I extend my gratitude to everyone who was willing to share their hopes with me in preparation for this talk. They didn’t all make it in to the keynote today, but they’re all worth hearing. I’ve collected them here for your perusal.
Flex deadlines. Equitable grading. More concrete commitments to accessibility. More blended learning and intentionally designed asynchronous elements in courses.
— Jes Battis (@jesbattis) April 10, 2021
My hopes are for universities to center our values (hopefully ones based in a belief in social justice and empowering students) and to embody those values at the systemic & individual level, walk that talk and constantly question ourselves. Partner w students! Esp marginalized
— Maha Bali, PhD مها بالي 🌵 (@Bali_Maha) April 10, 2021
No more precarious labor; let people who love teaching do their job and have a decent life.
— Dr. Xinli Wang 王新丽 (@xinli_w) April 10, 2021
My hopes are that we embrace greater flexibility & invite more compassion for and from all, that we remember how nimble we can be when required and don't get stuck in doing things a particular way "because that's how they've always been done." And that we can keep the sweatpants.
— Carolyn Ives (@CarolynIves) April 14, 2021
Yes. I would like to see universities returning to the core values of the academy, i.e. to share knowledge freely with a healthy dose of collaboration on the side.
— Wayne Mackintosh (@Mackiwg) April 14, 2021
Why assessment needs to change. (Learning strategist perspective)
— Stephanie Tate (@ChotiStephanie) April 14, 2021
The weekly forums. As much as I *hate* them, they make me reflect each week upon my learnings. The scaffolding is way better than 2 papers a semester. As a last minute #graduate student I appreciate that.
Know that learning design takes time and that you have to be open to prototypes, failure, iterative processes, rabbit holes, serendipitous learning experiences, being responsive to voices (especially students) and always have a plan B with no questions asked.
— Dr. Verena Roberts (@verenanz) April 10, 2021
Real practical applications of comprehensive access. Not just captions, alt-text, but multi-modal inclusive approach to pedagogy that is INTENTIONAL & MEANINGFUL. Meet learners, instructors, & staff where they are. No tack-ons: eg. race, class, disability, gender as foundational
— Ann Gagné, PhD (@AnnGagne) April 10, 2021
That we address “baked-in” assumptions abt student anxieties & their causes. Late penalties for instance: I don’t have any but students always behave like I do. B/c it’s all they’ve ever known. Some anxieties are habitual & imbedded in the institutional shell that is Higjer Ed.
— David N. Wright (@davidnwright) April 10, 2021
That we don’t undervalue what students have taken from this year going forward. No petty sniping about how pandemic students can’t write, etc. They did the work; they can do it.
— David N. Wright (@davidnwright) April 10, 2021
not going 'back'; continuing to value of fac dev & ID. Underlying those, I hope that we keep hold of education being a collaborative effort. I also hope, as I sit responding to twitter while waiting to wake my kids up for church, that we remember work/life balance & switching off
— JohnRobertson (@KavuBob) April 11, 2021
There was a lot of talk about innovative instructor pedagogy combined with online, accessible training and supports. I hope this continues (both the focus on pedagogy and the supports) and I hope (foolishly?) that it comes with the precious resource of time attached.
— Dr Caley Ehnes (@CaleyEhnes) April 10, 2021
I would echo what Jes said. Centring around Empathy only leads to the great things. Overall I hope will continue to be open to change….
— Edward Logan (he/him) (@edloganplumber) April 10, 2021
Meaningful conversations and actions around what we mean by the following: "communities of care," "decolonization," "engagement," and "racial justice." It's long past time for lip service to end, and to actually move forward.
— Mandy (@BooksYarnLogic) April 14, 2021
I hope the gaps and deficiencies in higher ed that have been exposed won’t be papered over in our return back towards the comforts of “normal”.
— Brian Lamb (@brlamb) April 10, 2021
Maybe some of the skills, capacities and lessons that emerged over the past year can help. I think it would be a mistake to bury them.
It would be inspiring to see institutions spend more time openly reflecting on and discussing how their mission and goals are being advanced, where the gaps are, inviting ideas and showing progress. I.e. much more time than spent writing them in the first place.
— Irwin DeVries (@IrwinDev) April 10, 2021
That we adopt more “open first where possible” thinking for both the practical and philosophical benefits
— Dr. Tannis Morgan (@tanbob) April 14, 2021
I hope that the openness to try new things and take risks, Individually and collectively, continues so we can continually innovate and improve
— Leeann Waddington (@edleader_AI) April 14, 2021
Faculty: "Huh. Maybe teaching is harder than I thought. I should learn more about it."
— Nobody knows I'm a dog (@kierancyco) April 14, 2021
With #Hope that we continue to see past the tech to find the human-ness and humane-ness and care for the people involved in teaching and learning! #critical #open #resistance to big tech and AI dominating over what is a complex human endeavour! @BCcampus #CascadiaOpenEd
— Helen DeWaard (@hj_dewaard) April 10, 2021
Funding for faculty, staff and students, not corporations.
— Beyhan Farhadi, PhD (@BBFarhadi) April 10, 2021
Much more accessibilty and flexibility for students and staff with disabilities, outside responsibilities etc.
— Isabelle Ava-Pointon (@i_aletheia) April 10, 2021
that we who teach do more thinking about teaching as what it *could* be, not what was done to us.
— Dr. Bonnie Stewart (@bonstewart) April 10, 2021
and that decision-makers listen to those thinking about teaching…rather than the vendors in their ears.
My hope is that we DONT go ‘back to normal‘ otherwise we’ll have learnt nothing at all from this pandemic…
— Virna (@VirnaRossi) April 10, 2021
Inclusive learning design should be our priority (see my pinned tweet)
That we demonstrate the empathy post-pandemic that many faculty and staff showed at the height of the pandemic.
— Michael Mills (@drmichaelmills) April 10, 2021
Greater recognition of and support for diverse lifestyles and work modes!
— Erin McKenney (@doteachlearn) April 12, 2021
That there’s more compassion and understanding from instructors and from students toward each other.
— Heather M. Ross (@mctoonish) April 14, 2021
Anchoring to the roots of publicly funded PSE. Tax funded. Public service. What responsible power looks like in practice. Transparently and collaboratively checking assumptions. Explicitly valuing the messiness of learning. *w/ students, colleagues, leadership, and the public*
— Krysta McNutt (@mcnuttsays) April 12, 2021
That we put more energy into assessing assessment than we do into assessing students.#CCBY
— Nate Angell (@xolotl) April 14, 2021
That our teaching and learning be informed by becoming (other)wise and that we resist the ideology of ‘learning loss.’
— Mary Ann Reilly (@MaryAnnReilly) April 10, 2021
Funding for more qualified teaching and learning center staff!
— kt (@Awildkt1) April 10, 2021
Sustained recognition that curriculum is a community practice and that all members of the community (students, staff and faculty) play an important role but are also complex people with identities and priorities outside of academia.
— Dani Dilkes (@DanielleDilkes) April 14, 2021
Planning to continue distilling long form content into bite-sized audio and video chapters to help learners who juggle higher education challenges with significant technological limitations.
— Bernie Goldbach (@topgold) April 16, 2021