Online Postgraduate Education in a Postdigital World

Tim Fawns is a lecturer in clinical education at the University of Edinburgh. He is Deputy Programme Director of the MSc Clinical Education, Director of the international Edinburgh Summer School in Clinical Education, and an associate of the Centre for Research in Digital Education. His research focus is on the relationship between technology and education, seen from an ecological perspective. He has previously edited a book on digital media practices and memory (Memory and Meaning: Digital Differences). Gill Aitken is a senior lecturer and lead for postgraduate clinical education within Edinburgh Medical School and is the Programme Director of the MSc Clinical Education at the University of Edinburgh. Gill is a Registered Dietitian with many years teaching experience. Her research interests lie in the relationships established online in postgraduate education and how learning develops and impacts on the clinical environment. Derek Jones is a lecturer in clinical education at the University of Edinburgh and Programme Director of the PhD Clinical Education. Derek is a Registered Occupational Therapist and has a degree in sociology. He has previously edited a textbook entitled “Sociology and occupational therapy: an integrated approach”. Derek is interested in the management of pain and the application of sociological theory to clinical education.

• DRAFTForeword (TBC).- Introduction by the editors.- Assessment, feedback and learning in a networked world; by Dai Hounsell (agreed).- Evaluation of teaching: Toward complex, postdigital ideas of quality; by Christine Sinclair and Tim Fawns (agreed).- Student experiences and expectations of online learning; (TBC).- Managing diverse student needs, backgrounds, and contexts; by Cathy Stone, Janet Dyment and Jill Downing (TBC).- A sociomaterial look at reflective practice (TBC).- Networked professional learning in the postdigital age: Asking critical questions of postgraduate teacher education; by Rachel Buchanan (TBC).- Finding the teacher: Recognising and rewarding postgraduate, online teachers in policy and practice; by Gill Aitken and Sarah Hayes (TBC).- Navigating the institution: Developing a vision for educational futures; by Tim Fawns, Michael Gallagher, and Sian Bayne (agreed).- Conclusion by the editors.- Afterword (TBC).

“While not born in the Covid period, this book emerges within it … . It contains a number of richly described and helpfully theorized accounts of what online education involves, the challenges that will be faced, and of how it can be made to work well for both learners and teachers. As such, I hope that it will now be noticed and read by many more people because of their newfound ‘online’ concern and experience.” (Hamish Macleod, Postdigital Science and Education, Vol. 4, 2022)