Academics may need to take a more ¡°exploratory¡± and collaborative approach to improving online teaching, akin to the way they conduct research, if higher education is to find the best way of using learning technology, a Times Higher Education forum has heard.

Diana Laurillard, professor of learning with digital technology at the UCL Institute of Education, told °Õ±á·¡¡¯²õ Digital Transformation Forum that although online teaching technology had been around for several years, ¡°we don¡¯t understand how to use it well¡± and having the academic community educate itself about this could be a key way to?improve.

¡°One of the things that I?think is going to be an important aspect of our shift towards using technology is to take a more exploratory, developmental approach to the way in which we tackle teaching so we¡¯re learning together,¡± Professor Laurillard told a panel discussion at the forum on ¡°higher education beyond the pandemic¡±.

She suggested that massive open online courses (Moocs) in online teaching could be at the ¡°core¡± of this approach ¨C pointing to the global popularity of a on the topic launched in March in response to the pandemic.

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A Mooc is not just a massive open online course, Professor Laurillard said, ¡°it can be a?massive open online collaboration because it is a social learning process, and you bring teachers together to share their ideas and do peer review of each other¡¯s ideas¡±.

¡°It is almost like taking the teaching profession into being more like academics generally, where we all learn from each other,¡± she said.

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¡°Teaching has become such an important area of knowledge development and experimentation that we have to behave more like that.¡±

Once this approach became embedded in the academic community, it would naturally then be passed on to students learning online, she said, so they turn into ¡°a?body of people who are doing that same kind of thing, learning together, collaborating and so?on¡±.

However, she stressed that making this widespread in academia ¡°takes some organisation: you¡¯re going to need more learning technologies around to support this process and a sense for every academic that they can do?this¡±.

Meanwhile, David Ouchterlonie, associate director of global engagement at the University of Nottingham, told the forum ¨C held in partnership with Kazan Federal University ¨C that universities had surprised themselves with their ability to move online during the pandemic.

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Despite universities liking a ¡°resource- and time-intensive decision-making process¡±, the pandemic had shown that ¡°we?can actually be nimble and we can make quick decisions and we can implement significant changes without a year of papers and committees and hesitation and risk-aversion¡±.

However, he said, higher education now needed support from governments and the media around the move to teaching online.

¡°I think our governments could do more in terms of regulation and flexibility, [such as the] recognition of degrees that are delivered partly or fully online. And more support for institutions who are embracing this new world of digital higher education,¡± Mr Ouchterlonie said.

¡°And I think we have a role to play in helping our media and communities to understand that the education experience is being enhanced by this new way of delivering, not impaired.¡±

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simon.baker@timeshighereducation.com