Rethinking Online Learning Management System Communication Tools to Support Learning

• In Event: Learning About Learner Interaction in Online Courses

Abstract

As a result of the COVID‐19 outbreak, universities around the world were required to quickly transition from on‐campus to digital learning modalities in the Spring of 2020. Although online coursework has existed in higher education for years, classes and programs tend to target older, continuing education students whose needs differ from traditional students. In this article, we present three perspectives from seasoned online educators who were abruptly challenged to transition their own face-to-face classes online within a severely limited timeframe. Because of time constraints, redesign of our courses was not possible as best practices would dictate (Vaughan, 2013). Despite these limitations, we identified commonalities among our three classes that reflect the current limitations of online learning for social engagement.

Authors

• Erin Riesland, University of Washington - Seattle

• Maria Hays, University of Washington-Seattle Campus

• Jenny Heather Gawronski, University of Washington - Seattle