Schools and teachers have had to be very creative to address the challenges of remote learning thrust upon them by COVID. While many view these as temporary measures, others are beginning to embrace the technologies and opportunities that come from these new constraints.

Here are a few benefits that educators and students are seeing:

Sustained excellence in online and/or distance teaching

• Use of technology
• Ability to overcome distance & tech
• Ability to fill the gaps from distance teaching

Positive impact on online and/or distance student learning

• Promotes access to information and resources
• Become more accessible via tech than ever before
• Create a more inclusive experience for students

Innovative approaches to teaching online and/or distance students

• Leveraging existing tools and online content beyond the classroom
• Integrate content from various sources to improve understanding
• Promote collaboration with other students via tech

Effective use of technology and media when used to teach online and/or through distance education (including off-campus site-based courses)

• Incorporate media (sound, pics, video) as examples to follow and augment understanding

Creativity in course development and instruction

• Provide a 3D presentation of content, weaving together multiple elements
• Improved participation and engagement by the student

Sensitivity to the advising needs of online and/or distance students

• Sense uncertainty and moments of confusion by the student using query & response and creative feedback tools to gauge understanding

Influence on the quality, extent, and development of the department’s online/distance program

• Develop new techniques with data to support new approaches
• Pioneer change in online learning by improved results (improved scores, improved understanding, better collaboration, improved participation)