Leveraging Innovative Technology to Make Authentic Connections in a Hybrid World

Concurrent Session 4

Session Materials

Brief Abstract

The overuse of discussion boards has stunted authentic connections and genuine exchange of sophisticated opinions. We need to turn to solutions that better empower faculty to scale personalization and create authentic moments for students. We will explore innovative technologies where you can go beyond the discussion board.

Presenters

Lead Presenter: Mary Smith, Medical University of South Carolina

Mary is the Director of Instructional Technology for the Medical University of South Carolina. She has an M.T. in Secondary Education, and was a high school teacher for over 12 years prior to her transition to higher education. Mary has a passion for humanizing the learning experience and creating a positive, inclusive environment as well as finding innovative ways to create impactful moments of learner engagement.

Co-presenter: Melissa Hortman, Medical University of South Carolina | Microsoft

Dr. Melissa Hortman has worked in community colleges, liberal arts, and professional institutions for over a decade. Throughout her career, she has led initiatives in good instructional design practices, enhancing online learning programs, ensuring digital accessibility, institution-wide faculty development, and innovative teaching techniques. Dr. Hortman has a passion for change management around disruptions as well as being innovative in her approach to designing and delivering online learning. Working with diverse student and faculty populations throughout her background, success is found in the connections that are formed, and her passion is to facilitate and enhance these connections with technology.

Extended Abstract

The overuse of discussion boards has stunted authentic connections and genuine exchange of sophisticated opinions. Discussion boards have become the easy, go-to solution to count as “interaction” within an online environment. Many institutions have attempted new approaches to the discussion board; however, this design for engagement has fundamental challenges in allowing opportunities for both faculty and student authenticity. From forced engagement to lack of quality control, discussion boards cannot be the long term strategy for any faculty member to be successful in creating authentic connections in a hybrid world. 

Authenticity in face to face courses was easily defined and had many best practices published. Wong and Wong (1991) is a good example of a text so many educators relied on for how to truly connect to students. However, authentic connections in a hybrid environment are relatively new, rarely even defined let alone based on best practices. There are texts published that higher education can look back at and translate, but we are missing a strong foundation for authentic connections in a hybrid environment. By not having a foundation, the discussion board has become an overused form of engagement that lacks impact. 

Can we do better? Absolutely. This is where instructional design and faculty forward-thinking come together to help create impactful moments of engagement. We can integrate solutions that better empower faculty to scale personalization and create authentic moments for students.Technology can be leveraged in innovative ways as well as innovative technology can be leveraged; meaning technology doesn’t have to be new to be used, technology we current use can be leveraged in new and innovative ways. 

As faculty find opportunities for authentic connections to happen in their hybrid courses, they can partner with instructional designers to go beyond the discussion board. Innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence and chatbots are not just the future of higher education, they are currently seen in many institutions. We need to consider how to leverage and implement these innovative tools because we have to collectively, ethically, and impactfully define how to connect in hybrid environments. 

In this session we will discuss Gartner’s leaders in the Magic Quadrant for the Low Code Applications, Microsoft, and LMS tools that allow for customized messaging based on a student activity. Each of these tools were used innovatively at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) making the student experience personalized and opened the door for opportunities for authentic connections. 

 

During this session we will share background on the gap identified for authentic connections in hybrid environments, examples of innovative technologies applied at MUSC, and how each attendee can think innovatively about the technology they have available at their institutions to apply to opportunities. Each attendee will have the opportunity to fill out a Magic Quadrant for the technologies they have available to them as they relate to creating opportunities for connections so they can start to shift their tools in their toolbelt for hybrid environments. 

Mary and Melissa, the speakers for this session, were colleagues at MUSC for 2 years and onboarded many innovative technologies for teaching as well as created large scale innovations with technology. Their experience as educators who influence technology gives them a pedagogy first mindset when it comes to how technology can impact and influence instructional design and student success.