COVID-19: Synchronous, interactive learning the way to go

Digital technology could transform the capacity of universities to serve the ‘public good’ mission in an era of massive, long-term increases in inequality, mobility, displacement and health and environmental crises.

But, without addressing some of the systemic practices that pose a persistent barrier to a deeper and more productive engagement with digitalisation, universities in Africa will not be able to realise the potential of the digital university.

This emerged during a discussion on how universities should build on what the pandemic taught them about quality online learning at a virtual conference of the Partnership for African Social and Governance Research (PASGR) and the University College London (UCL), held from 12 to 13 April 2021.

PASGR is an independent, non-partisan pan-African non-profit organisation established in 2011 and located in Nairobi, Kenya. Currently engaged in more than 12 African countries, PASGR works to enhance research excellence in governance and public policy that contributes to the overall wellbeing of women and men.

Pauline Ngimwa, the head and programme manager of professional development and training at PASGR, said creating an enabling, not a punitive, regulatory framework, is now a must as institutions are already busy with digital learning. This mode of delivery should, therefore, be adequately supported.

“Institutions of higher learning should adequately invest in innovation and creativity by creating relevant technologies that address local online learning needs for their students and teachers,” said Ngimwa.

Tabitha Rangara, the director of e-learning at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Kenya, said technologies change very fast, so institutions should focus on developing new policies and revising old ones.

According to Rangara, digital technologies should not inform distance learning (e-learning, remote learning, online learning) policies, which should be general, but should inform practice.

Synchronous learning

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed university teaching and learning forever, and institutions should now adapt to the new models of blended learning whereby technologies will support the distributed engagements in synchronous learning for students, said Diana Laurillard, professor of learning with digital technologies at UCL, who participated in the event.

Laurillard said that, for this vision to become a reality, higher learning institutions should consider connectivity and reach out to communities beyond the university to support the change and make everyone in the academic community – including students – part of the decision.

“Integrating online and face-to-face in productive ways is efficient for the teacher and satisfying and flexible for the learner,” she said, adding that there should be room for questions. Such sessions should also be inclusive, and care should be taken that everyone is connected.

“Support is needed for the teachers in their collaborative development of effective blended learning pedagogies to design a sequence of blended and online teaching and learning activities,” Laurillard said.

Higher quality blended learning

Karuti Kanyinga, research professor of development studies at the Institute for Development Studies at the University of Nairobi, Kenya, said universities could achieve higher quality blended learning if they shared new ideas.

“Digital learning is an opportunity for higher learning to engage the community in a genuine two-way knowledge exchange,” Kanyinga said.

“Digital dynamics do not wait for decisions; they unfold, evolve and come up with new dynamics which regulate professional qualifications and academic programmes in some of the disciplines that do not have explicit provisions in online teaching and learning.”

Currently, he said, most higher learning institutions are proposing new forms of teaching and learning and there is no coherent policy to support the emerging digital trend.

Clear regulations should be formulated

“When the COVID-19 pandemic started, online teaching and learning emerged fast and regulations followed later, and professional bodies were left behind. Some are yet to catch up,” he said, adding that general and broad-based regulations at different levels are necessary.

Going forward, he said universities should develop a policy reflecting experiences. Governments should lead in laying the infrastructure to address inequalities, inequities, and review statutes of exams – including online examinations, to fit in the evolving and changing digital world.

Allison Littlejohn, professor of learning technology at UCL, said higher learning institutions need to move away from delivering lectures online and design learning that can support and engage students through the online platforms.

“Imagine a place where a student can study without entry qualifications where learning fits around their life rather than their life flexing around study, where students are supported to plan the right type of study for themselves.

If this happens, they will learn skills that are valued by the employer and are part of the vibrant community that includes world leading researchers,” Littlejohn said.

To achieve this, she said institutions should focus on learning and teaching designs that are synchronised interaction and engagement with the students and emphasis should be on collaborative activities among the students.

“Teachers should be given sufficient time to design their courses for online teaching and learning,” she noted.