Friday 24-04-2020 - 13:56

An update from Kate McIntosh, David Evans, and Sam Johnson-Audini

The way we teach and learn here at Durham has changed massively in only five short weeks. All students have gone from face-to-face lectures, in-person seminars and meeting members of staff, to sitting in a virtual class over Zoom or Teams, when we only used to video chat with close friends and family. Things that were previously called impossible are now commonplace. Few of us could have predicted this, but online learning looks like something that will play a bigger part in our educational journeys following this crisis.

You may have recently seen various views from around the University about what online education might look like now, and in the future. This discussion was primarily sparked off by the University’s ‘Unbound Education’ proposal, which was subsequently defeated at a meeting of Senate on Wednesday 22 April. As your Students’ Union, we wanted to share our views on online education more broadly, and how we see its future for Durham students.      
 
Why is online teaching important at Durham? 
 
Online education is not for everyone and will not completely replace in-person education here in Durham. We know that residential education is important for many students; it gives them a chance to experience collegiate life, meet people from all over the world and explore living more independently. For some, that is part of the learning experience of university, and is what’s of value. There should always be a way for willing students to experience this, regardless of their circumstances.

For others, however, learning online gives them the chance to participate in formal education where they otherwise may not have had the opportunity. It enables students to do a degree alongside other commitments, or from a different place, or simply have the flexibility to not have to turn up to a physical lecture hall at 15:00 every Tuesday for ten weeks. Online teaching has a great potential to engage more students who may not have traditionally come to Durham, as well as those who want to, but can’t. It is a way of sharing the Durham education with more people; bringing new and different voices into classes, sparking ideas and working collaboratively. It can familiarise students with the latest online educational tools, so that they are ready to use technology to the fullest as they start (or resume!) careers. 
 
That’s not to say that there will be a clear-cut distinction between online degrees and residential degrees. What we may see in the future is a hybrid with some courses taught in person and some online, or in-person versions of online classes and vice versa. As more and more learning technology is implemented by Durham University, it is likely that all degree programmes will have an online element, while some physical elements such as field trips or lab work, remain. This is no bad thing of itself, we are moving to a world that is increasingly digital. What we think is important is that online learning is implemented for the sole purpose of benefitting students.    
 
What will online learning mean for current students? 
 
We understand that the current situation for online teaching is outside of anyone’s control, and the fact that the University have reacted so quickly to be able to put all courses online is testament to what they are able to achieve in order to help students succeed even in difficult circumstances.

Education at Durham will be online for Easter term 2020, and it is yet to be confirmed whether face-to-face teaching will resume in Michaelmas 2021. This means that courses may not currently be wholly suited to being taught online, and that is something that cannot be avoided. Most courses were not intended for this type of delivery, and staff have made an unprecedented effort to do the best they can to deliver the same learning objectives.

For any courses where learning still takes place in Easter term, we would encourage the use of a process that has been made available to staff. This process enables staff to review and restructure their content, considering the changes needed for online learning, while factoring in staff members’ workload and their relative experience of teaching online. This might mean learning objectives are changed, as students cannot access resources or undertake fieldwork and/or placements as planned. Students should be provided with adequate, separate resources in this time to meet those learning objectives as well as they can, and should be offered the potential to gain practical experience at another time, if possible. Easter term will look radically different for most students, but what is key is that your education is not disadvantaged because of this.     
 
What will online education look like in the future? 
 
When thinking about online education in the long term, or those who choose this option in the future, it is imperative that the upmost care and attention is put in to creating these degree programmes. 

High-quality online education needs to have the same level of support and learning outcomes attached to it as it would have if it were taught face-to-face, even if that support and those learning objectives take different forms. If necessary, students should be encouraged to take part in educationally enriching activities, such as placements, fieldwork, and study outside the UK. Online students should have access to the same resources as residential students, and they should be supported to use those as best they can. In short, they should have access to all the educational opportunities that a residential student would have access to.

Redeveloping whole modules for online teaching also requires support for staff, so they can deliver the same high-quality classes to students. It also requires staff to have adequate time to do this work. We hope that the University factors this into any future decisions around online modules and degrees.   
 
What does this mean for value for money? 
 
The cost of a Durham education as a whole must also be considered in light of the present need for online-only teaching. All students should be able to receive the Durham education they want, whether that is online or residential, and should be helped by the University to do so. This includes further funding for those who want a residential education and may not be able to do so if they are not aided financially. Any proposed online courses should reflect the different costs, so that they represent value for money. The University should also make sure that online students are not unduly disadvantaged by inadequate access to resources that would help them excel academically.  
 
How do we make sure students get the best deal? 
 
We believe the key to achieving this is communication and consultation. With staff in departments, who are creating and delivering online learning; with Durham Centre for Academic Development, who work on the latest research in education and deliver staff training and development; with colleges, so that they can best support students who are not able to visit the college in person; but most importantly, with students.

You know what support you need, and how you would like your academic content delivered. You have the right to help shape the future of education at Durham, because this is your education. If you haven’t seen our longer statement about why we think student consultation is important in response to the most recent plans for online education, you can read it here. We want all students to be able to succeed, regardless of how they complete their degree.