Tag: learning online

The old normal is gone, and it’s time to embrace the new

“After decades of procrastination, higher education has finally been spurred, by the necessity of the COVID-19 pandemic, to enter the 21st century and offer online courses tailored to the needs of the synergistic digital economy for non-traditional students across a spectrum of ages and career stages.

However, we worry that the forced migration to online education could end up as a threat to further progress unless change-resistant nostalgia for the historic model is replaced by a strategic response geared toward and welcoming future evolution.”

(From: The 60-year curriculum: A strategic response to a crisis. See: “The future of higher education” below.)

In other words, we can do it, we just proved it, so let’s keep on doing what we have learned we can do for our students!!

The future of higher education

 Many have embraced the challenge of pivoting to remote working and teaching as an opportunity. We have shown how nimble we can be – it has forced us to adapt, and take risks. Everything we’ve learned is going to be useful for the future. Now is not the time to stop the learning curve, especially if we envision a future that is more accessible and flexible. CETL and the Camosun Teaching and Learning Council both met recently to reflect on lessons learned from the Covid pivot, and to look forward to what may be possible going forward. Themes that emerged were: “spirit of exploration, importance of quality teaching for learning, learning from each other, accessibility/flexibility, and the importance of connection.” Read more here

 Additional resources on the future of higher education:

 Conflicted thoughts about September Nexus: Camosun’s Student Voice

Some Resources to Help Students Learning Online

Looking for resources for your students with tips for learning online? Wondering where to send students to find support at Camosun College? We have some resources for you!

First, check out a collection of links for students on our Tutorials site.

Here you will find links to the Student Learning Success Guides put together by Camosun’s Learning Skills which includes tips for remote learning, stress management, and time management. Also, a link to Online Learning at Camosun College, which contains information about what kind of technologies students should have, and how to access it.

In addition, if you are wondering how students can access Office 365, the link for this is on this page as well as the link to Student Technical Support. You will also find direct links to Student Affairs and the Centre for Accessible Learning at Camosun.

If there are other links you would like us to include on this page, email Emily Schudel.

Looking for resources specific to learning online?  Check out Kwantlen College’s open textbook Learning to Learn Online,  or eCampus Ontario’s identically named Learning to Learn Online which was co-written by students, for students!

And finally, more for you as online instructors, also from eCampus Ontario, a chapter from their open textbook Remote Teaching: A Practical Guide with Tools, Tips, and Techniques called Helping Students Become Effective Online Learners with some strategies you can try yourself.