Digital Equity

Equity-Oriented Technology with Digital Learning Systems was presented by Korah Wiley and Julie Neisler (abstract). The presenters conducted a survey of student perceptions of course quality. They assumed that centering learning around equity is urgent, implementing digital learning is critical which can in turn promote equity and finally that students are experts on their own experience. 

Alternative Text: screenshot from presentation, includes definitions for foundational terms including equity, digital learning, online and hybrid.

They summarized their findings based on course quality and culture, focusing on which modalities do you expect to be similar between online and hybrid learning environments. 

Alternative Text: screenshot from presentation, includes student profiles for online and hybrid students. 

The top five similarities that they saw for online and hybrid students include

• Cognitive engagement
• Timely tech support
• The need for instructors to create a sense of partnership with students 
• demonstrated that they cared about the student
• there to offer support
• Supportive peers outside class
• development of community
• peer interaction
• care about them as individuals
• interactions happened at a regular frequency
• Low rates of feelings of marginalization

The top five differences include

• Cost of software/textbooks
• greater problem experienced by hybrid students
• perhaps online students did not buy the textbook, or their instructors were more reliant on OER?
• Share experiences
• hybrid instructors did a great job of ensuring comfort
• easier to interact at a more human level
• generally instructors may be more comfortable teaching in a F2F learning environment
• Course learned content well
• less likely in online despite similarities in cognitive engagement
• hybrid students had more contact with instructor which may have lead to higher success rates
• more distractions when you are an online student
• Staying motivated
• more difficult online
• responsibility showing up in person, but can easily disengage when you on Zoom
• hybrid students have the benefit of a more regular schedule
• Overall course satisfaction
• hybrid students more likely to be very satisfied, yet rates for online and hybrid students both significantly higher then in 2020.