Hear/Listen to Different Perspectives

Student Voices: The Digital Learning Equity Reality student panel was facilitated by Dr. Jessica Rowland Williams (abstract), which heard the perspectives of three students on COVID, and online learning, noting that it was an adjustment when your instructors were no longer just down the hall. Students noted the importance of grace and maintaining the human connection, along with the need for flexibility and a sense of community. 

Rowland Williams asked the students if digital learning provided a fair opportunity for all students? 

• Not all students will have access to the tools that they need to be successful (knowledge of how to use technology, but also access)
• Missing on-campus supports
• Access codes in textbooks are problematic for financially strapped students
• COVID was an opportunity to learn what was already in the shadows 

The next question focused on the use of Courseware:

• Platforms can be difficult to use
• In their opinion, it works best when it is used to supplement learning and there are other learning options available
• Works well if instructors are responsive and present

Rowland Williams asked the students for information on successful integrations of technology in their experiences.

• They suggested a variety of tools, but focus on the human aspect - we are not numbers, we are your students
• Provide opportunities to collaborate, for team building and for peer networking
• Use and incorporate the tools that students are already using

The final question focused on whether they felt they had an opportunity to use their voice, provide their feedback to the institution?

• Look for opportunities to be on a student or faculty committee
• Student leaders need to represent those who do not have a voice

What the World Needs Now

Closing keynote speaker Michael Sorrell inspired the audience with his presentation on The Leaders We Need Now (abstract). This session was ripe with empowering quotes on leadership and advice for all those who aspire to be the leaders that our learning communities need now. The keynote focused on his presidency at Paul Quinn College in Texas. He took the job at a time when the future of the institution was grim. The college was failing at trying to be a traditional college, and not the college that the students needed. A college that would address the issues that students were currently facing. They asked themselves, how could they use the 18 months afforded to them by COVID to change the trajectory that the college was on. 

The following is a list of quotes from Sorrell that continue to resonate with me. 

"To be a leader you must have the ability to face our fears"

"Fear of failure is merely a stumble, it is only a fall if you refuse to get up"

"Don't fear history, know history"

"History is defined by the people who stood up and said we need a different way, who said not on my watch, who said I choose A instead of B, who said I will go on this path alone until the rest of you catch up"

"Leaders must represent people whose voices are not being heard"

Live by the principles of the four L's. 

• "Leave places better than you found them"
• "Live a life that matters"
• "Lead from wherever you are"
• "Love something greater than yourself"

He closed his keynote with questions for the audience:

• "What are you going to do?"
• "Who are you going to be?"
• "What do you want history to say about you?"

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.

Equitable Student Learning

In Support of Equitable Student Learning Experiences, Starting with Assessments (abstract) was presented by Dr. Demian Hommel. 

We have experienced disruption due to COVID, as well as climate concerns and social justice issues. Hommel notes that the main concerns in higher education at the moment include do students have access to educational resources and support, is the learning environment equitable and finally, are we preparing students for uncertainty? 

Mitra, S. (2013, February). Build a school in the clouds. Ted. https://www.ted.com/talks/sugata_mitra_build_a_school_in_the_cloud?language=en. In this video 

Mitra points out that assessments ask students to respond under a threat mindset. Exams are perhaps not the best environment as students often do not do their best thinking under stress.

Hommel notes that assessment can be the engine that drives learning, but it can also be a dead end. There are few opportunities for feedback nor to take that feedback and improve. Hommel also questioned the validity of assessments, perhaps the student is good at taking assessments, so it is not a true measure of growth. Hommel suggests making room for authentic and alternative assessments, giving students the flexibility to set the weight of an individual component and for contract grading which gives students a goal to accomplish over the semester. Hommel explored diagnostic, formative and summative assessments in the presentation, summarizing that Universal Design for Learning, allows for multiple means of action and expression. 

Hommel then stated that interleaving is perhaps one of the most successful methods to deliver content and also assessments. Refer to the screenshot below from the presentation. 

Alternative text: Screenshot from presentation that shows the difference between massed content and assessment versus interleaving of content and assessment. 

Hommel ended the presentation with a suggestion to leverage technology whenever possible. Examples provided included polls, quizzing and the use of interactive textbooks. 

