Learning with Technology

Category: EDCI 339 – posts

A computer screen reads "Designers should always keep their users in mind." In the background, a teacher helps a student while another student works independently.
Photo by fauxels on Pexels.com.

Blog Post 3 – Accessibility and Ethics

February 24, 2025 / / 1 Comment

Definitions

Students with exceptionalities:  Students with uncommon ways of learning or behaving whose needs cannot be met through typical instructional approaches. (Filiatrault-Veilleux, 2022)

Disability:  Disability is a term used to describe a functional limitation that hinders a person’s full and equal participation in society.  (Legislative Services Branch of Canada, 2025)

Accessibility:  In an educational setting, accessibility refers to having equal opportunity to gain knowledge, receive services, and participate in learning or community experiences.  (University of Virginia, n.d.)

Digital Accessibility:  Digital accessibility of education means that technology to be used is designed for all users, regardless of disability.  (University of Virginia, n.d.)

Accommodations:  Students with exceptionalities may require adjustments to course or class expectations or delivery modes in order to access learning.  These adjustments are known as accommodations.

EdTech:  EdTech is short for education technology and refers to modern technology used to support or enhance learning.

FIPPA:  Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act of British Columbia, Canada

Accessibility

In any course designed for a group of people (as opposed to self-directed schooling), we need to consider the wide variety of needs presented by students.  In my experience, as instructors we tend to feel successful if we have met the learning needs of a majority of students.  However, this tends to leave out students who are less typical, in particular students with exceptionalities.  To ensure we reach exceptional students also, we must consider the accessibility of our course design, instruction, and assessment. 

UDL

One way to create accessibility is through the use of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), a framework constructed to address a diversity of student needs based on what is known about the human brain (CAST, n.d.).  The main concept behind UDL is that a learner characteristic is a disability only because of its interaction with the learning environment (Rose et al., 2014).  For example, a student who is dyslexic has trouble reading, which impacts their ability to learn Science if the information is relayed only through textbook readings; however, if the student has the option of hearing a lecture or watching a video to access the same information, the dyslexia is no longer a barrier.  Therefore, by changing the learning environment, we can remove barriers to full participation in education.  By offering students multiple options for understanding and engaging with content, accessibility is increased for a wider range of learning needs.  By offering multiple options for demonstration of learning, barriers to assessment equity are reduced.

The words Universal Design for Learning are surrounded by cartoon images labelled and depicting straight forward, consistent, flexible presentation, explicit presentation, accommodating learning spaces and environments, minimizing unnecessary physical effort, and accessible equals fair.
“Universal Design For Learning” by giulia.forsythe is marked with CC0 1.0.
The words Universal Design for Learning are surrounded by cartoon images labelled and depicting straight forward, consistent, flexible presentation, explicit presentation, accommodating learning spaces and environments, minimizing unnecessary physical effort, and accessible equals fair.
“Universal Design For Learning” by giulia.forsythe is marked with CC0 1.0.
The words Universal Design for Learning are surrounded by cartoon images labelled and depicting straight forward, consistent, flexible presentation, explicit presentation, accommodating learning spaces and environments, minimizing unnecessary physical effort, and accessible equals fair.
“Universal Design For Learning” by giulia.forsythe is marked with CC0 1.0.

UDL addresses diversity in three main categories:  engagement, representation, and action & expression, by increasing access, supporting the learning process, and supporting executive function. (CAST, n.d.)

EngagementRepresentationAction & expression
Increase access by designing options for…Welcoming interests and identities  PerceptionInteraction
Support the learning process by designing options for…Sustaining effort and persistence  Language & symbolsExpression and communication
Support executive function by designing options for…Emotional capacity  Building knowledgeStrategy development
(CAST, n.d.)

For example, when I design a course in Math, I build in opportunities for retesting to allow students to continue persisting in their growth towards learning outcomes.  This increases access by supporting greater engagement.  As well, students who struggle with tests due to anxiety may show their learning by engaging in a one-on-one conversation about the topic, again a way to support their learning process through multiple options for expression and communication and support their executive function of emotional capacity.  Students have opportunities to engage with a concept through lecture, group work, use of manipulatives, engaging with technology, or watching videos, increasing access to learning by providing multiple means of representation.  Collaborative activity in which students communicate as part of problem solving creates opportunity for multiple means of building knowledge (listening, watching, talking, negotiating), representing and communicating (writing, speaking, using models), and welcoming identities (seeking to reduce barriers of cultural bias by decreasing the amount of teacher-centred education).

