ShanghaiRankings Global Ranking of Academic Subjects. This year US News & World Report also ranked the college first in the US for four graduate programmes in education and rehabilitation counselling.

The college has been an extraordinary asset, said Stanley. Its expertise has been helping to ensure that online education is of high quality.

He was asked by webinar moderator Professor Paul Zeleza vice-chancellor of the United States International University-Africa, in Kenya about the extent to which MSU had been participating in open education resources development, and whether it was willing to freely share academic resources it developed especially those supported by public funding.

Stanley said MSU was already sharing best practices as well as resources that can make a difference.

Over the COVID-19 period, for example, one of the USs most popular massive open online courses or MOOCs has been a very short course (under 20 minutes) for teachers on how to do school teaching online, produced by the College of Education.

Further, MSU has a public radio and television station that among other things is used to provide educational content for schools across Michigan, which has a population of some 10 million people, as part of its resource-sharing role.

Stanley said sharing fully online courses was feasible, but sharing might be more difficult with hybrid courses, which most are likely to be in future. Providing course resources, along with what is expected from the in-person component, might make sharing possible.

The future

MSU has been thinking hard about what to do going forward, said Stanley.

Among other things, it has encouraged more online learning for students over the summer months more than ever before. There has been extensive training of faculty on how to teach more effectively online. Research is getting back on track and MSU has 50 new research projects devoted to COVID-19.

The university has been planning for the autumn or fall semester.

We are looking at ways in which we can safely open. Michigan has done well controlling the spread of COVID-19, presenting an opportunity to start bringing people back to campus.

Everybody on campus will be required to wear a mask indoors or outdoors. Well try to keep people six feet apart. MSU will hold hybrid classes, and some that are purely online.

The most vulnerable population on our campus is faculty and staff because they are older folks. About a third of faculty are over the age of 50 at MSU, which puts them in a higher risk group in dealing with coronavirus infection. We have to make sure they are protected.

The university is looking at ways to provide protection in classrooms, and might introduce some classes outside when the weather is good. It will no longer be practical to have very large classes; even with masks the risk would be too high at MSU there can be more than 500 people in a class.

We will be cutting those classes down in size, having sections of them that can be face-to-face but the lectures themselves would be delivered asynchronously or remotely if thats what we have to do, Stanley told the webinar.

The university is adjusting its academic calendar, shortening the semester to some extent, and having some points of study that are purely online. The best solution going forward, Stanley believes, will be a form of hybrid teaching and learning combining new and improved online resources with the face-to-face provision that is so valuable and valued by students.

More here:
Universities face common problems They need to share information - University World News

Public education as we know it is in crisis. As an educator for over 15 years, and now a mom of three school-aged children, this is a topic that I have experienced over many years of my life.

Public schools are the backbone of our society. Not only do they educate all children, they serve to feed them, give them a stable routine and often act as a social safety net to prevent things such as child abuse and human trafficking. Both of these are thought to be on the rise due to schools being closed during quarantine. I have fed my students, taken them shopping and provided emotional support to their parents struggling with personal issues. Teachers do more than just teach.

Teachers, however, have become scapegoats, criticized for having summers off and told how to do their jobs by people who have never run a classroom. Many people believe that, because they once attended school, they know the ins and outs of a modern-day classroom. If they were to spend a day inside one, they would see that many things have changed.

Classrooms are crowded and cramped. Many do not have running water or soap. Little hands are rarely washed. Some classes have insect problems or mold in the walls. Most classrooms prior to COVID-19 were not even cleaned every day or deep cleaned once a week. Many schools do not have a nurse on duty each day. Oftentimes, school staff or volunteers fill in while doing their other work to help sick children. Working parents who cant miss work often send their sick kids to school, hoping that they can make it through the day. Some kids come to school hungry and sometimes have their only meals at school. Teachers spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars out of their own meager salaries to help. Most supplies in the classroom are shared and touched by many hands all day long. Cuts to educational budgets have hurt schools from their staff to their supplies to their buildings and grounds. In the fifth largest economy in the world, California should have amazingly funded schools, but we dont.

