Online education has its up- and downsides compared to regular face to face classes for sure. The main problem is of course with those courses that have not been designed a priori to be online but then had to move to a different platform, hybrid, or completely digital. So here’s an upside to the still hybrid, synchronous sort of online education:
- For once, it’s possible to have short guest lectures from industry without people having to take half a day off just for the travel.
- Plus, you can incorporate people from all around the world! Of course somewhat depending on time zones but it works much better than flying them in. (And it is a lot more ecological, too.)
Over the summer, we’ve managed to have the most fabulous guest speakers in a doctoral course, gurus one can only dream of incorporating. In addition, to break the rhythm, we’ve spiced up the course with so-called “gamechangers”, i.e. new topics with specific experts each.
Last week, I incorporated an entire industry panel in a course. Rather than having a single guest lecture, there were six. Okay, it’s partly because I had anticipated some to decline but all were instantly up for the task (thank you!). They all got the same questions in advance and presented their career path, the SCM challenges they’ve faced, COVID-19-specific current challenges, and gave some career advice to our students. Now that I can see students’ learning logs, the panel really worked. Here’s why:
- The panel represented completely different industries, supply chain members, and also job tasks in the supply chain yet there was a common theme with the questions that ran through it.
- People talked about their challenges as well as what excites them most in their work. They made it personal, and enthusiasm rubs off (König, 2020).
- Everyone was prepared and actually answered the questions, plus the last question made it very current – and relates back to the variety of our COVID-19-related research projects.
- The class had a completely different rhythm from other classes, which many students appreciated as a change.
- The panel was composed of alumni who clearly wanted to bring their experience back to our students. Exchange students also noted that it showcased our university’s strong community.
The last point could have been a problem had they been uniform, but the diversity of industries, people, and their surprisingly international careers made it work. Thanks to all of you who participated!
König, L. (2020). Podcasts in higher education: teacher enthusiasm increases students’ excitement, interest, enjoyment, and learning motivation. Educational Studies, 1-4.
