Speaker sessions - topic-specific

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Monday November 2, 2020

Adapting to distance education

3:15–3:35PM – First-hand account 1

An international collaboration to train Swiss students in nursing political leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic

Nursing leadership – both in Quebec and abroad – calls for skills development to enable political influence in the healthcare field. Using an international collaborative effort to integrate political leadership into nurses’ training, the La Source School of Nursing designed a digital teaching module (45 hours) on clinical and political leadership, which it then made available for use in a COVID-19 setting. The experts involved, from universities in Quebec, the U.S. and Switzerland, were able to identify the characteristics of in-class and hybrid courses that taught nursing political leadership. These findings were used to digitally adapt innovative educational practices through shared global expertise. A Web-based policy tool, merged with a health-oriented intervention and analysis process, was the key mechanism used to maximize the development of skills the students could use to exercise political leadership.

3:35–3:55PM – First-hand account 2

How the ÉTS adapted to COVID-19

The École de technologie supérieure, part of the Université du Québec network, offers undergraduate programs in engineering. The academic year is divided into three sessions – each of four months’ duration – to accommodate students’ work placements at any time during the year. The Great Lockdown in mid-March this year compelled our institution to adapt its practices in just a few weeks, so it could offer students a fully remote session in the summer of 2020. This presentation will cover the pedagogical and logistical challenges overcome by ÉTS during the Summer 2020 session, and the adjustments made for the Fall 2020 session. Topics will include faculty training, exam management and the regulatory framework in place. In Part 2 of the presentation, a professor will recount his personal experience of initiation into distance education.

3:55–4:15PM – First-hand account 3

Supporting faculty during a health crisis that called for social distancing

The crisis caused by the worldwide health situation led some universities, including ENAP, to close their doors but continue to fulfill their online teaching mission. Multiple challenges were faced by all academic stakeholders: students, faculty and managers. Once the closure of physical spaces was announced, ENAP underwent a three-phase evolution in order to quickly transition into online teaching: crisis management and the myth of a magic tool, maintaining a quality educational offering and implementing lasting support mechanisms for instructors needing to create a remote presence (Jézégou, 2010). What aspects of this crisis in university instruction will remain in place? Will we encounter the same obstacles to and concerns about online teaching? Are we on the cusp of a radical change in our teaching methods? Is digital teaching a valid topic for discussion today (Lameul, Loisy, 2014)?

4:15–4:35PM – First-hand account 4

An educational technologist recounts first-hand the shift to remote learning during the pandemic

In March of this year, we were obliged to quickly switch from in-class to online courses. Our primary focus was educational continuity, coupled with a sense of urgency. For the summer session that followed, faculty were able to start incorporating some distance education-related good practices into the design and delivery of online courses, before attending in-depth training in the summer months. Essential support was provided by educational consultants and educational technologists at colleges and universities. An educational technologist shares her experience, describing what happened at Université du Québec à Montréal.

4:35–4:55PM – First-hand account 5

The adaptation of college students to distance training: what challenges and adjustments in relation to the design and implementation of training activities?

In order to meet the need for educational continuity in the context of a pandemic, the Cegep de Sorel-Tracy offered training activities to students. The aim was to support the students’ transition to distance education. The co-facilitation of workshops offered at a distance and in synchronous mode was chosen to allow students to develop learning strategies adapted to distance education. A reflective feedback on the training sheds light on the challenges and the adjustments made in carrying out the training workshops. Our story reveals that the actors involved encountered challenges related to collaboration. Other challenges were related to technical failures and digital incivilities of students. The adjustments made to the remote classroom management and the efficient configuration of the platform have helped to create an appropriate framework for intervention and preparation of students for distance education.

4:55–5:15PM – First-hand account 6

The pedagogical transition and shift to remote learning: finding the right balance

2020 is sure to remain a pivotal year in many respects, especially in the annals of distance education and higher education. It is too early to anticipate how a complete or partial shift to remote instruction, imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, has impacted teaching and learning practices, but the various forms of transformation and adaptation by institutes of higher education – in particular, faculty and students – can be reviewed. We will examine the question of this pedagogical transition through the lens of seeking balance between teaching and learning modes (synchronous/asynchronous), activities (individual/collaborative), forms of support (reactive/proactive), learning assessments (via training/certificates), etc. In the absence of the usual elements underpinning day-to-day student life – an environment that promotes relationships and socializing – the need to consider remote attendance will also be discussed.

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