Recommended Reading:

Curtin, R. (2021, April 6). Reimaging higher education: The post COVID classroom. EDUCAUSE Review. https://er.educause.edu/articles/2021/4/reimagining-higher-education-the-post-covid-classroom

Student Leadership

Student-Centered Leadership: Engaging Students by Design (abstract) was a panel presentation led by John O'Brien with panelists Jenn Stringer, Judy Miner and Pam Eddinger.

O'Brien started the session with a rally call for a student first focus. COVID has been an accelerator of the sense of urgency and crisis that we have experienced over the past 18 months. 

Stringer took a mental health perspective recognizing that depression and anxiety are critical issues faced by many institutions. The IT department on their campus invited students to be advisors on the tech council. Students who used services on a regular basis not the students who are in computer science or engineering - wanted the experience of the everyday student. What challenges they were faced with, what gaps could they identify. Also looked at how the issues of privacy and proctoring had an impact on students. 

Miner asked us to reimagine ourselves after the pandemic. Who are our students? Who will we hire? What will be delivered and how will it be delivered? Miner felt that it was important to offer students greater space for exploration and examination of program options - not just curriculum supports, but also collaboration, networking and the creation of peer groups. Miner noted that equity will be a core topic for faculty development. Regardless of place/space, we need to consider the student perspective.

Eddinger recognized the crisis of the pandemic but also the inequities faced by marginalized communities due to race, poverty and the digital divide. Eddinger also acknowledged that many of our students were already in crisis before the pandemic. They suggested that we use the classroom as a container for healing and creating community. Institutions should offer mental health training for faculty, in order to see the signs of major issues. Eddinger compared this to many helping hands on campus, all looking out for the students. 

To sum up the session they stressed that being a student centred leader means not knowing the answers, but asking the right questions. Also, all transformation should have student success/achievement/engagement at the heart of the initiative. 

Attitude Adjustment: Be...

Beatitudes of Digital Equity (abstract) was presented by Takiya Moore and Andreea Kosa and based on the work of Dr. Frank Harris III. 

Below is a summary of the key takeaways they share in their presentation. I really enjoyed this presentation. The presenters were engaging and I loved the way the presentation was structured. 

Be Race Conscious - address individuals not groups. Be intentional and acknowledge that everyone has unique needs. By doing so your will create an inclusive and safe space. 

Be Data Informed - know who your students are and ensure their needs are being met. Be present in the class, and watch for signs that a student may require an early intervention.  

Be Equity Minded - assess access and acknowledge the digital divide. Offer a variety of resources to your students and be their advocate when necessary. That includes designing for EDI, and UD and ensure that your design is device agnostic.

Be Intrusive - offer just in-time support, watch the class progress and do not wait for students to come to you for help.

Be Relational - let students come to class as their whole person, as your class is not only about the coursework. Offer validation, and positive messaging.

Be Culturally Relevant and Affirming - ensure that students feel like they belong. Show cultural humility. Highlight the value of the student perspective. Go out of your way to find examples to showcase beyond the middle age white male. Who are the female leaders in your discipline? Who are the people of colour? Who are the Indigenous leaders?

Be Transparent - define and use rubrics, provide feedback on assessments. 

Be Intentional - meet students where they are and be adaptive. Layer content and provide authentic examples.

Be Empowering - give students the opportunity to modify the course (when possible) to suit their needs. Provide different modalities - for example, if you only use video lectures, you could be using all of your student's data for the month. 

 Recommended Reading:

DiFranza, A. (2019, June 24). 4 Practices to promote equity in the classroom. Northeastern University. https://www.northeastern.edu/graduate/blog/equity-in-the-classroom/

Being an Ally

Allyship that makes an Impact: Outcomes that Identify Action (abstract) was presented by Shohreh Bozorgmehri and Julie Yohm. 

Bozorgmehri and Yohm discussed the Women in Tech initiative at University of California, Irvine, which is a community of practice focusing on action and change. Their goals include helping individuals to realize their full potential as leaders and innovators through: allyship, promotion of best practices for inclusive excellence, educational events and finally strategic partnerships to support diversity on campus.  One event that they held recently was a book club where they invited author Karen Catlin,  "Better Allies: Everyday Actions to Create Inclusive, Engaging Workplaces" to engage in a conversation. One key takeaway from the event was that for allyship to be successful you need a diverse population participating. As well, they recommended that we engage, apply and share strategies with the broader community and provide education around small daily actions that can have a big impact. They highlighted examples of mentorship and sponsorship. 