Learn more about UDL in this video created by CAST.

Accessibility in an Online Setting

In an online setting, designing for accessible education includes also ensuring digital accessibility.  Learning platforms with simple designs which are easy to navigate and use are more inclusive of those who have less experience with technology (Hotchin, 2025).  Likewise, straight-forward language and highlighted definitions increase accessibility for those who have language impairments (Edmunds & Edmunds, 2018).  Websites which are navigable by screen readers and alt text on images allow those with visual impairments to access content, while transcripts and captions help those with auditory impairments or struggle with understanding the language of the content.  Standards and guidelines such as WCAG are useful tools to ensure learning platforms and materials are maximizing their accessibility (Hotchin, 2025).

Ethical Considerations

One way of addressing accessibility for those with learning differences is to offer computer-aided personalized learning.  For example, programs such as IXL, a Math program that assesses student levels and difficulties in order to offer targeted tips, explanations, and challenges, are used in many schools to supplement regular classroom activity.  While educational technology (EdTech) can enhance learning experiences by making practicable the creation of very flexible and responsive materials and environments, we also must take into account ethical considerations.  In Ethics and Information Technology, Regan & Jesse (2018) discuss how EdTech is able to create learning that is personalized to the interests, preferred learning styles, and skill levels of students.  Not only is personal information gathered, but students’ digital behaviour, such as the choices they make or the time it takes to click on a button, is tracked and analyzed to offer future experiences selected by the software.  Regan & Jesse question whether this type of tracking and sorting is discriminatory and make associations with classrooms segregated based on race, ethnicity, gender, and class.

On a broader scale, use of digital technology raises ethical considerations about information privacy, anonymity, surveillance, autonomy, discrimination, and information ownership (Regan & Jesse, 2018).

  • Information privacy – Information about an individual should only be collected with their knowledge and consent, and should be used only for the stated purposes for which it is collected.  [Privacy of information collected by public bodies in B.C. is protected by the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA).]
  • Anonymity – An individual should have the right to choose to be anonymous in a digital environment.  This anonymity is protected if information about the individual is not allowed to be analyzed with public records in order to identify them.
  • Surveillance or tracking – This is the monitoring of student information and online behaviour to make predictions about future behaviour.
  • Autonomy – An individual should have the ability to freely make choices.  Autonomy is impacted when computer algorithms pre-select options to offer.
  • Non-discrimination – While we currently have laws protecting people from being discriminated against based on race, ethnicity, gender, religion, or disability, sorting people in order to personalize learning creates dangers of discrimination based on computer system and machine bias.
  • Ownership of information – When digital services collect information about an individual, does that individual or does the digital service company own the information?
A young man sits in front of a laptop with his head in his hand.
Photo by Tim Gouw on Pexels.com

When we bring EdTech into the classroom, we bring these ethical considerations also.  Since the technology is recommended by a school, district, or teacher, students and parents trust that learners will be protected against any unethical behaviour of companies.  These companies’ motivations are not necessarily the well-being of students, but the success of their own product and operation.  Are we giving companies a captive audience for their advertisement, research, or brand loyalty development?  Where is students’ personal information being stored and who has access to it?  For what purpose do they use this information?  As well, in our attempts to create more accessible learning through technology, are we creating barriers for those who have less access to computers and Internet?

One way of taking advantage of the benefits of technology in an online course while minimizing interaction with the ethical considerations outlined above could be to have students use programs that do not require accounts. For example, Desmos Classroom activities can be accessed without signing on. The student would then need to take screenshots of their work and email it to the instructor. Another way is to allow students to use pseudonyms to protect their anonymity and share the pseudonym only with the instructor. Being aware of the ways in which student information can be exposed to misuse helps us as instructors to protect learners.

