Foreword: Technology-
Enhanced Learning in COVID Times
Alex Spiers, Eden Centre, London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom
From 2018 to 2020, I worked at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) as the technology-enhanced learning (TEL) manager, leading the digital transformation strand of a Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) funded Catalyst project, an ambitious program of research and change aimed at transforming the physical learning environment, developing new curricula with industry partners, as well as instigating a program of digital education innovations to support enhanced teaching and learning practice at the school.
What follows is a collection of actions, reflections and activity as a TEL manager looking back over the fog of those first COVID-19 months in Spring 2020, which coincided with the ending of the digital education strand of Catalyst. Not being a diligent blogger, the writing for this foreword has been pulled together from tweets, Evernote documents, scribbles snatched at odd hours of the day and night, and photos. My reflection on events and activities starts in January 2020, just before COVID-19 appeared in the news media, and governments started implementing rules and regulations to curb the spread of the virus. It encompasses the United Kingdom (UK) national COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020, through to my departure from LIPA at the end of June 2020, when it became clear that technology-enhanced learning and teaching would be the “next big thing.”
Institutional Project Context
LIPA opened in 1996 to forge a new approach to performing arts training (LIPA, 2022). As one may expect from a relatively new institution, LIPA’s implementation and adoption of technologies to support blended learning was at an early stage of development prior to 2018, although technology-enhanced learning had existed since the beginning. This first included the use of analog technologies such as land-line telephones, audio tapes and photocopiers and then, more recently, digital technologies, electronic tools, systems, devices, and resources that generate, store and/or process data. However, the blended approach, combining face-to-face learning activities with online learning components, was still in its infancy more than two decades later, when I joined the institution.
In January 2018, LIPA was awarded £3.87m by HEFCE for a project to expand its curriculum and transform its learning facilities (LIPA 2018). The Catalyst funding aim was twofold: 1) to help the institution address the changing nature of the performing arts industries by developing graduates’ understanding of the new ways in which performance is created and help them develop the skillsets that are required for this; and 2) to embed “modern” teaching methods and practices to ensure an effective digital learning experience and expand the technological provision for students.
LIPA had been using a single VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) for twelve years but much of its practice had an emphasis on administrative rather than pedagogic functions. Furthermore, there was neither limited technical support available, nor someone who could train faculty or students to make the best use of the system. Anecdotal feedback about the system was negative, focusing on its unreliability, basic functionality, and difficulty of use. To move forward with a technology-enhanced curriculum and teaching approach, it was therefore key to remove this prejudice, reduce the barriers to its adoption and effective use, and provide highly visible, expanded guidance and support. The TEL team was tasked with mitigating the issues associated with large-scale digital transformation and developing solutions for accessible and student-focused technology and pedagogy.
Adapting Learning and Teaching: An Attempt
The Catalyst project was well underway by January 2020 with the adoption of new learning technologies and the subsequent creation of new facilities for film, TV, green screen work and motion capture, alongside the development of a bespoke virtual learning and performance space that would enable students to access, record and publish digital material. Additionally, TEL developed a newsletter that kept staff and students informed about the project and engaged them in a wider discussion about digital teaching and learning. While the project started slowly, many new technologies were introduced, and the existing ones were updated and relaunched.
While everything got off to a good start, COVID-19 then entered the stage, dominating more and more meetings and hallway discussions, and management decisions. On 23 March 2020, the UK government legally enforced a stay-at-home order, or lockdown, meaning the final face-to-face project meeting that we had was on 6 March 2020. At that time, we did not know that this would be our final in-person get-together but everyone attending sensed that COVID-19 would transform not only our project and work, but higher education more generally.
The first few weeks in lockdown were hectic and stressful for a variety of reasons. As a TEL manager, I had to deal with various questions and issues, ranging from the prevention of “Zoombombing” to the rapid rollout of MS Teams as the synchronous learning platform for the institution, and ad-hoc IT support and teaching advice. Invaluable at that time was the help of the wider TEL community on Twitter but also regional support groups such as Digi Learn Sector. Still, working from home put pressure on the family because of the collapse of home and workplace, and private and professional live. Like many in support roles in higher education, I was often working early in the morning and late at night to meet tight deadlines and minimize, as much as was possible, any detrimental impact to the staff and student experience.
