Critical Approaches to Online Learning

An essential read for all those involved in teaching and learning in higher education with the pivot to fully online - made urgent by Covid-19 - but also drawing on best practice to rethink the role of digital more broadly in the social practices of university learning and teaching. 

Online learning has become an increasing presence in higher education course design, with most courses combining physical real time engagement with asynchronous learning activity. Now, however, there is a greater need for this one-stop guide to critical practice in this area, as we rethink the role of digital in the social practices of university learning and teaching. This book provides a critical and contemporary ‘deep dive’ into the socio-material, technological and pedagogical practices at work in virtual and digital higher education. Examples are drawn from across and between disciplinary pedagogies with a focus on blended and hybrid approaches and the pivot to fully online made urgent by Covid-19 but drawing on existing best practice.

The Critical Practice in Higher Education series provides a scholarly and practical entry point for academics into key areas of higher education practice. Each book in the series explores an individual topic in depth, providing an overview in relation to current thinking and practice, informed by recent research. The series will be of interest to those engaged in the study of higher education, those involved in leading learning and teaching or working in academic development, and individuals seeking to explore particular topics of professional interest. Through critical engagement, this series aims to promote an expanded notion of being an academic – connecting research, teaching, scholarship, community engagement and leadership – while developing confidence and authority.

Introduction

1. Virtual learning, time and space
2. Relational co-creation in virtual spaces
3. Inclusion, social justice and the digital
4. Assessment: Vygotsky in the Third Space?
5. Rethinking the idea of the university

Conclusions