Distance learning is here to stay – so how can universities accommodate it?
When the Covid-19 pandemic first hit early in 2020, there was an immediate shift to remote working – and the higher education sector was no exception. Many institutions scrambled to provide an online alternative to in-person lectures, teaching, and examinations – with varying results. However, when the dust settled, and the sector had time to reflect, it became clear that there was still a lingering appetite for an alternative to the on-campus university experience.
Distance learning was still firmly on the agenda, alongside its counterpart, hybrid learning, which involves a mixture of in-person and online activities and promotes further flexibility within the higher education experience. Now, many students and academics want to be able to choose how they work.
The higher education space has, for many years, considered attending lectures and seminars in-person, and sitting pen-and-paper assessments in large exam halls, as the norm. This is undeniably a viable way of working and should be in no way discouraged. But the fact of the matter is that there’s an appetite for alternatives. And, in our increasingly digital world, the best move for universities right now is to think about how to accommodate these.
The issue that arises, as Paul Cave, Digital Education Manager at the University of Leeds, puts it, is that “we are finding that some people are stuck in the crisis mode of delivering online teaching using basic tools, in the same way we did in the pandemic.” According to the Times Higher Education, as these modes grow in popularity, it is important that institutions adopt the right tools and platforms to deliver learning journeys and pedagogical methodologies that work for instructors and students.
So, what can institutions do to accommodate the move towards hybrid and distance learning, as well as remote working for staff and academics?
One of the clearest issues raised by the drive towards remote and hybrid learning is the need for adequate digital infrastructure. Students need access to the necessary technology, and teachers need to be able to move their lessons online without compromising learning outcomes. The sanctity of locked-down and invigilated exams needs to be maintained and marking and feedback need to remain of a high standard. There are a number of very important requirements that an institution’s technological infrastructure needs to support and maintain.
Digital assessment platforms offer an all-encompassing solution to many of these issues.
Our platform, WISEflow, not only provides easy access for academic and administrative staff to create, deliver and assess multiple types and formats of exams and assessments, but also allows students to sit these exams and assessments from anywhere, at any time.
Many of the institutions that work with WISEflow operate a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policy, so that students have the freedom to use their own laptops to sit their exams. This promotes flexibility, and for those students that may not have access to a device, institutions such as Brunel University London operate laptop loan schemes to ensure that no individuals are left without a way to sit their assessments.
WISEflow also goes a great distance to ensure that learning outcomes not only do not suffer but are actually enhanced. Lezel Roddeck, Director of Foreign Language Communications at Bucerius Law School, comments that “one of the biggest benefits of using WISEflow has been more varied and enhanced feedback capabilities. Before the digital switch, we mostly gave written feedback, but now we can use more multimedia forms, which helps us to better support learning outcomes. Feedback is more immediate, more useful, and usually means you'll see improvement in the quality of students’ work overall!”
At UNIwise, we understand the importance of maintaining academic integrity. That’s why WISEflow offers invigilation and plagiarism detection tools to all institutions that use the platform. Our lockdown browser turns candidates' devices into a secure workstation, and our Device Monitor tool captures screenshots at random intervals to remove the possibility of cheating.
Academics can monitor exams while they are taking place, and screenshots can be taken by students’ webcams to assess their exam conditions. There is absolutely no compromise when it comes to academic integrity and WISEflow.
And it's not just these proctoring capabilities that can help to ensure fairness – the platform also supports a variety of assessment types beyond traditional exams to ensure that students’ skills and knowledge are evaluated in multiple dimensions, reducing the risk of cheating, or mitigating the impact of AI.
A digital assessment platform like WISEflow can provide many of the features an institution needs to facilitate remote and distance learning, but as the Times Higher Education outlines, “one of the challenges faced by universities is providing adequate faculty support. Educating the instructors is the most important thing in enabling digital transformation.” An online platform is all well and good, but academics needs to understand it to be able to use it effectively.
The dedicated Customer Success team at UNIwise is committed to providing assistance and training to all clients, ensuring that platform users - including academics and staff - have the necessary information to effectively support their students. Recently, Universidade Aberta, a recent addition to our Portuguese client base, expressed a keen interest in elevating their grasp of the invigilator role and maximizing the potential of WISEflow's invigilation features. To meet this objective, the UNIwise Customer Success team organised a dedicated training session in Portuguese for both staff and academics. The primary focus was to bolster support for faculty and elevate the institution's overall understanding of the platform, with a specific emphasis on improving invigilation practices.
Our Support team is also consistently available to address any outstanding issues as they arise. As noted by Emma Stoakes, Examinations and Assessments Manager at Imperial College London, "they always have our back. They're adept at prioritizing issues and inquiries, and they excel at thinking outside the box!"
Remote and hybrid learning isn’t going anywhere any time soon, and universities are increasingly recognising this. A digital assessment platform like WISEflow can offer the technology, features and guidance necessary to navigate this ever-changing sector. If you’re interested in learning more about WISEflow, get in touch at hello@uniwise.eu - or book your demo now.