We also must manage the digital behaviour of the learning community.  Similar to a classroom, in order to build a community that is supportive, productive, and safe, we need to set standards of behaviour. Treating one another with respect is a foundational expectation. Teachers and students are expected to respect one another’s privacy, ideas, choices, and identity. Just as bullying can be overt, such as when someone threatens, shames, or verbally abuses another, bullying in an online class can also be covert, such as when a student is excluded from a conversation or meeting. Such expectations and the consequences of bullying and harrassment should be made clear at the beginning of a course. Teachers can also model respectful behaviour through the use of inclusive language, employing preferred names and pronouns, and acknowledgement of differing viewpoints. Finally, as Hotchin (2025) reminds us, teachers should urge students to maintain academic integrity, meaning that students should avoid cheating, plagarism, and misrepresenting their work; they should cite sources and credit any use of others’ work.

Accommodations

While careful online course design can reduce the risks that come with EdTech and increase the accessibility of learning materials, content, and fair assessment, universal approaches may not ensure accessibility for students with more exceptional needs.  As a teacher, I have encountered students who need personalized support for tests and assignments, those who require scribes to document their work, ones who need reduced abstraction, and ones who need substantially more challenge.  In my experience, these students benefit from personalized learning assessments with specialists who can recommend specific accommodations needed. 

To learn more about accommodations in a UDL context, view this panel discussion hosted by the University of Windsor.

Accessibility Principles

UDL aims not only to reduce learning barriers, but to eliminate them (CAST, n.d.).  However, the materials, instructional strategies, and learning environments informed by UDL literature can only change so much for learners.  Learners still face barriers on a systemic level, such as standardized curricula (Rose et al., 2014) and student sorting based on chronological age. 

In every year that I have taught, I have encountered one or more students who have been placed into an inappropriate class and cannot be relocated due to school, district, or provincial rules.  As much as I can include these students in the learning experience by (to name a few examples) sourcing content for them, helping them to find roles within the classroom community, and/or making connections to areas of interest, the students do not experience an equal opportunity to fully engage in learning.  I am not sure what improvements can ensure that all learners are supported effectively.  However, I am curious about the effects of multi-year programming and placement based on readiness rather than age; teachers staying with the same students for multiple years (provided there is a reasonably good fit) to increase the benefits of established relationships and teacher understanding of students; increasing student-driven learning while giving executive functioning support and options for structured coursework; flexible scheduling; and decreasing the length of secondary school courses to allow for increased choice and program mobility.  

In whatever learning environments become the norm, I think that it is important to continue to make accommodations for students whose needs are outside the targets of the system as it works for most. Recognizing that equality is not the same as equity, I think that these accommodations can sometimes be special programming in which the design is targeted towards meeting common needs of a subset of students with exceptionalities. As far reaching as UDL is in increasing accessibility for students, I believe we should remember to keep our focus on the needs of students and view UDL as just one tool. 

References

Blog Post #2 – The Role of the Instructor

February 4, 2025 /

Blog prompt: Reflect on the role of the instructor in an online course. What qualities do you think are essential for an instructor to be effective in a digital space? How have instructors you’ve had in the past successfully (or unsuccessfully) fulfilled this role?

In any course, the instructor is central to learning, not necessarily because the instructor is the centre of attention or knowledge, but because it is he/she/they who leads the class, plans the activities, sets the tone, and evaluates learning.  To maximize the value of a course for learners, the instructor must put thought and effort into their work.  They must employ a consistently effective pedagogy.

Pedagogy – The study of teaching and its methods.  This includes strategies teachers use to create a learning environment, instructional activities, learner engagement, and assessment. (Hotchin, 2025)

Pedagogy

What does it mean to employ an effective pedagogy?  Beginning with the end in mind, let us first consider what the instructor brings to the job before students enter the picture. 

In my experience, first, an instructor must be knowledgeable in the content area of the course.  Without this foundation of expertise, the teacher is not so much a guide as a project manager, helpful with getting things done, but not so much in furthering understanding.  Not only do they need to know the course content, but they must know how to help students learn it. 

Perhaps they have studied learning theories, or maybe their understanding comes purely from experience and intuition.  Either way, a successful instructor has designed the course and lessons with intention. 

I have also found effective teachers to be interested in cultivating relationships with and between students, creating a safe and welcoming environment in which to learn.  As well, they employ strong communication skills, clear in their verbal and written expression, transparent with expectations, and good listeners and observers.  Finally, and particularly with online courses, I have found effective instructors to be organized, able to create a navigable learning environment and lesson or course structure, and offer timely feedback.

