Reading through the Pandemic: Promoting Active Digital Engagement with Text-Based Resources

Barrett, Graham; East, Matt; Fitzgibbons, Jonathan; Vescovi, Michele; Wood, Jamie

Abstract

This small-scale study highlights some of the challenges faced teaching first-year undergraduate History students during the Covid-19 pandemic in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 academic years and outlines the strategies that were put in place to address them. The article describes how Talis Elevate, an online tool that enables students to engage actively and collaboratively with digitised readings, was deployed across a range of first-year modules in History at the University of Lincoln. Feedback from staff and students is analysed, alongside user data collected by the Talis Elevate tool. The article demonstrates that a structured approach to engaging students in online reading tasks in preparation for class functioned effectively as a driver for student learning, but that some of the issues associated with engaging students in face-to-face teaching spaces, such as the reluctance of some students to contribute to discussion, were replicated online.

Citation

Barrett, G., East, M., Fitzgibbons, J., Vescovi, M., & Wood, J. (2023). Reading through the Pandemic: Promoting Active Digital Engagement with Text-Based Resources. IMPact, 6(2), 1-30

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 25, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Jun 19, 2023
• Publication Date: Jun 19, 2023
• Deposit Date: Sep 2, 2024
• Journal: IMPact: e-Journal of Higher Education Research
• Print ISSN: 2514-6955
• Electronic ISSN: 2514-6963
• Publisher: Chartered College of Teaching
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 6
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 1-30
• ISBN: 2516-7561
• Keywords: online reading, annotation, collaboration, digital texts, higher education, e-learning
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2783025
• Publisher URL: https://lalt.lincoln.ac.uk/files/2023/06/V62-4.-Reading-through-the-Pandemic-16.06.23.pdf