In class and outside the class

Learning technologies have proliferated since the first development of the internet and as a result the boundary between work done inside and outside the classroom has shifted: for instance, as well as attending lectures in person, you can also view materials provided by your teachers in advance and then find that the time in class is devoted more to discussion and debate (this is the model of the “flipped classroom”). Time in the classroom can also be divided between traditional acquisition of knowledge in lecture format and interactions involving teachers and other students — sometimes using digital tools.

Technologies allow you to view and explore materials relevant to your learning, and to interact with your teachers and classmates. They can also be drawn upon in your individual work, for example, in your research and note-taking.

The range of learning channels

A further notable feature of higher education today is the variety of channels through which teaching can be delivered.

Asynchronous and synchronous

An important distinction is made between asynchronous and synchronous access to teaching and learning materials:

• materials can be made available to you to engage with in your own time between sessions: this asynchronous approach will allow you to organize your work independently, meaning that you can work at your own pace and in ways that suit your learning style, while also taking into account any contraints that may affect you
• weekly sessions are not limited to physical meetings in class: using synchronous tools like Microsoft Teams or Google Meet you can engage in discussion and debate with your teachers and classmates, again on specific issues and themes, with the possibility of sub-dividing the group for part of a given session to facilitate something more like face-to-face discussion

The diversity of tools and channels means that you can experiment with different learning styles and find the ones that work best for you in a given area of your studies. Not all of your work in learning demands the immediacy of the classroom and one of the notable capacities that you will develop is the ability to combine independent work with structured learning via a wide range of media.