COVID-19 has been like squeezing lemon juice into a gaping wound for education and parents. Almost overnight, schools closed, kids were home, teachers scrambled to support students with online learning and parents now see no end in sight. As a former teacher, homeschooling has been relatively seamless for me, with some frustration regarding new technology. Some teachers are home with their own kids and also teaching their students. But parents without career educational experience have seen their lack of this laid bare. Not to mention, children often listen more to their teacher than their own parents.

Parents have had newfound appreciation for their childs teacher and also some frustrations. When you are so closely tied to your childrens teachers, you see their differences, their strengths, as well as their shortcomings. Some parents complain about too much work, some not enough work and others simply want their children to be busy all day. Alas, it may be hard to please everyone.

The reality is, a lot of the school day involves transitions between academics, story time, art, recess, lunch and so on. The academics of a school day can be done at home in two to three hours. But that is not enough to allow parents to work eight or more hours a day while their kids are home. And therein lies the push for schools to open.

Whether it is safe to physically reopen remains to be seen, as we anxiously watch other countries with fewer deaths beginning to open schools. We cannot, however, continue to compare ourselves to other countries that have led on this issue, when the United States very clearly has not. Schools are germ factories even when it is not flu season. The logistics and costs to implement the cleaning and safety measures necessary to maintain a semblance of cleanliness feel very out of reach. Especially when our governor has proposed even further cuts to Californias education budget due to a lack of federal funding as well. Schools that were already struggling financially in pre-COVID times.

We need creativity, flexibility and funding to get us out of this mess. Parents who have the experience or can afford to keep their kids home, should. Not to make guinea pigs of children who must be in school due to parental finances, but to make space and room for those who need to. Credentialed teachers who arent currently teaching in a classroom, like me, can take in other children with their own, under the online enrollment of their neighborhood school.

Schools need to enlist volunteers or rearrange budgets for more aides to assist in cleaning and sanitation. Handwashing stations, hand sanitizer, masks and anti-viral wipes must be supplied to every school. Those who can help financially, should.

Parents need schools to give us options. A hybrid model of in-classroom and online education would enable the most flexibility, and would serve as a cushion should we have to go back into quarantine. I know just as many parents who plan to keep their kids home as those who want to send them to school and neither should be judged. Parents need reliable internet, tech support and to understand that one size fits all has never worked for all kids and families. This has been made even more evident by switching to online schooling.

Teachers need reliable internet, training, better pay and grace as they navigate a career that has been turned upside down. School districts must move fast with solid, executable, flexible plans before we lose many students to online charter schools, and thus funding, and hereby end public education in this state. This is an emergency, and there must be a path forward.

Wendy Wheatcroft is a mom of three, an educator and gun violence prevention advocate.

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Schools Need Flexibility and Funding to Navigate the Coronavirus Threat - Voice of San Diego

Teachers of 2020, congratulations on a job well done. Most K-12 ceremonies are called graduation, which means step. College ceremonies, by contrast, are known as commencement, or beginning. As college ends, a new chapter starts. A chapter like none that has come before will soon begin, not only for professional teachers of Texas like me, but for the millions of parents who have been supervising their childrens education from home when schools were closed.

All we can be certain of is that next year will not look like this year. It certainly wont look like last fall, with classrooms full of kids learning and eating and playing together. It wont look like the rapid unplanned shutdown of this spring, either. We dont really know yet what fall classes will be like, but we can be sure that more change is coming.

What have we learned this year? Education depends on fostering personal connections among students and their instructors in order to transform information into knowledge. That is true no matter how many students we have or what format we teach in.

