The digital disruption of higher education has been a long time coming, but the events of 2020 have demanded a rapid, and in many cases radical response from institutions. However, some institutions anticipated the importance of technology enhanced or online learning. They have been able to leverage their skills and expertise. In this interview, David Bozward, innovator, educator and leader at the Royal Agricultural University (RAU), describes how he managed the transition to remote learning, shares recommendations on keeping standards high, and looks to the future.

David has a track record in the creation and delivery of entrepreneurship education initiatives. In his role as Head of the School of Business and Entrepreneurship, at RAU, he is responsible for the day to day management of the school, as well as strategic and academic leadership.

Technology enhances student experience

At the Royal Agricultural University, we had already moved towards blended learning and run online postgraduate courses that combine the benefits of face to face and online teaching. Our experience meant know what works for our students and could very quickly support remote learning using a range of tools such as Panopto, Myteams and quizzes as well as continuing with seminars. Adding these relevant and targeted asynchronous activities engagement levels has actually raised engagement levels in some areas to 95%.

It has also made it easier for us to bring in visiting speakers as it cuts out the inconvenience of travel, from places such as India, Indonesia and Columbia. Guest lectures are enriching for the students, bringing them closer to the realities of industry. Although the students now attend these sessions remotely, they are more engaged. They can look things on their research online whilst they listen to the speaker, and then they can participate in the discussion.

It’s important that education recognises the reality of technology. Even in face to face lectures I encourage students to use their phones to look things up if they don’t know the answers. They’re reluctant because so much of education prevents them from using technology even though it replicates the real work of work, which is more interconnected and collaborative than the artificial environment we create in education. Even before university campuses closed down, we had been restructuring our exams to become timed assessments. These are more in line with the actual experience that students will have in industry, delivering under pressure but not in the artificial environment of an exam room.

The human side also matters. We’ve continued with our personal tutor groups. With online classes students are no longer together. They may be isolated. It’s important that when they look at their screen, they see faces, not a series of black boxes. Faces trigger empathy for those around you and help create a positive connection. There are a range of staff approaches, with some staff preferring to have cameras off, but it’s question of what makes a professional educator post COVID-19?.

If your institution is new to blended provision, here are some tips for getting started:

• Start by aiming for the minimum, but to do it well.

• Use a tool like Panopto to record and share lectures, then follow up with live seminars.

• Keep students in their routines by keeping to their usual teaching schedule, even if the teaching is virtual.

Supporting staff through a time of change

Regardless of any previous experience, this kind of change is challenging for staff. It’s important to recognise that individuals adapt at different paces. They have unique circumstances. In terms of adopting technology, some will be more enthusiastic and confident than others. While one may knock out a 45-minute video in an hour and move on to the next one, others might take at lot longer. One of the most powerful cultural shifts that is happening is a move towards working more collaboratively. We had already implemented Office 365, but of course the need for it has grown due to the circumstances. It’s a transition from one person owning a document and sharing it via email to the document having shared ownership, with multiple contributors. That is a change of mindset and can improve the way we work as a team, but again, it is a change that some will find difficult.

It’s important to stay close to your teams to support them through the changes. We are a relatively small department who were used to popping in and out of each other’s offices. It’s been important to maintain that connection. Once a week, between 9 and 4pm, we meet as a school for a zoom meeting to bring everyone together. We had an agenda, but kept it relaxed so people could bring their experiences – whether that was about their pets or discussions at exam boards. At first it felt a bit strange but by week four the feedback was that staff were finding it a really good time, really enjoying it.

Keep standards high

Our experience developing and delivering the our Masters blended learning programmes, really allowed us to make a this step change quickly. It takes time to build up that learning and we had build a set of core skills, technology platforms and material. When you innovate in business you can learn by failing fast and redesigning. If you fail, you can just go around again. In education that’s more of a problem as the cycle is normally annually.

We have various mechanism that help us ensure quality for the students as we develop new courses and approaches. We involve moderators and gathering wider input through programme review boards.

The review boards start with the best content – by identifying success they can set standards. This helps staff - it is not about reducing their creativity it is about reducing the workload. It provides guidelines, making it easier for them to develop their own content. That helps remove problems and is particularly important when considering the needs of dyslexic and dyspraxia students.

This also means you deliver a single collection of content with a professional look and feel that supports your university brand, rather than looking out of date. It gives your students a consistent experience.

Moving forward

The short-term priority for universities is now looking after the needs of incoming students. Freshers have read the negative press about what universities will be able to offer, so we need to show them the best experience possible. You have around 4 weeks to engage them if you are going to avoid drop-outs so it’s critical to use that time well. Returning students also matter, but they are more forgiving as you have already built up a relationship with

them. Also, the practicalities of supporting third year students, who are working on dissertations and projects, are very different to the more intense teaching of the first year.

We are currently preparing (but things could change) to have students back on campus, studying in a bubble. We have the advantage of being a smaller university and we’ll be offering reduced class sizes. For us, this includes international students who are still keen to come. We’ll have new starters from Zimbabwe, Nigeria as well as Europe. We are planning for blended learning, but it will be easy to change if we need to and we are confident we can offer the students a really strong experience.

This piece is part of our Perspectives series. Higher Education is changing fast, moving beyond emergency online teaching to provide a robust and satisfying student experience. As your institution plans to manage the challenges of this uncertain environment, stay aware of how others are responding. Each week we’ll share insights and discussion including student views, research, and interviews with academic leaders. Sign up for the series using the form to the right.

About David:

David Bozward has a track record in the creation and delivery of entrepreneurship education initiatives. In his role as Head of the School of Business and Entrepreneurship, at The Royal Agricultural University, he is responsible for the day to day management of the school, as well as strategic and academic leadership.