How do I engage with global transformations?

At the largest discernible level is the global context, referred to as meta. We live in a globalised world that is already connected in many ways through travel and telecommunications. Innovations in those areas are increasing the connectedness but also changing the ways in which we are connected. Human interventions and activities are extending further across national boundaries.

The way we organise higher education has drastically changed because of these global phenomena: digitalisation, digital transformation. e-learning, multi and social media platforms, LMSs, and artificial intelligence, to name a few. Think of how people and students around the world have become dependent on these new technologies for information, communication, and learning purposes. These global phenomena have a technical aspect but also social aspect that are inextricably linked. Fresh on everyone’s memory is the COVID-19 pandemic that is no longer widespread but still ongoing. During the pandemic, the social aspect of our connectedness became very clear through the spread of the virus. However, the technical aspect also came to the fore through the technologies that mediated our communication. There are other examples of this social aspect still, such as internationalisation and (intercultural) exchanges, which are the result of endeavours to increase the ties among HEIs in different countries.

This engagement will allow you to reflect on how globalisation has transformed inequalities and therefore requires new approaches to equity, justice, and the work of inclusion. Before looking at concrete instances of such interactions, it is useful to expand on the meta 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

During your online course, you notice that some of your students are a bit restless and checked out mentally – they even seem uninterested or preoccupied with other things. You notice it involves the same three students that haven’t actively participated in non-mandatory debates and discussion, and had their cameras switched off for synchronic activities the past week. In the first few course activities you have not addressed it, but it is starting to irritate you because you put lots of effort in preparing your course. Besides, other students are really excited about your initiatives in the course, and you have even received positive feedback from a handful of students. You feel like the students are doing a disservice to their own learning experience with their uninterested attitudes and furthermore negatively affect the classroom environment.

You ask them for a 10 minute-videocall to discuss something important with them. There, you confront them about their participation in class. The students explain that their families abroad live in a region that has been struck by a calamity. This issue has not received wide coverage yet and not been mentioned at all by the un, which has made it more difficult to bring up.

Challenge (10 minutes)

Reflect on the implications of globalisation, i.e., an increasingly interconnected world, for social dynamics and the role of technology in human interactions. Think about what his means for you as a teacher. 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

What is the initial reaction that comes up in this scenario?
How do your students’ attitudes and in-classroom behaviours affect your online course?
To what extent do you have a sense of how global events affect you and your students?
Do you know why (it seems that) some of your students are passive in participatory activities?
What have you done to get to know your students and what affects their participation besides their work on the course content?
How can you address the situation with your students?
What can you do to take into account the students who tend to fall into the background in the online environment, where students can remain hidden and anonymous?

How do you think your students perceive your position and perspective regarding this situation?
What do you think classroom participants (including yourself) can learn about this situation?
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…

… to what extent you are aware of outside influences on your student’s participation in the virtual classroom.
… what the consequences of global connectedness have for social dynamics in your virtual classroom.
… what the implications are for social interactions which are mediated by global educational technologies that are created with everyone or every context in mind.
… how social interactions and higher education are increasingly dependent on those very technologies.
… whether your students experience your classroom environment as a space that invites them to openly discuss such topics with you and/or their classmates.
… how global events do not always affect everyone (in the same way).
… what an inclusive approach to this scenario could look like.

Learn

This particular scenario touches on the increasingly globalised reach of human interactions and the digital technologies we rely on to mediate those interactions. Additionally, it draws a link between the technical and the social. Teachers and students are confronted with these developments. Gaining a better understanding of these global phenomena and their effect on higher education, requires an understanding of how you and your students experience these shifts. Additionally, it requires an understanding of the educational technologies and learning experiences on virtual education environments specifically.

This scenario illustrates a social outcome for your students because of occurrences elsewhere on the globe. An awareness is necessary of global developments in educational technologies and increasing interconnectedness of humans. From this awareness, teachers may then develop the competence to design online courses that are responsive to these developments.

The micro-learning module ‘Make Online Internationalisation Inclusive’ is a learning resource which helps you get acquainted with how digital technologies can enable or facilitate internationalisation at the individual level in the context of a globalised world where.

BUTTON TO MICROMODULE