New post of deputy chancellor at UNL will lead online education efforts

[ad_1]

More than two years after the coronavirus moved classes exclusively to Zoom, nearly 9 in 10 University of Nebraska-Lincoln students continue to enroll in at least one online class.

The ease of access to an online course and the usefulness of doing so has increased the number of credit hours that UNL students take each semester and has helped push the four-year graduation rate to its highest level in a decade.

One of the biggest stages of TikTok is the classroom, and teachers are going viral. “#TeachersOfTikTok” has over 30.5 billion views on the platform. Classroom content includes room tours, teaching tips, “story hours” about work experiences in education, and “days in the life” videos of a teacher. a lot of free time,” said Lauran Woolley, an elementary school teacher and creator of TikTok. “I actually started as a bet against one of my students. I found out that he really likes TikTok and makes TikToks on his own. So I bet him that I could have more subscribers than him by the end of the year.” With 5.2 million followers on TikTok, Woolley or @mrs.woolleyin5th won this bet. She achieves videos about her classroom, like tips on flexible seating for students, “unboxing” videos of school supplies, and “a day in the life” vlogs about summer vacation.” It wasn’t like I had this master plan to become this major influencer or TikTok person,” Woolley said. “That wasn’t the point.” Woolley says her videos help her interact more with her students, especially that many of them are on TikTok. The platform also helps him learn from others who work in education. “It’s cool to see what other teachers have in their classrooms or go through as their daily lives. in different parts of the world, so it’s really cool to connect with other people too” , said Woolley. Others, like third-grade teacher Sofia Bella, went viral on TikTok after sharing how she decorates her classroom and makes it a comfortable and safe space for students. She has 3.9 million followers on TikTok. “Since they’re so connected, way more connected than I was when I was in third grade, I know they’re aware of the issues that are happening in the world,” Bella said. “I want them to feel like whatever is going on outside, everything is fine here.” In addition to finding humor and levity in the classroom, Bella and Woolley hope viewers can learn more about the work of teaching. “There’s a lot of people who see things that teachers post online and think, ‘Oh, I didn’t realize that was the right thing to do,’ and for some people that helps really appreciate the career itself more,” Woolley said. “My goal was to inspire people,” Bella said. “Not only do I inspire my children, but I also inspire children around the world to love school, and I inspire people to become teachers, which is what we need. We need a lot of teachers who love what they do.”

UNL will aim to build on these successes by creating a new administrative position to work with faculty, staff and administrators to develop credit and non-credit programs, identify new markets and increase enrollment. .

The first deputy vice-chancellor for digital and online learning – a job description was released last week – will also create opportunities for learners of all ages, said Katherine Ankerson, who started as vice-chancellor. UNL Executive Chancellor in January.

This means creating online courses for high school students seeking college credit, ensuring the online course catalog is robust enough to meet the needs of UNL students seeking college credit during summer and develop offerings for people in the workforce who are looking to learn new skills, Ankerson added.

“I want to see someone who is enterprising and collaborative, has a strong background in developing online programs, and understands the needs of diverse students,” she said.

The decision to hire “a digital and online learning champion,” according to the job posting, comes after the University of Nebraska chose to shut down its nationwide online education program. system earlier this year.

After starting with a single online degree program in 2007, University of Nebraska Online Worldwide – later shortened to NU Online – offered 34 undergraduate programs and 121 graduate programs by 2020.

NU Online enrolled 5,500 Nebraskans and 8,000 others from all states in the United States at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But, as online programs have taken off at other colleges and universities across the country and on a shoestring budget, Mary Niemiec, associate vice president for digital education, told the NU Board of Regents in December 2020 that it expected growth to slow through 2025.

“The challenge has always been how do we differentiate ourselves,” Niemiec told board members at the time. “We don’t have the money to throw at the wall and see what sticks.”

As part of its effort to cut $43 million from its budget in response to the fiscal challenges created by the pandemic, administrators opted to shut down NU Online.

This cut eight positions from Varner Hall; one of those people has been rehired in another open position at NU, spokeswoman Melissa Lee said. Two other staff members resigned.

NU then moved the online education initiative to campuses, which have the benefit of integrated branding, and where decisions can be made in collaboration with college deans, faculty members, student services offices and other departments, Lee said.

“It was an opportunity to think about the best approach for online learning and what makes the most sense at a system level and at a campus level,” Lee said. “This is an area where it makes sense for professors and deans to own it.”

The NU System Office will always offer support and seek opportunities where each of its campuses in Lincoln, Omaha and Kearney can collaborate through Jaci Lindburg, who became Associate Vice President for Digital Education in July 2021 after Niemiec’s retreat. Lindburg has one full-time staff member and one part-time staff member to support online education at the system office.

But campuses like UNL will have the flexibility to tailor the program to their strengths or change quickly to meet new employer needs or student demands.

Ankerson said the new UNL administrator – a position she considers “essential” – will work within her office with a watchful eye on the future, anticipating the changes that will occur in online teaching. as well as the needs of private industry.

They will also work closely with the Center for Transformational Teaching, which helps faculty design courses using a variety of pedagogies and technologies, as well as non-academic offices to provide student support and ensure the quality of online offerings. of the UNL.

“Online and digital learning isn’t just happening here in Lincoln or Omaha,” Ankerson said, “it’s providing opportunities across the state.”

Top photos of the Journal Star of the month of October

The basketball courts at Antelope Park went from gray to color this fall. The project to resurface the courts on Normal Boulevard and South Street and repaint them as a reproduction of the painting “Red Sea” by African-American artist Felrath Hines was funded by private donations. The original painting is part of the permanent collection of the Sheldon Museum of Art.

KENNETH FERRIERA, Newspaper Star