Behaviourism – Teaching based on behaviourist theories focus on helping students change their behaviour based on what they are taught. For example, a behaviourist would consider a student to be successful at learning 3 x 8 if the student can consistently respond to the question with 24.
Cognitivism – Cognitivist teaching is concerned less with what students can observably do and more concerned with students’ thinking processes. A teacher using cognitivist strategies strives to help students develop skills for problem solving, reasoning, language, and mathematical thinking. For example, knowing that 3 x 8 is 3 groups of 8 or 8 groups of 3, and being able use that idea to solve problems is more important than simply knowing the result, 24.
Constructivism – Constructivism considers that learners make their own meaning from personal experience and reasoning. A teacher using a constructivist lens attempts to create authentic situations, similar to those in which the learners will apply the new knowledge, and guides learners to construct meaning and check themselves for accuracy, as in an apprenticeship.
Social Learning Theory – Social learning theory emphasizes external motivators in learning, namely observation of others’ behaviour and its consequences. For example, a student who sees another get praised for participating in a discussion may be more likely to participate in discussion themself.
Connectivism – Connectivism focuses on learning as connecting information sources to form networks. For example, a student who has learned about chess at home, from some websites, and in a local club connects with other players in an online forum, expanding their learning by increasing their network.
Major Learning Theories (Ertmer and Newby, 2018), (Bandura, 1971), and (Hotchin, 2025)

Pedagogy in an Online Context

In an online space, the learning theories and aims underlying the pedagogy are much the same, though the strategies may differ.  Teachers still need to design courses and lessons thoughtfully, with learners in mind, whether they are teaching facts with behaviourist stimulus-response-style lessons, helping students learn problem solving strategies using cognitivist approaches, or planning group activities that will support constructivist learning.  Additionally, teachers can use Social Learning Theory (Bandura, 1971) to effectively take charge of the social environment in order to ensure students are learning desired beliefs and behaviours from one another.

If teaching strategies are different in an online environment, what do essential teaching qualities look like?

Expertise

In an online course, I have found teachers to create access to their knowledge and understanding less in real-time lecture and conversation, and more through the resources they curate and questions they pose.  Their expertise is essential to design and facilitation, described in Garrison, Anderson, and Archer’s Community of Inquiry (CoI) as key functions of teaching presence, an essential component to teaching (Garrison & Archer, 2000). 

For example, during a course in Investigations in Mathematics, our instructor taught a class from online.  He provided carefully designed problems, gave background information, organized us into groups, and allowed us time to work, breaking in only briefly to lead discussions. 

Photo by KATRIN BOLOVTSOVA on Pexels.com.

His understanding of how people learn allowed him to plan a lesson that accessed our prior knowledge, engaged us with well-paced problems, allowed us to learn from one another, and scaffolded our retention through review.  He had familiarized himself with the technology platform we were to use (Google Jamboard), enabling him to support us with the use of space so we could focus on learning the content of the course.  Meanwhile, his background in Mathematics allowed him to flexibly create more difficult problems when we needed more than had been planned.

Organization

Teaching online also increases the importance of organizational skills in an instructor.  In order for students to be able to navigate the course, they need to understand the environment, including course structure and community, and have an ability to find resources (Hotchin, 2025).   I have found digital organization to be very challenging as compared to organization of physical materials.  No longer are we, as students, able to use memory based on place to find and organize our materials.  Nor is visual memory as effective when content is published with the help of templates.  We must also hold onto the thoughts of what we are seeking amidst the myriad distractions of websites and links that come to our attention as we hunt through notes, readings, and emails.  In my experience, a well-organized virtual space is essential to support students effectively.

In an online French course that I supported my daughter through, the teacher designed a well-balanced course of open sourced readings and videos, learning activities, and formative assessments.  All activities, assignments, and deadlines were laid out in a readily accessible course outline.  Upon logging into the Learning Management System (LMS), the student could see what tasks had been completed, what percentage of the course was left to do, and suggested target dates of completion for each unit.  This organization was very helpful, allowing my daughter to concentrate on improving their French.

Photo by Mikhail Nilov on Pexels.com.

Additionally, the instructor must themself be organized.  The principles of CoI (Barnes, 2016) include giving prompt feedback and emphasizing time on task.  This can be done if the instructor has managed their own time to regularly attend to their marking and planning tasks.

