Moving Towards Online Education

Online education came into existence in the nineties but it gained momentum in 2020. Practically overnight, traditional classes were canceled in schools around the world, and teachers needed to turn to virtual classes in order to comply with their program requirements. This article describes our experience in adapting our programs to the online context.

It is fair to say that some teachers found the move to virtual classes strenuous and inefficient while others viewed it as an opportunity to explore other contexts. However, making this move was not an easy task. According to Kelly (2015), “Successfully transferring a face-to-face course to the online learning environment requires careful preparations that take into account differences between these two modalities.” In our case, we did not have the time for careful preparation, but we had 14 years of experience working with online and blended learning which was crucial for making the transition.

First Decisions to Make

First, some decisions on delivery methods were made; we determined whether instruction should include synchronous contacts and how often these should be. Another important aspect was considering the dynamics for the synchronous classes, which varied depending on the target audience and class size. Also, we tested various platforms to use for synchronous and asynchronous instruction. In addition, we needed to consider how we would conduct assessment moving to online delivery..

Our first decisions had to do with adapting all our modalities to the virtual environment. We considered the weekly workload and we initially adapted the number of contact hours with students’ attention span in mind. Consequently, we changed approximately 80% of the contact hours to synchronous virtual classes, and we adapted the remaining 20% of contact hours to asynchronous, focusing on individual tasks like listening or writing activities. Later we found that this was not a wise decision.

We also needed to adapt our class dynamics to the virtual context. For example, our slides would serve the purpose of a whiteboard. There are other options for that purpose too, such as the Google app, Jamboard.

To implement group work we turned to breakout rooms. It took some time to make effective use of breakout rooms since it requires careful preparation on the part of the teacher and also training on the part of the students. At the same time, we felt the need to implement specific routines for online classes such as how to mute and unmute the microphone, how to turn the camera on and off, or when and how to encourage the use of the chatbox. We also felt that having shared Google docs or Slides was really useful for online, synchronous work.

One crucial aspect was following up on students and teachers' ability to transfer to online learning environments. Some students needed more guidance and support, and so did some teachers.

Implementation

To start implementing our virtual classes, we needed to redefine a unified curriculum for all our courses. We developed sample lessons that our teachers could use as models to plan their classes. We adjusted the number of contact hours and we implemented synchronous hours complemented by asynchronous tasks. In addition, we developed class routines that would be necessary for better class management. We also looked for class dynamics that would be effective in virtual classes for the different groups of students.

Later on, we went a step further by designing and implementing a plan to offer support to teachers and to foster collaboration. We had experienced teachers closely mentor less experienced teachers and guide them through the difficulties the latter were facing. We capitalized on individual strengths thus assigning activities according to each teacher’s skills and abilities. Additionally, we implemented peer observation and peer teaching as a way to learn from each other and replicate practices that proved effective.

What Did Not Work

It is relevant to mention that not everything worked out. The first problem we identified was the way we had implemented the transition of in-person classes to synchronous virtual classes, devoting a small percentage of those hours to individual work. First, students were resisting the transition to virtual classes. They also resented having fewer synchronous hours with their teacher and classmates. We needed to make changes immediately in this respect.

We also faced teachers’ resistance because they felt they were being forced to a modality that was not their preference. They perceived an increased workload, working double the amount of hours than “normal” hours. In addition, the uncertainty we were also facing made it impossible to foresee when we would return to teaching in-person. This, in turn, caused a feeling of burnout, probably in most, if not all of us. We realized we needed to rethink our initial plans.

What Worked

There were some successful outcomes we realized.. We worked hard on developing an online teacher presence, and this was perceived by students as well. Our support scheme based on team building and collaborative planning provided some relief to teachers who were starting to feel burnout. Additionally, peer observation proved really effective to see different dynamics in action and to identify best practices that the observers could then recreate in their classes. At the same time, teachers’ meetings offered room for sharing fears and concerns, addressing them, and finding alternatives that could work out. Finally, online assessment proved to be effective and practical at the same time. It was also welcomed by students.

Results

Focusing on the areas that were working served as fuel to engage in a second phase to restructure what was not working. Some issues were easily addressed and resolved. For example, readjusting the number of contact hours was very simple. We decided to have an equal number of virtual contact hours as those that would be taught in-person. In regards to students in need of extra help, we decided to implement office hours. Students made use of these hours and they were really grateful to have a space in which to clear doubts. Regarding staff, we felt we needed to schedule virtual teachers’ meetings every month not only for containing problems and offering guidance, but also to celebrate what was going well. Furthermore, we designed a program for teaching effective virtual classes that consisted of seven sessions, each focusing on specific skills and offering tips for effective planning and virtual class management. Finally, we encouraged teachers to further their professional development by engaging in delivering presentations or writing articles that would be useful for other teachers in other contexts. We felt that sharing success stories was not only rewarding but motivating as well.

Our second appraisal of the process showed that positive results outweighed the negative. We still needed to address the decreased enrollment. We had budgeted a higher number of students, and we needed to find alternatives to make ends meet. While we found alternatives to alleviate our situation, they did not fully solve it. Another point we could not fully address was the perceived increase in workload by some of our teachers. These teachers ended up reducing the number of groups they were teaching to what they felt was manageable. Some of these points resulted in what we called going through a “survival mode”, which affected motivation as well.

At the other end, we found several positive outcomes. To start, our supervisors’ reports on class observations showed consistent improvement over time. In our teachers’ meeting during the 2nd semester, teachers’ voices were more positive, focusing on finding solutions and sharing best practices. Students’ feedback from institutional surveys turned out very rewarding, showing a degree of satisfaction with their classes of over 95%. We also saw an increase in creative course design since we felt a real need to find alternatives right away. Finally, students and teachers welcomed the online assessment, and results were reliable and consistent.

Conclusions

Critical times call for creativity, fostering teamwork and collaboration as key elements for program success. We believe that the way to face challenges is to regard challenges as opportunities to go a step further and reach beyond our comfort zones. And to round up, we would like to mention that engaging in professional development activities should not be left aside because we are facing a difficult situation. On the contrary, professional development should be a must at all times, and even more when facing hard times.

Bibliography

Kelly, R. (August 28, 2015). From F2F to Online: Getting It Right. Online Education. Faculty Focus. Retrieved from https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/from-f2f-to-online-getting-it-right/

Stommel, J. (2015). Learning is not a Mechanism. Hybrid Pedagogy. Retrieved from https://hybridpedagogy.org/learning-not-mechanism/

Tucker, C. R. (2013). The Basics of Blended Instruction. Educational Leadership. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar13/vol70/num06/The-Basics-of-Blended-Instruction.aspx