With the increase of online learning in higher education, the opportunity and demand for online service-learning courses are also increasing. Online service-learning can create conditions for students to learn professional and civic skills such as effectively working across a continuum of face-to-face and online environments, as Endersby and colleagues (2017) call the continuum of virtuality, or developing digital student leadership skills (Ahlquist, 2017).
In this blog, we share two approaches to course design for the asynchronous environment: one with a faculty-identified partnership and the other with student-identified partnerships. Although the logistics of online service-learning may look different than on-campus sections, they can be equally valuable and viable.
The basics such as the components of service-learning or the categories of learning goals remain the same (revisit What is Service-Learning? in this blog series). We conclude with a list of considerations for designing and implementing online service-learning.
English course at Kansas State University
In an online, asynchronous section of Written Communication for the Workplace, Ania’s students collaborated on a writing project with the Manhattan Area Habitat for Humanity. Habitat wanted to share its community work through online storytelling, so Ania and the Development Manager designed a project where her students would write profile articles of the organization’s staff, board members, and homeowners (see example).
The students worked in groups of three to interview one Habitat representative. Although the course was asynchronous, they had to find at least one time where all three group members and their interviewee could meet on Zoom or Teams to have a ~30 minute interview.
Students prepared a series of interview questions to ask, but they let the community members’ stories guide the interviews. Since students were writing narratives about community members’ lives, it was important that the community members shared agency in the drafting, writing, and editing process. Students shared their drafts with their interviewees through collaborative apps such as Google Docs or Canva.
Community members had editorial authority with students’ drafts and suggested many edits. Students knew that they couldn’t consider their draft to be “finished” until their interviewee signed off on it, which led to some groups revising up to four drafts of their articles. Although students spent more time revising this project than any other writing task they submitted throughout the semester, they understood that the stakes were high: Habitat would only distribute their article online if it met the organization’s standards, and it was crucial to present their interviewee’s life accurately and respectfully. Incorporating several weeks for students and community members to edit and revise these articles together encouraged everyone to collaborate as co-authors; students didn’t write community members’ stories for them, but with them (Deans, 2010).
Leadership course at Fort Hays State University
In an online, asynchronous section of Field Work in Leadership Studies, Lori’s students learn about community partners and strategic planning, then seek out a community partnership in their own communities and develop a strategic plan for the leadership work to be accomplished alongside the partner during the semester.
Students complete all course requirements asynchronously (e.g., discussion boards, strategic plan, ePortfolio) with the exception of one required meeting with Lori in the first five weeks. Yet, most of the projects include face-to-face elements within the students’ communities such as food and supply drives, training sessions for local schools or youth organizations, or park clean ups. Others integrate virtual elements such as social media campaigns, online fundraising, or creating curriculum or training guides for partners. Hansen and Clayton (2014) note the value of this style of online learning for students making long-lasting connections in their communities–serving in communities of which they are part. Lori has seen many students make their first authentic civic connections in their community and others continue their engagement beyond the semester project.
Providing resources to students about principles of democratic engagement or how to create partnerships may be helpful if this responsibility is theirs. (See other blogs from this series on Creating and Deepening Relationships for Service-Learning and Advancing Our Work through Democratic Engagement as a reminder of important considerations and approaches to anyone creating service-learning partnerships).
Considerations for online service-learning
In conclusion, we offer a few important items to consider when designing and implementing an online service-learning course:
- Communicate early regarding synchronous or hand-on requirements through advising and/or the course syllabus
- Consider appropriate synchronous requirements (i.e., Zoom meetings) even in an asynchronous course
- Communicate effectively among faculty, students, and partners (See Dumlao, 2022)
- Create processes to make student progress on service-learning transparent to the online instructor (e.g., project update discussion boards)
- Create opportunities for partners to provide feedback or insight throughout the course
- Test and utilize relevant technology to aid learning and collaboration
- Shorten the timeframe of the service-learning action if preparation takes longer in the online environment
- Build in reflective moments for students to make sense of their community work throughout the project
References
Ahlquist, J. (2017). Digital student leadership development. New Directions for Student Leadership. 153, 47-62. https://doi.org/10.1002/yd.20229
Deans, T., Roswell, B. S., & Wurr, A. J. (Eds.). (2010). Writing and community engagement: A critical sourcebook. Bedford/St. Martin’s.
Dumlao, R. J. (2022). Collaborating successfully with community partners and clients in online service-learning. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1177/00472816221088349
Endersby, L., Phelps, K., & Jenkins, D. (2017). The virtual table: A framework for online teamwork, collaboration, and communication. New Directions for Student Leadership, 153, 75-88. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/yd.20231
Hansen, R. B., & Clayton, P. H. (2014). From for to of: Online service-learning as both disruption and doorway to democratic partnerships. In S. L. Crabill & D. Butin (Eds.), Community engagement 2.0?: Dialogues on the future of the civic in the disrupted university (pp. 12-25). Springer.
About the authors
Ania Payne is an assistant professor of English at Kansas State University. She teaches creative writing with an emphasis on nonfiction and professional writing with a focus on community engagement. Her teaching and research
interests include place-based creative nonfiction essays and appreciative-inquiry informed approaches to community writing and community-based learning. In 2023, Ania received the Engagement Scholarship Consortium’s Research/Creative Activities Grant to support her current community writing project, “Community Asset Mapping Through Front Porch Conversations and Writing.”
Lori E. Kniffin, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of leadership at Fort Hays State University. She teaches a variety of courses including undergraduate and graduate courses through in-person and virtual modalities. Her teaching and research interests include collective leadership development, civic leadership, service-learning and community engagement, and qualitative research methods, and critical leadership studies. Prior to her time at FHSU, Lori served as a community engagement professional at UNC Greensboro and was named the 2019 Civic Engagement Professional of the Year by North Carolina Campus Compact. She was also an administrator and instructor for Kansas State University in the Staley School of Leadership from 2010-2016.
