Ep 31 - Teaching and learning in a digital world. Lessons learned from the pandemic (Part 1)

Associate Professor Chie Adachi | Director, Digital Learning at Deakin University

In this video (part 1 of 2), Dr Chie Adachi from Deakin University discusses her role as Director of Digital Learning, managing a team of academic developers, learning designers and learning technologists, to drive initiatives around digital learning and teaching. She describes how they have adapted to the pandemic and examines the lessons for universities more broadly.

Chie charts the quest for a new model of blended learning and how COVID-19 has been the catalyst for a transformation in education that had been in embryo pre-pandemic. She looks at the collective mission in higher education to uncover clever ways of blending online and on-campus experiences and considers how this can be accomplished with the level of flexibility students want and need.

In terms of adapting pedagogical approaches in the digital learning setting, Chie asserts that active learning principles still hold true, with greater scope for educators to reduce their reliance on didactic measures in favour of more engaging and interactive experiences that align with growing student expectations. In rethinking high-stakes assessment, she advocates for avoiding blanket proctoring approaches and rather, investing in stronger, more authentic assessment designs, and exercising a pedagogy of care toward inclusivity and accessibility.

Towards balancing the acceleration of technology with the best interests of education, Chie explores Deakin’s AI-based automated feedback project, and poses a fundamental question: how can institutions progress the good work being done in this space, while being critical of how technology is impacting student learning, teaching practices and our lives more generally?

Watch the video to hear Chie’s insights.

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