This month's interview: Erina Hunt, Wendy Isoyama and the team at the University of Otago Language Centre and Foundation Year.

Each month the Distance Learning Campus Staff Newsletter provides a snapshot of the awesome work that University staff members provide from across the globe. It is an opportunity to learn more about the diversity of our distance staff work locations, pedagogical approaches and use of digital tools. Hopefully, we can provide you with inspiration about new ideas and ways of thinking about teaching in the distance environment.  

To start off this new regular feature article, we caught up with Erina and Wendy via Zoom for a quick chat about the impact of COVID-19 on their teaching and how quickly the team had to shift gear, despite being experienced online educators.  We asked Erina and Wendy some questions about what Distance Learning means to them.  These were their responses.

What is the best thing about being involved in distance education at the University of Otago?

"Networking with other departments and participating in workshops to discuss strategies for overcoming the unique challenges of distance learning, which in our case is developing English language acquisition through the integration of all skills: reading, writing, speaking, listening, grammar and vocabulary alongside critical thinking. The institutional relationships borne from the work we undertake offshore in our blended programmes has showcased the University."

Share something interesting or surprising about teaching by distance, and working with distance students.

"There is an unexpected intimacy in engaging online – a literal in your face face-to-face, and a lesser degree of anxiety around learners ‘speaking up’. Having a set of protocols around expectation of online behaviours from the outset is advisable. Once the technology has been mastered the fear factor of using it abates swiftly. In these times of change and resilience it has been rewarding to discover that it is still possible to use up-to-date communicative methodology and deliver pedagogically sound materials via brand new platforms."

Do you have some words of advice to a anyone keen to take the plunge and explore distance teaching?

"Do it! It can only enhance your teaching because you have to be creative and design new ways to achieve objectives and outcomes.

Collaborate! Don’t be afraid to ask for help. The Distance Learning team have been extremely useful as both a springboard, sounding board and for encouragement.

When COVID-19 necessitated distance teaching and learning for all, having the knowledge within our department was invaluable and enabled us to be better equipped as a team to assist colleagues through the baptism of fire as we launched all programmes online, overnight. Teachers are adaptable people anyway, but by working together we have been able to capitalise on all our talents and help each other out."

Thank you Erina and Wendy for sharing such a positive perspective in such challenging times.

One clear message that came through was the importance of collaboration with colleagues.  This certainly has been demonstrated during lockdown with the creation of the Shifting Online Blackboard site used across the University by teaching and administration staff.  Another tool that has become really useful is Microsoft TEAMS. Feel free to take a look at the article on how staff are using this in the University.

The team from the Otago Language Centre and Foundation Year (a wholly owned subsidiary company of the University of Otago)
Erina Hunt Role (Project Manager, Online Blended English Learning Programmes)
Wendy Isoyama (Senior Teacher)
Kjesten Nilsson (Senior Teacher)