For this week’s readings and discussion, I selected to explore “Learning Online” in An Urgency of Teachers: The Work of Critical Digital Pedagogy by Sean Michael Morris and Jesse Stommel, and “Takedown of Online Education” in Inside Higher Ed by Paul Fain. Both works seem particularly resonant as educators across the world work to navigate this unprecedented moment.

Fain’s article follows the debate surrounding a 2019 report that attempts to document the failures of online education. Written by Spiros Protopsaltis of George Mason University and Sandy Baum of Skidmore College, the report states that “online education has failed to reduce costs and improve outcomes for students.” Fain’s article highlights five major takeaways from the Protopsaltis/Baum report including the finding that “students in online education, particularly underprepared and disadvantaged students, underperform and on average experience poor outcomes.” Questioning the findings of the report is Fiona Hollands of Columbia University’s Teachers College who argues that the report uses old data and is biased against online education. The article concludes by stating that more research is needed to determine best practices and next steps for online learning. Experientially, I would say that that research is being done right now by educators everywhere.

Stommel and Morris, on the other hand, present a more critical view of online teaching. Across several essays, the authors recognize that online learning is here for the long-haul but administrators and educators need to be more rigorous in their analysis and design of online learning and its pedagogical practices. Of particular note for this current moment is Stommel’s statement regarding live student-teacher interaction, “I’ve argued that ‘all learning is necessarily hybrid.’ The best online learning should engage us in an immediate and physical way. Learning shouldn’t happen entirely at a desk (italics mine). The best online courses — the best courses of all types — ask students to do work in the world (outside their houses and/or outside the online course portal).” This statement in particular struck me, as this “best practice” feels essentially impossible at this moment so how should educators proceed?

I highlight these points as an entry point for a conversation regarding online learning. I have always been skeptical of online education, in part because I teach an artform rooted in liveness, an educational component that I personally believe is central to effective pedagogy. These last two weeks have taught me a great deal about online learning, more than I wanted to know and under frightening circumstances. I have many thoughts regarding my experience teaching online thus far, but I will save those for another time. Instead, as you hopefully comment below, please share some of your experiences of the past two to three weeks. Although this moment is intensely challenging in countless ways, I am consistently inspired, to the point of tears, by what educators and students are doing across the world to meet the demands of this moment. So, with that in mind:

• Is there an event, assignment, interaction with students/teachers during the last two weeks that you feel demonstrates the validity or effectiveness of online education?
• How are students responding to this moment? How is access to technology, as discussed earlier this semester, affecting the learning environment? How has peer-education been affected?
• If you are teaching this semester, what has this process of conversion to distance-learning taught you about your own teaching? What discoveries have you made about yourself as an educator and how do you see them informing your pedagogical practice moving forward?
• Lastly, what challenges are arising as we all adjust to online learning? Since we cannot always adhere to Stommel’s advise to engage students outside of the online portal, where are the challenges associated with such a limitation emerging in your teaching and/or learning?

This week’s readings bring us a variety of perspectives and thoughts on the use of Open Educational Resources and Open Textbooks.  Robin DeRosa, a professor at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire, discusses the multiple considerations in adopting Open Education Resources in her essay, “OER: Bigger Than Affordability.” While DeRosa points out that OERs can be an economical choice for the college/university classroom, she also challenges educators to rigorously question the concept of open. DeRosa reminds us that OERs are not just about cost but they are intrinsically tied to issues of social justice and who has access to knowledge and who does not. DeRosa also underscores the relationship between OERs and technology and how this intrinsic relationship can actually detract from the openness of a given resource. As all of us scramble to flip our courses to distance-learning formats, how are we considering these challenges while keeping in mind that not all of our students will have access to the necessary technologies to continue their educations this semester?

A pioneer of the Open Textbook movement, Rajiv Jhangiani offers his thoughts on how faculty view OERs in his essay, “A Faculty Perspective on Open Textbooks.” Jhangiani offers possible faculty perspectives on the moral, financial and pedagogical benefits of adopting open textbooks in the higher ed classroom, highlighting the flexibility and effectiveness of open textbooks. While advocating for the use of open texts, Jhangiani also highlights another important issue related to open textbooks – faculty labor. The development of open texts is largely left to faculty, often with little to no institutional support.  While administrators frequently support the idea of OERs and Open Texts, colleges and universities need to create more effective systems of support to assist faculty in the creation of OERs and supporting materials.

With the work of DeRosa and Jhangiani in mind, and with our work this week to create accessible courses for our students during this unprecedented time, I wanted to leave you with some questions to ponder for our virtual meeting on Monday:

• How are OERs and open texts that much more important during times like this? How would OERs/open text aid courses that need to move online quickly?
• What does “open” really mean when we talk about OERs and open textbooks? What are the multiple levels of considerations needed when faculty are trying to create something that is truly open?
• Lastly, and related to the closing of Jhangiani’s essay, take five to ten minutes to imagine what the ideal open textbook would look like for one of your courses? What is the content? How is it structured? How is it accessible? And what voices are represented therein? Taking time to envision these considerations may help us one day create them.

* Please note that the Salter reading is currently unavailable online.