How do I engage in public social debates?

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The macro context encompasses the regional or national context. At this societal level we encounter social, cultural, and political debates, which revolve around controversial topics. What is interesting about the macro context is the influence it has on the institutional and classroom context. More specifically how it can lead to institutionalisation by the government. This can have consequences for all other institutions, including higher education institutions.

It can be difficult to broach such complex debates in class. However, the public discourse can and does affect people – including students. Earlier engagements focused on ways in which teachers can hold space for such discussions. However, this engagement adds rules, regulations, and policies to the mix.

This engagement will allow you to reflect on the interplay between public social debates and what this means for institutions and individuals. Particularly, it invites you to think about how you navigate the complex tension between public discourse, regulations, and people affected by them. Before looking at concrete instances of such interactions, it is useful to expand on the macro context and what it exactly entails.

Concept

From the meta level or global perspective, one can see global trends in higher education that – in part at least – shape priorities, policies, and curricula. Examples of these can be seen in international collaborations such as mobility programs and interuniversity courses, but also other developments such as technological advancements, migration, and global social movements. The latter has given impetus to greater prioritisation of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts on multiple levels. Many governments and higher education institutions have engaged in the process of providing an adequate policy response to these movements. Similarly, digitalisation impacts society in many ways. It has changed communication and social behaviour, democratised information, and facilitated expression and dissemination. It enhances accessibility and agency in many ways, while impeding accessibility and agency in many other ways. Digitalisation in general has also been subject to scrutiny because of the ways in which it can reproduce or exacerbate inequalities through artificial intelligence. Technological innovations have changed the way we organise higher education. As described in our Handbook of e-inclusion, technology use in education has the potential to enhance diversification and flexibility, but at the same time poses challenges in terms of safety and belonging. Such innovations have offered us the ability to adapt to different situations and equipped educators with tools to improve the educational experience of students and their diverse needs.

Scenario

In your online course you have incorporated activities where students get to engage in dialogue with each other in specific video chats or in a videoconference application. However, as you do rounds to check in on the students in each virtual space, you notice that some students do not have their camera on. You see that this affects the participation of other students, as the black screens make them unsure about the participation, attitudes, reaction, and personalities of their peers. This is not the first time that students keep their cameras off while asked to contribute to the class in the form of video-recorded presentations. When the breakout rooms are finished you remind students that it is important for them to keep their cameras on during classroom activities in order to better engage with each other.

A few days later, a student sends a collective message on behalf of a handful of students who maintain that you cannot oblige them to turn on their cameras as this infringes on privacy laws at the state level. Furthermore, they assert that having their cameras turned off has no bearings on their experience of the course or their participation in the activities. This is currently a widely contested issue.

Challenge (10 minutes)

Sometimes situations arise in which students invoke rights – such as the right to privacy – when they feel like their freedom or autonomy is impinged on. However, course activities are often designed with the equality of all students in mind. This includes rules set for conduct and participation in the course. Think about the rules, regulations, and policies that can be conflicting in practice. Try to use the proposed insights and the concepts in the analysis for your reflection. Writing your answers down can help your reflection process. Use the prompts below to guide your thoughts.

Prompts

Why do you want students to keep their cameras on in for video contributions and synchronous debates?
What are reasons a student might have for wanting to avoid video recordings or keep their camera switched off?
Do you think students are aware of your reasons for requesting video contributions and cameras to be switched on synchronous debates?
Do you think students should be able to opt out of turning their cameras on? Why (not)?
How can you become more aware of why students struggle with certain aspects of online classroom interactions?
What are other ways you can engage students that do not require their cameras?
How do you approach broadly discussed and controversial social debates (for example about rights) in class?

How do you think your students perceive your position and perspective regarding this situation?
What do you think classroom participants can learn about this situation? (Including yourself?)
How might different students experience this situation? How do you think this impacts them in the setting of the virtual classroom? How can you find out?
How can you use digital approaches to your advantage in this situation?

Example

In this challenge your analysis and observations are central. The concept section already provides a concrete explanation for the macro context, so instead of a mock answer this example section shares some considerations for your answer.

Consider…

… what it means for your online course activities and when students invoke rights – in this scenario regarding privacy.
… to what extent you are aware of how certain educational technologies and strategies might impinge on students’ privacy.
… how the issue raised by the student touches upon broader implications of digital technologies and ethical deployment of those technologies.
… what it means for an inclusive educational approach, when you cannot require the same of all students. For example, because of privacy reasons or a student’s camera simply being broken.

Learn

This particular scenario touches on the role of public social debates in the macro context and how this is reflected in regulations at the national (or supranational) level. Teachers are confronted with social debates in class. Sometimes this happens in a discussion, but other times students can appeal to the law and certain rights. Gaining a better understanding of these social debates, requires an understanding of how you and your students relate to those debates. Additionally, it requires an understanding of current developments within digital education.

This scenario illustrates that certain requirements for your online course do not align with students’ needs or reality. An awareness is necessary of how approaches to course design can invite students to participate or (inadvertently) lead to exclusion. From this awareness, teachers may then develop the competence to design online courses with their students’ needs and realities in mind.

The micro-learning module ‘Current Trends and Policies of Inclusive Digital Education’ is a learning resource which helps you get acquainted with the existing frameworks relating to digital education, education and IT and higher education.

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The micro-learning module ‘Engage Students In Collaborative Digital Co-Creation’ is a learning resource which helps you get acquainted with a thoughtful learning design that intentionally encourages and promotes collaboration between teacher and learners and helps you to build inclusive online learning environments which integrate students’ diverse perspectives and experiences and make them true co-creators of knowledge. Also see Guideline 4 ‘Diversify content’ in our Handbook of e-Inclusion.

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