Teachers know how to do this in face-to-face classrooms. Parents know how to do it in raising their children. For all of us, migrating abruptly to an online teaching environment in the middle of a pandemic strained our skills to the breaking point. There were many losses, failures and frustrations along the way.

Even so, a lot of things went well. We figured out how to use videoconferencing, although youre still muted is now a fixture of classroom dialogue. We got better at organizing and delivering online educational materials. We devised new ways to test what students could do. But improved access to information is not enough to work the magic of turning information into knowledge.

Much of that transformation depends on keeping students engaged. Some students can thrive while working on their own, but most rely on their teachers to create structure and motivation. In fact, teaching is like parenting in this regard. Sometimes kids dont really care about what were asking them to do. But they do it anyway because they dont want to disappoint us or their fellow students. Almost despite themselves, they fall into the habit of doing their work, and they learn.

This dependence on teachers entails a solemn responsibility. It is our job to believe in our students even or especially when they dont believe in themselves. To cheer them on, to sympathize with their struggles, and to show them the way forward. We know this because in these difficult months, students have thanked us again and again for believing in them. For caring about them as people and for believing that they can succeed.

Whether our teaching succeeds in the fall will depend largely on how well we are able to create those bonds outside of face-to-face classrooms.

For most of us, that is a work in progress. Teachers will need more time and training to learn how to do this effectively online. Parents need more flexibility and recognition than ever before about their impossible balancing act of parenting, working, and now teaching as well.

Our usual methods of educational assessment focus on information, not knowledge. They do not reward the teacher who spends as much time reaching out to struggling students as in developing instructional videos. They do not recognize the student who learns both course material and life skills by persisting in a tough class. Yet that is how education truly succeeds or fails, now more than ever.

What will happen this fall? Will we have the resources to connect with our students in our future classrooms? Will the ways we measure success reflect the ways we are teaching now, and the challenges that students are facing?

Our next chapter will be about those questions. The experiences of the Teachers of 2020 should play a key role in coming up with the answers.

Deborah Beck is an associate professor of classics at The University of Texas at Austin.

A version of this op-ed appeared in the San Antonio Express News, Waco Tribune Herald, Austin American Statesman and the Lubbock Avalanche Journal.

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Let's Salute Our Teachers With a Deeper Understanding of What 'Education' Means - UT News | The University of Texas at Austin

TURKEY

In the process, the way universities provide education has also been affected and changed. The walls of universities have been demolished. What we used to know about the university was not only about how lectures took place, but also that it involved social proximity between the lecturer and the learner. Now it has become more flexible and complex. In this new landscape where basic definitions are totally new, quality assurance and accreditation has become an important tool.

Quality assurance in the coronavirus age

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, quality assurance measures have been taken everywhere and new arrangements have been made. In Turkey, as a preliminary action, the Coronavirus Science Board was established by the Ministry of Health. In line with the suggestions of the Science Board, the Council of Higher Education (YOK) announced that formal education was temporarily suspended in higher education institutions and all programmes would be carried out using open and distance education.

The Turkish Higher Education Quality Council (THEQC) also closely followed developments arising from the pandemic. In the midst of this, staff are working in shifts during office hours and the Council has been able to maintain all its activities by using online meeting tools with Council members, commissions and national accreditation agencies. As a modern governmental institution, THEQCs nationwide processes and procedures are streamlined and accessible online with almost no paperwork required.

We have closely monitored the decisions, adaptations and new practices created by international quality assurance agencies during the pandemic. THEQCs staff and Council members have attended several international webinars and consultations. In this way, we have observed that some agencies have adopted a flexible approach to external evaluation and accreditation practices, while others have attempted to conduct virtual site visits. These have informed THEQCs approach to quality assurance at this time of great uncertainty.

Guidance for distance education

Given the transition to distance education in all higher education programmes, assuring its quality has become an urgent priority.

