The 1989 Kevin Costner film Field of Dreams gave us the well-known idiom, “if you build it, they will come.” It is an idiom that explains how to get people to respond to a particular idea: give them what they want, and they will respond positively. It is a message colleges and universities could stand to hear right now.
Schools are concerned that students will not come back in the fall. Their concerns are legitimate. Between ongoing fears of coronavirus and state mandates for social distancing, students previously planning on attending school in the fall don’t know what they are going to do. Where does this leave the colleges and universities?
It leaves them with but one option: to be prepared with an online learning environment more than capable of taking the place of the classroom. Yet not any e-learning platform will do. Schools need a platform that delivers the best possible experience for students, one that lives up to both the student’s expectations and also the reputation of the school. Deliver that experience and they will come.
Videoconferencing is Not Enough
Some schools may elect to deploy videoconferencing as the primary remote learning tool. Instructors will offer their lectures in front of a webcam while sharing screenshots from their computers to disseminate text-based information. Such an experience will be easy to pull off from a technology standpoint. It is pretty old-school stuff at this point. But does videoconferencing offer the best experience?
Salt Lake City’s Fulcrum Labs is aiming higher. They believe schools need to limit their use of videoconferencing for remote learning and turn to more interactive, engaging, competency-based learning experiences, like adaptive technology instead. Fulcrum Labs has developed an adaptive learning platform proven to both improve learning outcomes and increase course satisfaction among students.
Adaptive learning is not mere videoconferencing. It is multi-channel learning based on all of the latest technologies that make so many areas of life personalized. Adaptive learning creates the best possible experience by allowing students to define that experience for themselves, while providing them with any scaffolding they need to be successful, such as self-remediation tools.
Better Outcomes and More Satisfaction
Adaptive learning creates better outcomes by initiating an environment more suited to student needs. It gives students an opportunity to take ownership of the learning experience. It also gives instructors more opportunities to help students through data, analytics, and personalized attention.
Because adaptive learning is student-centered, it is designed from the ground up to maximize educational outcomes. It is designed intentionally to facilitate better and more productive learning so that students walk away with more than just a piece of paper in a frame. Students walk away with real, actionable knowledge and confidence that translates into better work performance.
As you might imagine, better educational outcomes produce greater student satisfaction. Adaptive learning delivers a desirable experience rooted in helping students achieve their goals in a more personalized environment.
Students Are the Customers
Administrators can never forget that students are their biggest customers. They can also never forget that customer satisfaction is key to keeping enrollment at capacity. Schools need satisfied students who both come back year after year and tell others about their experiences.
“If you build it, they will come” is an idea that has revolutionized countless businesses over the years. It is an idea that can revolutionize higher education. Deliver the best possible experience to students, and they will return year after year. Adaptive learning is key to that experience for any schools planning to promote remote learning this fall and beyond.
