I got interviewed by the independent magazine of my university, called AdValvas, to give my opinion about hybrid education.
Hybrid education? Why would we keep this habit of streaming lectures online (and even recording them), now that the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is over?
Even though the pandemic is indeed over and education activities are back on campus, I still keep streaming my lectures online, recording them and sharing them with my students afterwards.
Some of my colleagues have raised doubts about this, suggesting that since the information is anyway available afterwards online, my students would then not have any incentive to come to the university anymore. There were also discussions about the fact that students grades would be lower if they would stay home versus coming to the campus.
By doing so, I am also not following the educational vision of my university, which does not recommend sharing recorded lectures with students. And yet, I keep doing it, and will keep doing it.
But why?
Because the students who don’t come to my lectures are not the students who prefer staying in their bed because they are lazy (as I heard from other teachers). These are students who have a difficult financial situation and have to work more to pay their rent. Students who have a sick relative at home, whom they want to care for. Students who struggle themselves with a medical condition, which sometimes makes it challenging to come to the university. Students who are originally from a country with political instabilities and cannot focus on their study. Students who have not managed to find a room due to the housing situation and cannot reach the university due to public transport issues or strikes. Students who have just started their Master program and even though their English is good, they would like to listen to my lecture again. Students with a neurodivergent condition, which makes following a 45-min lecture very challenging.
I am advocating for more diversity and inclusion in academia, and by going against hybrid education, we also punish the (significant!) population of students who face those issues, instead of helping them.
I’m convinced that it’s not about what’s good and what’s not. It’s about trusting my students that they will still come to the university to follow my lectures, because I encourage them to do so, while giving them the opportunity to re-watch the lectures. It’s about creating a safe and fun study environment, where students enjoy coming to the lectures to learn and interact, while knowing I will not judge them if they don’t join the lecture. It’s about communication, where many students choose to inform me when they will be absent from a lecture, even though they don’t have to.
I truly believe in the power of online education. Today’s technology allows us to reach almost everyone to transfer knowledge and educate them. That is why I have founded NextMinds – to allow me to transfer my knowledge to virtually anyone in the world, providing tools to help everyone reaching their dreams.
The interview can be found here (only available in Dutch).
Image: www.canva.com (2023)
