In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to the use of social networking tools in higher education teaching and learning. Drawing on data from a larger study focusing on student engagement in the online virtual classroom, this paper is based on research conducted with three separate cohorts of students from the Masters in Special Educational Needs (MSEN) at St. Patrick's College now the Institute of Education, Dublin City University (DCU). Emerging from the first two phases of the research was the use of the WhatsApp social media tool by students as an informal learning space and a means of building connectedness. We explored this finding in more detail in phases three and four by inviting respondents to comment specifically on their use of social media throughout the programme. It emerged that the use of WhatsApp was widespread, offering students an opportunity to forge a sense of connection and the basis for developing a learning community. This paper will present findings around the use of WhatsApp with reference to literature in three areas connected to the online learning experience: online learning as a second class learning experience, fostering connectedness within online learning contexts and social media and learning.

In March 2020, Irish universities closed their doors and teaching, learning and assessment moved online, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This paper arises from a Dublin City University (DCU) research study with a three-fold purpose:(1) Examine the sudden transition of large classes (100+ students) from faceto-face teaching and learning to remote online provision from the perspectives of staff and students.(2) Contextualise these perspectives by reviewing relevant literature.(3) Inform the work of teaching large classes in future online teaching and learning spaces.Presented here, are findings informed by; a rapid, systematised literature review; analysis of student and staff survey responses who experienced the swift move online; and academic support data mined by the Teaching Enhancement Unit (TEU) between March and June 2020. This paper will contribute to prompt, timely reflection on the lived student experience of engagement and isolation during the sudden pivot for large class cohorts. These reflections and analysis will add to the growing body of literature on large class teaching and online pedagogy, specifically in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. The authors provide conceptualised solutions as we move out of the emergency pivot and into more considered, planned approaches to better engage students in online, hybrid and face-to-face contexts.

No abstract

The need for digitally competent graduates is well established, and articulated in the New Skills Agenda for Europe (European Commission, 2016) and the European Digital Education Action Plan 2021-2027 (European Commission, 2021). The Enhancing Digital Teaching and Learning (EDTL) project seeks to enhance graduate digital attributes by providing professional development to academics to embed digital technologies across the curriculum (Flynn et al., 2020). The lack of data on the competencies required in the workplace in Ireland, and the lack of clarity around how best to support students to develop digital competences were identified as two key challenges to this work. This paper considers these challenges by presenting data from a small-scale study exploring the digital competences most important to graduates and employers, followed by an examination of the contexts in which higher education institutions can support students developing digital competencies through the lens of learning ecology theory.

In early 2020, the transition of large classes from the face-to-face to the online context occurred overnight and at scale at a time when the crisis was being faced at all levels of society, nationally and internationally. This paper is based on research which examined the impact of this sudden transition on large classes in Dublin City University with a view to illuminating the experience to inform future practice (Authors., in press). A rapid, systemised review of literature was carried out with the aim of contextualising data gathered through surveys with staff and students in relation to our experience of moving large classes online in the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. While the study examined the impact from the perspectives of teaching staff and students, this paper reports on the perspectives of teaching staff only. Large class teachers found this experience challenging, reporting a sense of isolation and worry. However  it would seem that opportunity was seen in the face of adversity, whereby staff have identified potential for better ways of doing things going forward as a result of their experiences between March and May 2020