Online Modules for Community Engaged Learning During a Global Pandemic

Context: In Summer, 2020, our team created virtual community-engaged learning (VCEL) modules, in response to the need to move classes to online and hybrid delivery styles during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. These modules addressed engaged learning concepts, and were designed with faculty, students, and community partner organizations in mind. Challenge: This paper explores the challenges of creating and beta testing these VCEL modules, as well as the creative methods taken to produce high-quality content that would continue to serve students in the wake of the pandemic. Product: what emerged from this project is a unique set of self-contained learning modules in Canvas Commons that include built-in assessments, allowing students to demonstrate learning, and giving faculty members the ability to review engaged-learning theory and strategies, and to seamlessly integrate the virtual content into their online classes. Findings: Our beta test findings indicate that students generally had a positive experience with the content, and spent approximately two hours, on average, engaging with the material. In this reflective analysis of our process, we offer an explanation of the replicable process of creating VCEL modules and a description of the outcomes associated with the production and testing of the content therein.