Rouages: “Supporting Teachers in Educational and Digital Transformation”
Savine Volland and Agathe Hubert are instructional designers. Under the supervision of the Information Systems and Digital Technology Department, they support faculty members in transforming their teaching methods and in using digital technology. As part of the “Rouages” video series, produced by the University of Montpellier, they discuss their roles, which are key pillars of the modernization of higher education.
It was in 2015, with the merger of the universities, thatUM a team of instructional designers. As part of the Information Systems and Digital Technology Division (DSIN), there are now six of them supporting faculty members in transforming their teaching methods through the use of digital technology. This team is reinforced by the presence of other instructional designers within the academic departments, schools, and institutes themselves. “ Our work falls into two main categories, ” explains Savine Volland. “On one hand, there’s the purely pedagogical approach, and on the other, the technological aspect.”
Bringing Your Classes to Life
First, from an educational standpoint, digital technology has, of course, revolutionized how we use it and opened the door to new ways of teaching. In-person classes are now just one of several possible formats.“We can adapt these courses to make them available online. We can develop hybrid formats where part of the course takes place in a lecture hall and part online, or even offer a course in both formats—this is what we call ‘co-modal,’” explains Savine Volland.
But the use of digital tools isn’t always synonymous with distance learning. On the contrary, new mobile apps now make it possible to energize and make lectures and tutorials more engaging by fostering greater interactivity between instructors and students—or among students themselves—through chat rooms and discussion forums.“AtUM ,UM example, we have a license for Wooclap license that allows students to answer questions or vote on proposals using their cell phones via text message or a web browser, take quizzes, and interact live with the instructor to ask for additional explanations…”
From the instructional plan to publication on Moodle
Whether the courses are online or in-person, instructional designers are there to advise the instructor and help them develop a teaching plan.“We’ll work with them to define their objectives, the concepts, and the messages they want to convey to students. We’ll also look at the resources they have available, the ones they’d like to create, and with all of that, we’ll work with them to build the course,” the instructional designer continues. Gamification of teaching is also part of the instructional designers’ toolkit, with the development of serious games becoming increasingly popular.
Video conferences, virtual classrooms, exercises, games, branching-story scenarios modeled after the digital versionof “Choose Your Own Adventure,” e-learning modules using Storyline, support for writing and structuring content with SCENARIchaine…“We also have communication tools that make it easier for teachers to contact their students—through forum posts, for example,” notes Agathe Hubert. In short, there’s a vast array of possibilities that more and more teachers are discovering through the Moodle platform.
“This platform allows them to post their educational resources online and create assessable activities such as tests or essays, ” explains the educational technology specialist. “Today, there are about 2,500 teachers and more than 44,000 active students on the platform. ” This growth was only accelerated by the lockdown, as during that period the instructional engineers provided six times as much support as they do during normal times. However, as Agathe Hubert points out, “We shouldn’t adopt digital tools just because they’re trendy. Our goal is to provide added value for both teachers and students.”
Ready to take a MOOC?
Instructional designers also support faculty members, academic departments, schools, and institutes in designing MOOCs, producing videos and course materials, and uploading them to the national Funmooc platform. MOOCs inevitably involve “video”—a new element in the teaching profession that isn’t always easy to master. To support them through this process, instructional designers work closely with the DSIN’s audiovisual team. The department also provides all the necessary equipment:“We have a studio with a teleprompter and a green screen for projecting documents. Faculty members who wish to do so also have access to self-service recording booths,” notes Agathe Hubert.
There areUM ways to receive support fromUM instructional designers: either individually, at a time that suits you, through the University’s service center; or by responding to the annual call for proposals issued by the University to encourage educational transformation.