Beyond Buzzwords: Innovation, Inequity and Imagination in the 21st Century

The opening keynote at Educause 21 was delivered by Ruha Benjamin, entitled Beyond Buzzwords: Innovation, Inequity and Imagination in the 21st Century (abstract).

Benjamin began the address with two images of robots. There are two stories of technology: one of the apocalypse where all technology is out to destroy us and one of utopia, where the technology will save us. In order for it to be the latter Benjamin proposes, we need to broaden whose imagination is being included in these technologies and that needs to begin in higher education. 

Structural inequities and discriminatory design can and do occur. With innovation comes inequities unless we are aware of it and takes steps to advert it. Benjamin provided an example of park benches that are designed for sitting, but do not allow for sleeping. Similar situations occur with the metering of healthcare and education (which I assume Benjamin means pay-for-service options) which are solutions that do nothing to solve the underlying social issues. 

Alternative text for image: Twitter, image shows a park bench with spikes. A user must inset coins to make the spikes retract. This is the work of design student Fabian Brunsing calling out hostile architecture. 

According to Benjamin these obvious versus insidious spikes occur in technology as well. The example was given of immigration data that is then used to discriminate the very population that it was aiming to serve. Benjamin states that the 'do gooder' is unwittingly enabling harm by not involving the community in decisions about data collection, nor do they look at the context or the history of the situation. 

Technology is also coded to be discriminatory, as algorithms in proprietary systems inherit the creators biases and prejudices. Benjamin refers to this as the new Jim Code, the insidious spikes that you may be completely unaware of. Examples included AI making discriminatory decisions about care, profiling by applicant name, and other decisions that are made about you based on your data. Benjamin showed a clip from Better Off Ted that exemplified how inadvertently biased tech can occur. 

Acknowledge that bias exists. Practitioners and technologist should consider the social science, the history, and the context when they are trying to create a tool. Benjamin stressed that we all have a responsibility to read the fine print, to turn technology on its head, to question where the expertise lies, to create new patterns and to move beyond tokenism and predatory inclusion.

Books: 

Benjamin, R. (2013). People's science bodies and rights on the stem cell frontier. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. https://casls-primo-prod.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/cun44o/01CASLS_SPL_ALMA5138717020003480 Available at Saskatchewan Polytechnic 

Benjamin, R. (2020). Race after technology: Abolitionist tools for the New Jim Code. Polity. https://my.saskatoonlibrary.ca/sm/search/results?terms=ruha+benjamin&search_type=KW&format=all&language=all&region=&branch=&availability=&sort=MP&page=1 Available at the Saskatoon Public Library. 

Engaged Scholarship, Racial Equity and Social Justice and the Arts

Engaged Scholarship, Racial Equity and Social Justice and the Arts was presented by Dr. Hogan and A. Kuntz during the opening day of the Educause conference (abstract). This session discussed their project entitled VTLD or Virtual Transformational Leadership Development Experience, which is the integration of the arts as an agent of change. 

Dr. Hogan expressed his teaching mantra as a model of belonging, noting that many Generation Z students are concerned about their mental health and well being, along with social justice issues. Their project entails leveraging the arts to promote engagement and foster a greater sense of belonging. They include interactive elements (VR, AR, AI and other immersive experiences) under an EDI lense, questioning how the arts can increase empathy and compassion. 

The presenters introduced me to a new concept. I was familiar with the old adage that instructor should not emulate the Sage on the Stage, but be the Guide on the Side. The concept of being the Meddler in between was new to me, but I appreciate the update, as it seems to be a more active role, that of an instigator of student success. 

Higher education must recognize the unique challenges that some of our students face and develop learning experiences that meets their needs. Another key point that they made is that representation matters, but actions matter more. If your institution states that diversity matters, yet has a board that is homologous they are not following their own principles.   

Links shared during their session: 

• https://www.artsteps.com/view/6076fd60d6ab4be0471b32c5
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UUFn7iyymo
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRxMdml2qEs
• https://vtld.psu.edu/