Online Learning Can Bring People Together During Times of Emergency, Although There is Still a Place for F2f

As a multicultural and international society we are discussing many subjects that see education as part of the process. For example, I heard a Palestinian speaker on the Israeli-Palestinian subject discussing how negotiations are an important conflict resolution but that so too is education. Many polarized issues lend themselves to education as a way of explaining sides to the other and in that way opening up other strategies. Learning is the bridge by which we bring people and ideas together. When a situation can not be completely resolve through negotiation, then education becomes an important tool of reconciliation.

Since almost by definition, polarized issues involve polarized (and geographically separate) people, blended and online learning suggest ways of bringing people together and sharing ideas in a non-confrontational atmosphere.  There are no borders to cross and hierarchies to confront with online learning. Ideas that are controversial can be shared in a more diplomatic and democratic way in the more egalitarian atmosphere of cyberspace. 

It could be that education is outgrowing the physical classroom. When traditional learning started at the beginning of the 20th century, schools of higher education were necessary to bring people together from different parts of the countries -- essentially a meeting place for subject experts and people that wanted to learn from them. Resources largely consisted of physical books in a library.

Of course, so much has changed now. We think differently about what constitutes learning, what constitutes thinking, and what constitutes an education. I wonder why we get surprised at this move towards online/blended learning, as it really makes sense. As we think differently we need different ways to think about thinking.

By having links and created more interactive tools, one might hope that blended learning might increase the ability to think non-linearly and come up with non traditional solutions.To think holistically rather than in a strictly reductionist method.

We are use to the argument that online/blended learning increases access and allows for much greater flexibility for learners, but there is also the reality that many websites present information in such a way that would be impossible in a textbook or f2f lecture (although you could link to a website in the classroom, that is still what I consider blended learning). A Thursday, March 20 New York Times article notes how the White House added a variety of apps to support its open source data website has to encourage people to view interactive maps and other documents on topics such as climate change. This type of material is kept up to date in a way that printed material can not be and presented in a 3D  visual fashion that is only possible on the Internet.

In February, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof wrote about the importance of academics taking more of a role in the public debate (Professors, We Need You). Part of the reason academics don't get involved in public policy debates, according to Kristof, is that there jobs are tied to publishing in academic journal and thus they don't have the time to write for the general public. Of course, faculty at community colleges don't have the same publishing requirements. In general, I agree that faculty and other public intellectuals have an important role in sharing their views on issues of public concern, such as climate change, military policy, and the like. We as a society have invested a lot in creating the ability for people to study and master the facts in many fields, so we should benefit from their views, including their reasoned opinions. Online and blended ways of sharing may help professors share their views outside their own environments.

Although online offers many options for time-strapped, economically less well off, people, it also presents options to travel to areas that might be off limits either temporarily or permanently. For example, during the protracted bombing/invasion situation between Palestinians and Israelis in the Gaza Strip in July 2014, there was an article in the July 23 Wall Street Journal "Tel Aviv's Tech Hub Presses Ahead" about how many high-tech meetings were not held or postponed because flights were not landing or people were involved in the military exchanges. I wonder how many other meetings were conducted via Skype or other sources and will this number continue to grow?

Chicago and other areas have experienced dangerously cold weather temperatures and snow and this has understandably impacted attendance at area schools (elementary, high school, colleges and universities) as these schools have closed as a safety precaution for commuting students/staff/faculty.

While I applaud these safety measures, I do not necessarily understand why learning has to stop when campuses have to close.  I believe online access should be used as an essential service to increase access to learning when physical campuses are closed.  Just as we have a physical campus, so we have a virtual/electronic/Internet campus. These resources work in a blended way. The mission of a school (elementary, high school, college) is to engage and educate its students -- all resources should be mobilized for that mission, classrooms, faculty, staff, etc. When a physical campus is rendered unusable because of a weather emergency, the online campus should be mobilized. Learning Management Systems, which are the online equivalent of the physical classroom in terms of content delivery has resources for posting videos (aka flipped classroom), holding real time conversations and also for providing for live lecture with interactive questions. Again, I ask, when a physical classroom is closed, why should learning stop?

I might add that cold weather is only one possible weather related scenario. Last summer, our local community college was closed for one week because of flooding from a river that abuts the campus. The campus was unaffected by the flooding but roads leading to the campus were impassable.

As the note below explains, these types of issues should be part of any emergency preparedness. Just as we prepare for disasters like a tornado, and active shooter on campus, we should be making these weather situations, which seem to be increasing due to climate change, a regular part of our administrative/instructional planning.

I believe online/blended lectures should be part of any discussion. After all, in a rhetorical sense we might ask "how many online classes were cancelled because of the subzero temperatures?"

The Cincinnati Enquirer outlined strategies for handling these "calamity" days in this article. and the Chicago Tribune had an article about a high school that had online assignments during the closure.

I know there are issues of training, complete student access, etc. But, issues have never stopped successful adaptation before. We can come together as administrators, faculty, staff, and students to fully utilize all of our campuses in the pursuit of engaged learning.

There is research to suggest that unscheduled school closings do have a negative impact on student learning.  In Unscheduled School Closings and Student Performance, the authors show that test results go down when there are numerous school closings for storms, etc. The work missed is not completely  made up and days added on to the end of the year do not help prepare students for tests scheduled earlier. There is research to suggest the opposite is also true, that there are advantages to closing school in bad weather, but this does not detract from the central point that online resources should be more fully integrated into the learning equation.

The New York Times noted the move towards more online learning in times of weather emergencies with "Snow Day? That's Great Now Log In, Get to Class."