The TEL work continued like this throughout April, with a short but desperately needed intermission because of Easter. During this time, we adapted a range of final assessments from in-person face-to-face, to wholly online. The Dance department, who, by their own admission, “used very little TEL in their teaching,” responded to this challenge most flexibly. For example, building on their pre-pandemic work of filming a range of ballet steps for revision, senior lecturer, Anna Hall, with support from the TEL team, introduced a novel method of assessment during the lockdown to ensure that students were still able to learn, receive feedback and meet assessment requirements (Spiers et al. 2021). Students were provided with access to the institutional digital video platform, where they could use the Panopto app to record themselves demonstrating the range of steps they were being assessed on. These were done in a variety of different locations, including at home, in the garden, in the kitchen or wherever they had space. Once uploaded, the tutor was able to view them in Moodle, the learning management system, and provide feedback on their work. Both students and staff found this to be a useful approach to a difficult situation.
Finally, in May 2020, the stay-at-home order was lifted, allowing for an initial reflection on the situation. This coincided with the confirmation that my TEL manager contract would not be extended because the digital transformation strand of the project had come to an end. Luckily, at that time, there was an increase in learning technologist vacancies across the higher education sector, with organizations expanding their teams in preparation for the future. This allowed me to apply for new positions and, a short while later, take on a new role at a different university.
Reflection and Discussion
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the demand for educational technology and learning technologists in a way never seen before (Morris 2020). Most universities and educational institutions were at one point or another forced to deliver all or part of their programs online. Yet, as my example shows, even with the heightened demand for online education specialists, my TEL contract was not extended. This was disappointing and, to some extent, it seemed that there was no rational explanation for it.
Looking at national statistics of employment at that time, however, I was not the only one to lose my job at that time. As outlined in the Coronavirus: Impact on the Labour Market report by Powell and Francis-Devine (2021, 9), “The recorded level of redundancies in September–November 2020 was the highest in any quarter since the records began in 1995, at 402,000.” In addition, many institutions announced “faculty hiring freezes” in response to the uncertainty caused by the pandemic (Flaherty 2020).
So, although the opportunities to develop educational technology and expand online education increased with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, these were not without contradiction. While there was a lot of enthusiasm for new tools and software, and a heightened demand for support and guidance, there was an equal amount of pressure and stress that academic and professional services staff as well as students were under and had to deal with. This tension becomes visible in the conversations presented in this book, together with the creative solutions that individuals found to deal with the unprecedent situation.
As time progressed, people certainly got more “secure” and confident. They began experimenting with existing technology, tried out new software and tools, started discussions around sustainable educational practice, and formed support networks to co-create and invent. Yet, at the time of writing, the pandemic is ongoing, demanding flexibility from everyone involved in higher education. The future is uncertain, but technology has entered the educational arena for good. A big question remains: How can we maintain the increased adoption of educational software and tools, and make good use on the promise of TEL to create the education and education system we want, rather than reverting back to the way it has always been done?
Acknowledgements
Thanks go to Vaiva Adamonyte and Carol Maynard for their hard work and unerring support.
About
Alex Spiers is currently a senior learning technologist and part of the Eden Centre for educational enhancement at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He has been working in UK higher education for seventeen years at a range of institutions that include research intensive Russel Group to small specialist schools. He has significant knowledge in blended learning, Electronic Management of Assessment (EMA), Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) administration, effective use of digital media for feedback, and the use of social media in higher education. He regularly presents at national and international conferences and has contributed to writing and research within his field. He is a keen collaborator and active participant in a wide range of technology focused user groups and online open education courses such as #CreativeHE, BYOD4L and MELSIG (Media-Enhanced Learning Special Interest Group). He was co-founder of Association for Learning Technology North West England SIG and an event organizer for the Heads of eLearning Forum steering group.