Communication

As Hotchin (2025) reminds us, effective communication is a crucial part of online teaching.  This begins with frequent student-faculty contact, which is one of Chickering and Gamson’s seven principles of online teaching, as referenced in Barnes (2016).  For example, in my EDCI 335 course, the class is set up in a social chat on the Mattermost platform, and the instructor is a participant in the whole-class channel.  This allows her to connect with us both formally, such as when she posts the week’s tasks or answers questions, and informally, such as when she uses reactions or posts a quick welcome message.  In this way, she encourages an active learning community in the class and maintains a strong teacher presence.

Another principle of online teaching is giving prompt feedback (Barnes, 2016), important to letting students know whether they are “on the right track” and give them a sense of being guided.  This timely communication helps students feel engaged and know they are learning.  Similarly, students benefit from effective communication of the course structure, expectations, and time parameters.  In the previously discussed French course, my daughter was able to self-assess her progress and manage her time because she understood where she was in relation to the course structure and expectations.  At the same time, the teacher sent emails if she was falling behind, helping her to keep on track when she was struggling.  The teacher’s “checking in” when concerned about my daughter’s progress is similar to the initiative a classroom teacher takes when a student is idle in class and, in my teaching experience, a valuable way to offer support when it might be needed.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com.

Relationships

As well, an effective online instructor values relationships.  Barnes (2016) points out the importance of a student’s ability to feel present in a learning community, supporting their sense of trust and belonging.  Social Learning Theory also highlights the learning that students do by observing one another (Bandura, 1971).  The stronger the connections between students, the more they can learn from one another.  The instructor facilitates social presence by building strong relationships with students, modeling respectful social behaviour, and encouraging interdependence between students. 

In my EDCI 335 course, this is demonstrated in both the course design, in which students complete group projects throughout the course, and in the Mattermost social chat room, where students discuss readings and videos, and ask and answer questions among one another.  We are also expected to read and respond to blog posts from other students, allowing us to support and learn from others in the class.

Networked Pedagogy

In my experience over the years, local educational practice has evolved to better appreciate the unique knowledge and life experiences brought to a learning community by each student.  This is especially true in an online context.  In The Manifesto for Teaching Online, Bayne et al. (2020) point out the vastly different lives that may be being lived by students who might come from all over the world.  Not only does a teacher need to consider the geographic distances students traverse by accessing a course online, but also the different political, educational, and cultural backgrounds they bring to the community (Bayne et al., 2020).  Networked pedagogy mines the richness of this diversity by emphasizing the connections between people and the resources and ideas they bring using technology (Hotchin, 2025).

Photo by Tara Winstead on Pexels.com.

Networked Pedagogy – An approach to teaching that conceptualizes learners, resources, and ideas as nodes in a digital network and emphasizes the connections between them. (Hotchin, 2025)

One example of this approach is in EDCI 339, in which we use blogs to write about our learning and its connections with our personal knowledge and experiences, and then read and respond to one another’s blog posts.  This allows us to connect to other ideas and see from other perspectives.  We are expected to meet with people in groups to discuss readings and work on projects using whatever digital spaces work for us. 

In our group, because we all have good digital literacy skills, we are able to interact effectively, making and changing plans, contributing ideas, and responding to one another.  We quickly chose a social media platform for communication and a different one for collaboration.  Had we had trouble, we knew we could reach out to our instructor for help.

Digitally Literate

Finally, all of an instructor’s teaching skills and understanding of student perspectives will not help in running an online course if the teacher is not digitally literate. Not only must the instructor be familiar with relevant technology – LMS’s, social media, collaboration software, etc. – but they must have a good understanding of the social space in a digital environment. They must understand privacy and security issues when asking students to put information online, and indeed, when posting their own information online. And, they need to have enough experience to be able to guide students when they have trouble.

Read more thoughts about digital literacy and digital identity in my Blog Post #1!

Conclusion

The role of the instructor in an online space is not different than their role in a physical space.  An effective instructor still attempts to leverage all of the tools at their disposal to maximize learning.  They bring expertise, organization, and leadership to the community, and they bring people together to allow students to benefit socially and educationally from one another.  The difference in an online space is the strategies we must use to achieve these goals.  Because the digital world is relatively new and evolving quickly, teachers today cannot bring to bear the benefit of thousands of years of human experience in communicating with groups and building community.  Instead, online teachers today must thoughtfully consider how to organize materials usefully, connect effectively, and read students’ needs.  Additionally, we must consider how much broader is the world encompassed by “the classroom” when teaching online.  When we understand this, we find ways to embrace and celebrate diversity, be sensitive to differing environments, and encourage students to learn from one another.

