Navigating the Confusing Array of Digital Learning Definitions
September 21, 2022
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EST
As students sign up for courses, they are faced with course delivery options such as online, remote, hybrid, hyflex, synchronous, and asynchronous – but how these are defined is not always clear, and they vary even within an institution and, sometimes, within a department. It is confusing for faculty and staff. Students are often left adrift. The remote learning explosion resulting from the pandemic only made it worse.
To understand the scale and nuances of the issue, WCET collaborated with Nicole Johnson Research and Consulting and Bay View Analytics to conduct an open survey of digital learning faculty and staff. This webcast provides a preliminary look at the survey results, including:
What are the various terms used to describe modalities in digital learning?
Is there a consensus on how to define digital learning?
Do institutions have common definitions used across the college or university?
What are the implications for institutions in how they support and advertise these courses?
What does this mean for how faculty and administrators communicate with each other?
Beyond the survey, we will also preview comparisons that WCET and the State Authorization Network are creating of “distance education” policy definitions. With each being slightly different, institutional compliance and student understanding are both hampered.
