Digital engagement, has been gathering momentum for years – in facilitating learning, building community, and marketing organisations. Yet, in some aspects of education it has stayed somewhat out on the periphery, seen as an acceptable, but lesser cousin to a physical classroom, an on-site event, or an in-person meeting. These past few weeks, and the weeks and months ahead, will provide opportunity to reflect on digital engagement in a whole new light.
With this global crisis affecting every aspect of life, education is no different. We can all see the countless examples of learning environments moving online: home schooling for primary students, universities and colleges shifting to virtual lectures, and all manners of stakeholder engagement activities cancelled or replaced with a digital proxy.
Parents have become teachers’ aides; teachers and professors have become digital virtuosos or themselves abruptly thrust into the role of [technology] learners; and, many leaders are suddenly discovering how to guide an entirely remote workforce.
A recent article in Forbes puts early estimates of internet usage up 30 to 50 per cent, and as much as 70 per cent in locations at the peak of their social restrictions. House Party reported 50 million signups in March, and Zoom users have skyrocketed from 10 million to over 200 million in the past three months, according to their CEO Eric Yuan. We’ve all become much more comfortable in virtual rooms, and many of us enjoying a much more casual wardrobe in our daily work life.
It would be a fools’ game to predict when, or if, we transition from this global challenge into something more akin to what we’ve become used to, or to attempt to predict what comes next. There are too many unknowns.
However, we do have some choices to make. Do we use this time to simply move existing practices online, coping through this era of physical distancing with an eye to returning to traditional methods with a modern twist? Or, do we use this era to accelerate our digital efforts across teaching and learning, student recruitment, alumni and donor engagement, organisational marketing, etc.?
Can we pivot individually, and lead teams and colleagues towards a digital-first mindset? Can we step back, ask ourselves which of our existing practices may be past their “best before date” – still delivering on the fundamentals, but not maximising our efforts, leveraging modern technology, or reaching our diverse global audiences? Can we finally sunset those legacy activities or delivery models we amuse ourselves with tales around the water cooler? Is it finally time for each of us to set and deliver on a full digital plan within our respective responsibilities?
Digital engagement offers some potentially powerful advantages.
It can deliver rich, global communities. By bringing individuals together from across the planet into meaningful discussions and interactions around areas of interest, through the sharing of skills in widespread networks, or by providing access to resources far and wide, it can serve one’s curiosity through almost boundless spaces. The likes of which would be near impossible to replicate solely through a collection of on-site activities.
It is scalable. Already facing demands to deliver greater returns through our investment of time and financial resources, the certainty of a contracted global economy, and the budget challenges to education that will come along side it, will challenge many of us to simply deliver against current goals. Coupled with a focused strategy, and a clear sense of user experience and organisational outcomes, economies of scale can be more easily realised with many of the digital programmes and tools within our grasp to meet current and growing expectations.
It can be a more accessible environment. Through content marketing, recruits can experience the culture and richness of schools before even setting foot on campus. Alumni, donors and community supporters can take advantage of asynchronous access engaging at times and in locations more suitable to their individual circumstances. For learners, it can even further marry skills from their personal pursuits into the world of education. And, across our stakeholder groups, it can offer a gentler access point for introverts and those less inclined to embrace new or large social gatherings.
Digital engagement is not about replacing shared experiences of particular times and places, nor supplanting the energy and enjoyment of gathering together. The longer physical distancing remains the norm, the more we can expect to be ever more mindful and appreciative of these suddenly unfulfilled luxuries. It is about providing other avenues to connect and share, to build community, and to leverage the powerful force of a digital world.
As we see each week with innovative and expedient adjustments to learning delivery, the facilitation of staff meetings and other professional pursuits, or even happy hours to share in some personal time, we can learn from this moment to take stock and then action on the role of digital in the respective work that we do. In these challenging times, it is an aspect of disruption that can certainly deliver a positive legacy.
Mark Sollis is Chief Strategist & Creative at D3 Advancement Consulting, and Strategic Growth Director at Neutopia. This is the opening piece of a series on digital engagement and the discussion of what’s next in global learning.