References

Blog Post #1

January 19, 2025 /

Hello, welcome to Learning with Technology! I am EverythingSoup, which is a lot like something I make for my family at the end of the week. The soup has a little of this and a little of that, using things that aren’t necessarily often cooked together, but combines to make a dish that works.

Professionally, I am a secondary school Math (and, technically, Science) teacher. Having moved to “The Island” from the Lower Mainland a couple of summers ago, I find myself working in part-time contracts, and thought that the time I have spent not working could be put to good use in upgrading my teaching skills. I hope that I will learn a great deal in EDCI 339: Distributed and Open Learning.

My interest in alternative environments for learning comes primarily from personal experience in supporting my children in a variety of Distributed Learning programs, now known in BC as Online Learning. I am also interested in Open Education, which has made learning a wide variety of information and skills accessible to most people, increasing opportunity for all and improving equity in education. At the same time, the prevalance of the digital spaces and communities which make learning more accessible also influences the type of learning that is emphasized, impacts learners’ abilities to make strong social connections, and complicates the world that learners must manage.

What is Distributed Education?

Distributed Education, a type of school program where resources are accessible from online, sent through the mail, or picked up from a central location, allows students to learn from home, in the community, outdoors, or while travelling, while teachers support through email, learning management systems (LMS’s), and/or online or in-person meetings. The geographic flexibility of this way of learning means that programs can be accessed even if they are based far from their students, allowing families to more easily select programs that best suit their own needs. Because students are not confined to classrooms, they have a great deal of freedom to learn, not only in anywhere in their own communities, but in the ways which work best for them. Students with high movement needs, who are homebound, have sensory differences, or become anxious in school buildings benefit from the flexible nature of Distributed Education schools.

Photo by Vicki Loh, 2018.

These programs also allow students to learn asynchronously, at times that suit them, increasing the flexibility of pacing for learners. Those who learn faster can move on to other tasks or dive more deeply into areas of interest without creating complexity in classroom management or instructional planning for a teacher. Likewise, those who struggle with a skill or topic have the opportunity to revisit content, spend more time working on something, or get one-on-one time with a teacher without falling behind or feeling out-of-sync with a class.

The asynchronous nature of Distributed Education programs also allows students to work at any time of day. As a result, teenagers who naturally sleep later can work on learning tasks in the afternoon or evening. Volunteer (or paid!) work can be scheduled during hours that traditionally would have students in a classroom. Sport or performing arts training can take place without conflicting with learning time. Those who struggle with health issues can attend to learning anywhere, at any time.

Although learning can happen individually, technology also allows groups to meet remotely for projects, discussion, or synchronous learning. Collaborative work with learners who are geographically far away is made possible through video calls and web based apps like Google Docs. This means that learning can be fully online, and some Distributed Learning programs are designed to be so. Others include (optionally, in the case of hybrid programs) face-to-face time in regular meetings with teachers, synchronous learning, or occassional field trips and activities.

Photo by Antoni Shkraba: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-woman-using-a-smartphone-6267047/

Open Education

Many Distributed Education programs make use of Open Education resources to enrich learner experiences. These are textbooks, slides, videos, and other resources that grant users the license to freely use, adapt, and share at no cost. Without a teacher and peers present, and without a great deal of time and money for a program to create many engaging ways to learn, a Distributed Education student’s learning environment might be reduced to textbooks and worksheets but for the myriad of free educational videos, games, and courses available. These resources can be embedded into structured courses, allowing teachers to engage students with variety and strengthen understanding by providing multiple perspectives. Learning becomes more equitable when students are also given a choice in the resources with which to engage, allowing students to explore topics of interest, control pacing and depth, and work with the types of resources that help them learn best.

Open Education resources are used not only in Distributed Education programs, but also in traditional K-12 settings, in post-secondary arenas, to further business and professional training, and by curious individuals. From structured programs such as Khan Academy and MOOCs (massive open online courses), to single topic productions like Crash Course, to open textbooks, these free materials can be used by anyone with access to the Internet. No longer do people necessarily need to pay for classes or find a teacher when a YouTube video might enable them to learn what they need.