Although the ultimate goal is the same in both face-to-face and distance education systems, the two systems differ in terms of learning environment and interaction (learner-instructor, learner-material, learner-learner and learner-institution). In distance education, different approaches and methods are required for teaching processes to achieve their goals and for learners to acquire the targeted competencies.

Therefore, higher education institutions should approach distance education not only as a mere transfer of courses and other educational services into online environments, but as a differentiation in approaches and methodologies. How can we implement more student-centred, performance-oriented and competence-based teaching processes within the context of distance education? is the main question that should be asked in this differentiation process.

For that reason, higher education institutions should inform and train the teaching, administrative and IT staff who will contribute to distance education processes with this in mind, improve their distance learning management and content development sub-systems in accordance with these approaches and methods and organise training activities to help learners adapt to this new approach.

In this respect, the THEQC aims to guide higher education institutions on the components, principles and quality indicators of the quality assurance systems in distance education. Through its guide, Distance Education and Quality Assurance System in Higher Education, higher education institutions are provided with a variety of support, including sections on:

As part of the second-largest higher education system in Europe, Turkish higher education institutions are keen to ensure the quality of their courses is on a par with the rest of the world.

THEQC aims to become a quality assurance organisation that can adapt to changing global dynamics while taking national priorities into account. It has therefore taken a major step in its internationalisation strategy by granting international membership during the pandemic.

By expanding its boundaries and connections to Europe with ENQA [the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education] and INQAAHE [International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education] memberships, to Asia Pacific Region with APQN [Asia-Pacific Quality Network] membership, to America with CIQG/CHEA [Council for Higher Education Accreditation International Quality Group] membership, the THEQC is now linked to the rest of the world. With these connections and under the guidance of THEQC, we hope that new horizons are opening for Turkish higher education and its quality assurance work.

Professor Dr Muzaffer Elmas is the president of the Turkish Higher Education Quality Council, the national independent agency for quality in higher education in Turkey.

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Adapting quality assurance to the grand switch online - University World News

On June 4, filmmaker Aashiq Abu bought five new television sets. Now, none of these were for Aashiq's personal use, instead, he donated all of them to the SFI and the DYFI, as part of their TV Challenge. Since the time the Kerala government decided to reopen all its schools online, the two organisations, the student and youth wings of the ruling CPM have been asking people around the state to donate television sets, mobiles and other gadgets, to be distributed to school students who do not have access to these.

In a first, the Kerala government decided to conduct online lessons for all the government school students in the state through its Kerala Infrastructure Technology for Education programme. The lessons were also broadcast on the government's Victers channel. However, despite wide appreciation, the programme was criticised as the state still has a digital divide to bridge. For instance, a survey by the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan states that 2.61 Lakh students in Kerala have no access to technology or television sets.

"Bridging the digital divide is what the TV challenge aims at," says V P Sanu, National President, SFI. "People who have extra gadgets can give them to the SFI and it will then be distributed to the needy students through local bodies," he says. The challenge began on June 1.

Recently, the SFI protested the decision of the University of Delhi to conduct classes online. Activists had created a twitter storm and even conducted a demonstration, maintaining physical distancing. Sanu tells us that SFI, in principle is still against online education and the digital divide. "We are against the digital divide in all states. However, here, we are doing our bit to bridge the divide. Instead of imposing classes strictly online, the Kerala government also decided to broadcast the same lessons through TV, aiming at a wider reach." says Sanu. "In 2001, only 36 per cent of Kerala households had TVs. This spiked to 78 per cent in 2011. The numbers would have obviously gone up in 2020," he adds.

The government of Kerala had also said that the classes will be run for two weeks on a trial basis. Commenting on this, Sanu says, "This allows us time to identify the magnitude of the problem. We hope to distribute as many gadgets as possible in a short period. We are also aiming to provide television sets to be placed in common spaces in Adivasi and tribal colonies and help people with connectivity," he adds.

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We are against online education and digital divide: VP Sanu on why SFI started its TV Challenge - EdexLive