Future of Online Learning: An Interview with Katie Walsh

Katie Walsh is an ed-tech specialist and a former school teacher from Sacramento, USA

How much has the recent pandemic changed the future landscape of education in terms of the viability of online learning? Is online learning the inevitable future of education?

I think it goes without saying that the pandemic has drastically changed the landscape of education in terms of the speed at which online learning has become integrated globally.
In terms of it being an inevitable aspect of the future of education, I think there's no removing technology entirely from schools at this rate. Although I do like to look at the opportunity at hand as very integrated and multifaceted, as opposed to tech or no tech, black and white thinking that sometimes comes up in these discussions.
So you know, whether our schools continue to integrate technology at the rate which we had the past two years. That's a different question. I think the pendulum tends to swing pretty drastically in our school system. And so what we've seen the past two years in terms of a tech-heavy and tech-centric conversation and school experience, from the more human nature side of things, we can see how there would be this natural pull for some people to want to swing back to what is familiar and known.
I think the discussion falls in the middle here where we start looking at how to leverage technology for the most meaningful intentional purposes in terms of learning outcomes and school, school management, all of that, while not losing sight of the social, emotional, relational, human aspect that students also engage in as they're learning in our schools.

Many educational institutions are rapidly changing their way back to face-to-face classes now that the health crisis has subsided. Do you believe it’s a mistake trying to turn back the clock?

In short, yes, I think any attempt to go back or get back to normal is an interesting story to tell ourselves.
And again, I think it's only natural that fear and familiarity that we would want to return to something that apparently largely people perceive as good. However, if you've worked in our school system or been part of research and change and looked at the inequities that have existed in our school system for a long time, that rush back to what's familiar doesn't look all that comforting either. So I think rather than trying to move backwards we can reframe that discussion to one that looks ahead to this new normal. I think I resonate with that term a bit more. Let's re-imagine and redefine what the school experience is, can be, and will be for future generations.
So I don't think that means that we have to say no face-to-face, all tech, all hybrid, all remote learning. Again, I think it's a complex conversation and that the more we invite our communities, parents, our decision-makers, lawmakers, and people outside of the school system itself into that discussion, I think the more potential there is for long-term change and impact.

What is your advice to schools and other educational institutions that would like to commit to online learning even after the pandemic? How should they go about it?

I think first and foremost, Make it a community, a community effort.
So again, rather than this, top-down mandate or directive, let's have a discussion so that there's actual buy-in and understanding and excitement from our students who are actually in our schools, from our parents, caregiver, the community that supports those students, and from our teachers and our administrators that are on the ground facilitating this day in and day out.
Rather than make the commitment at a high level, a lip service commitment, let's learn together, discuss together, and look at schools and learning communities that are doing this well. Even pre-pandemic, there were a lot of school communities globally that had incredible systems in place.
Whether it's the devices and the technology itself, or just the structure of the school day and instructional time and planning time and all of these things that we can be learning from. So, I think that's something that's really encouraging is this access to technology has connected us as an educator community, but also people, more largely. And so we can save a lot of time and stress and heartache. If we look to some of these examples to see what works well, and what doesn't and then rebuild from there and I think the other piece of it is if we're keeping the students at the centre of this conversation. I think that's really important.
What do our students actually need and want? It's a big question, but you know, I think of my time in the classroom pre-pandemic and students were learning online from their phones from YouTube, social media, from Google, from each other long before the technology was, on-campus or in instructional plans to the extent that it is now.
And so some would argue that the commitment from students is already there and it's the schools and the institution, the resourcing, the funding, and the decision-makers that are bridging that gap.

Teachers, administrators, students, and parents all have some beef with this major shift towards online education. Do you have any personal experience with this? How can schools make sure they address these issues?

This is a great question. I think about my time in the classroom pre-pandemic, and I had very well-intending parents or community members who had real concerns and problems with my teaching I was using technology in the classroom quite a bit.
I think in that regard, I became aware that for those of us that went through the public education system or the private education system or the charter school system, whatever it may be and it looked and felt one way to now look at our children or younger generations going through a school system that looks and feels and sounds so drastically different.
I think that sparks a lot of uncertainty and fear and concern and rightfully so. It's unfamiliar. So I suppose rather than ignore that or push back on that, I think invite all of these people into the conversation because we want caregivers, families, and communities involved in reshaping and redefining our schools.
So, if families have real concerns with the amount of technology being used in schools, then great, let's have the discussion because the truth is that our schools have never been as digital and tech-forward as they are now. So is it possible that the pendulum swings too far? I've talked to elementary school teachers often and the social skills, the emotional regulation skills, and the communication skills, all of those things that tend to happen organically in the younger grades that haven't for many of our students these past couple of years. Those are important conversations to be had. Again, we don't want to create an environment that's so polarized.
In my opinion, personally, I think if we can bring the either and the oars and have a discussion in the middle, that's when our students are going to be supported the most. And that's where the potential really lies.

To broaden the topic a bit, regarding the use of technology in education, are there any particular technologies you feel excited about?

Yes, there are many, I think that the first two that come to mind, one has to do with linguistic translation support technology. In my time in the classroom, I've taught students from all over the world and as one individual teacher, I've found it very challenging when I've had students that have recently immigrated. When you have 10 different languages sitting in one classroom, you want to attend to all those needs, but it's quite difficult. And so I think I see technology as a tool to bridge these gaps and support students in ways that previously were just not possible.
To have one teacher be the source of all knowledge in the classroom pre-technology is a completely different landscape than to have a teacher with access to all kinds of technology. And it's a matter of facilitation and building an instructional plan from those tools. So anyways, specifically, the linguistic support that is becoming quite a standard in innovation globally because of the diversity of our populations and the impact of globalization. I'm really excited about that one.
And then on a more broad view, just the connection ed-tech tools are providing for teachers and for students. So again, I just think of early-day schools where it was one teacher, a class of students operating in a silo and that kind of silo nature of classrooms and teaching has carried into much of what we see today. I just think about the collaboration and the sharing of ideas and perspectives and solutions that can take place. Now, whether it be through ed-tech or through technology in general. I think there's potential for teachers to feel more supported than ever before and the potential for students to feel more connected globally than ever before. Of course, there's a learning curve that comes with that. And while I think a lot needs to be done to support our teachers and to support our students in terms of resourcing, training, funding, etc.
That's a side comment, but really just technology is a tool to promote equity and to provide access to these learning experiences, no matter where students are living globally. I think that's really exciting.