More About Modes of Learning

Modes of learning describe how learners engage with content and learning activities. These include face-to-face, online (synchronous and asynchronous), blended, and hybrid modes (Hotchin, 2025). Whether education is Distributed or Traditional, formal or informal, people may learn in an assortment of ways.

Face-to-Face

Photo by Naomi Shi: https://www.pexels.com/photo/three-toddler-eating-on-white-table-1001914/

Most of us are familiar with face-to-face learning, where teachers and students come together in the same space, at the same time, to interact and engage in learning activities. This happens synchronously, meaning teaching and learning happen at the same time, and anyone in a learning group will participate simultaneously. While traditional classrooms and courses are entirely face-to-face except, perhaps, for homework, some distributed learning programs also have a face-to-face component.

I, myself, completed almost all of my formal learning face-to-face. The benefits of this mode of learning for me lay in psychological motivation. I enjoyed the relationships I built with teachers and other students, and the immediate feedback I got during in-class activity was important to my learning. However, I also found that the pacing was often unsuitable to my learning needs, which I frequently found frustrating enough to cause me to disengage from instruction.

Photo by Katerina Holmes: https://www.pexels.com/photo/black-female-teacher-looking-at-schoolgirl-raising-hand-5905458/

The balance between the need for a live teacher and the focus on content and skill perhaps explains the decrease in opportunity for face-to-face interaction in Distributed Learning programs as students grow older. Younger children learn much more in relationship with others, especially their teachers. As students grow, they are better able to engage with text and video, and they are better able to connect with teachers and other learners in a virtual world.

Online

Online learning describes any learning that can be done by accessing resources on the Internet. Also known as virtual or e-learning, this mode appeals to those who cannot travel to class. It allows working people to attend classes without needing to spend time traveling; resources can be accessed from around the world and translated into other languages; those who are ill do not need to miss class to protect others from infection. For example, EDCI 339 is an online course. As well, shorter-form resources may be embedded into formal courses or accessed on their own. Some online resources are Open Education and, thus, free. Others are accessed through payment to institutions or companies.

I have experienced a lot of more control over my learning in online modalities. In asynchronous modes, such as online articles and videos, or programs such as Duolingo, I am usually highly engaged. In part, this is because I have chosen to participate in this learning to execute a particular task or because I have an interest. I can easily obtain relevant resources to learn more about a topic, find specific information, or gain deeper understanding. I also like that I can speed up videos and return to moments as needed. Educational games provide rewards and immediate feedback, and sometimes they even have a community of people learning alongside.

Photo by SHVETS production: https://www.pexels.com/photo/young-lady-learning-sign-language-during-online-lesson-with-female-tutor-7516363/

In synchronous online modes, I experience less engagement than either asynchronous online or face-to-face learning. The large amount of talking that live sessions usually include makes me restless and distractable. These are better for me when they involve more collaborative problem solving and discussion, rather than listening and/or following steps.

Blended or Hybrid

Some Distributed Learning programs or other courses involve a mixture of face-to-face and online aspects. For example, Apex in Coquitlam, BC is a Blended Learning program in which students attend one morning a week for art, music, PE, and ADST activities, and the remainder of the learning happens outside the school building. Coquitlam Open Learning 10 – 12, on the other hand, offers optional times for students to attend for support from teachers in their flexibly paced online coursework, making it a Hybrid program rather than Blended.

As an adult, I can imagine that a Blended or Hybrid learning mode would work best for me. Portions of the course that could be self-paced would be online, while face-to-face portions could include discussions, debates, coversation, or creative problem solving. As a child, too, I would have benefited from the flexibility of online modes of learning, allowing me to learn in ways similar to individual projects for a large part of the time, while still having time with other children to participate in activities whose effectiveness was less dependent upon a group having similar interests and abilities.

Learning in a Digital World

In today’s world, being digitally literate is essential to one’s ability to access learning and navigate the workplace. Basic skills include working with word processors, spreadsheets, and email. Most people today are also able to effectively use search engines, online meeting technology, and web-based software for collaborative work.

Photo by RF._.studio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/unrecognizable-african-american-scientist-studying-anatomy-with-tablet-3825539/

Many people who need to advance their skills for work, want to connect with others from afar, or wish to learn using Distributed and Open Learning resources will seek to learn how to perform tasks using technology. For example, Distributed Learning programs often require learners to navigate online Learning Management Systems (LMS’s) to access resources, submit work, and communicate with teachers and other students. These LMS’s can be complex and unintuitive. To make matters more difficult, different schools may use different LMS’s, necessitating a learner to learn new technology when changing schools. In addition, they may require the learner to access Open Learning resources such as open textbooks and videos, or ask the learner to search for information on the Internet. The more comfortable a learner is with technology platforms, the easier it will be for them to learn to use a new one.

Photo by Google DeepMind: https://www.pexels.com/photo/an-artist-s-illustration-of-artificial-intelligence-ai-this-image-depicts-how-ai-could-be-used-in-the-field-of-sustainability-from-biodiversity-to-climate-it-was-created-by-nidia-dias-17485679/

While the ability to access information is clearly crucial to being able to use it, teachers may not realize that being able to critically evaluate online information and sources is another skill which must be taught. With so much self-published content, we must be able to differentiate between reliable and unreliable authorities using clues in the the content itself and from the surrounding website. Artificial Intelligence (AI), recently experiencing a burst of growth in general use, makes this distinction even more difficult by offering material that seems convincingly written and photos and videos that appear realistic at first glance, but may be full of errors. Accurate comprehension of the content we encounter is directly related to how well we learn any topic or subject area.

Another part of digital literacy concerns what people contribute to the community through self-published work, sharing of information, and conversation. Because online information is not always scrutinized by a trusted body and it is frequently shared as snippets, clips, or quotes, we must be aware of how our messages are supported and received when communicating without facial expression or body language, outside of established relationships, and outside of the immediate context we are experiencing when we make commentary. Social media posts can be viewed not only by those one has specifically selected, and online comments may exist in cyberspace long after the author has deleted them. Being digitally literate means that a person is able not only to employ technology, but also to have a strong understanding of what they are consuming and producing in the context of the digital world.

Photo by ThisIsEngineering: https://www.pexels.com/photo/extreme-close-up-photo-of-codes-on-screen-3861976/

Whether we realize it or not, everything we put onto the Internet becomes part of a digital identity. When people evaluate potential hires, make decisions about business relationships, or decide whether to allow someone to cross a country’s border, they may look at patterns in that person’s online photos, comments, posts, and profiles. Managing one’s digital identity is as important as ensuring their real-world behaviour represents their values and aligns with their goals.

To manage my own personal and professional digital identity, I am mindful that anything I say or do online is in a public space. I am authentic, but as positive and respectful as I would be offline. I also stay away from sarcasm and posting content while emotional. This allows me to show who I am, to have an online presence, while minimizing behaviours that could be misconstrued if taken out of context.

Some Final Thoughts on Distributed and Online Learning in the K-12 System

While Distributed Learning and Online Education has increased the flexibility and accessibility of education, I wonder if regular participation in these learning communities would lead to a decrease in local community engagement and thereby affect students’ mental health and well-being. If a student’s primary communities are online, might they be connected to other people, but more shallowly than is healthy? The need for careful curation of behaviour when working in a digital world must impact how people, particularly young people, learn and collaborate. When a teacher only sees what is carefully presented by a student, when that student feels regulated enough to turn on their device and deliberately connect, how well can they know one another? How well can the teacher support the student? When a student’s friends are all in other cities and can worry when an absence is extended or unusual, but can’t easily walk over to find out if their friend is okay, what does that mean for the depth of relationship that can form?

Distributed and Online Learning have many benefits, including flexibility, increased equity, and more personalized learning. I believe we also need to pay attention to the non-educational needs that have traditionally been met by schools, in order to grow whole and healthy children.

References

Hotchin, J. (2025, January 5). Edci 339 (A01) module 1 – University of Victoria – EdTech. University of Victoria – EdTech. https://connectedlearningpathways.ca/category/edci-339-a01-module-1/

Apex – apex. School District No. 43 (Coquitlam). (n.d.). https://www.sd43.bc.ca/School/Apex/Pages/default.aspx#/=

Programs of choice. School District No. 43 (Coquitlam). (n.d.-b). https://www.sd43.bc.ca/Programs/Pages/default.aspx#/=

Open education. SPARC. (2024, October 18). https://sparcopen.org/open-education/

Attributions

Image Attributions

© 2025 Learning with Technology

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