Humanizing online learning for enhanced engagement and participation

Online learning was transformed in the sudden shift to emergency remote teaching caused by COVID-19 pandemic. The incorporation of human-centered and humanistic approaches by some educators demonstrated how online learning environments can be infused with greater humanity and meaning, an approach that we build upon here. The design of online environments is understood as not to emulate the traditional classroom, but to utilize technology in developing new ways of learning. We argue that human connections are essential to learning, and that technology needs to be integrated with care as to not foreground it above all other concerns. We propose here that teacher presence and peer interaction should be a focus of online learning, both being essential for the enhanced engagement and participation of students. Our solutions for humanizing online learning extend from the abstract to the concrete, including our work with educators on tools that facilitate their educational designs. Our research continues as we work to develop new educational solutions to this problem in collaboration with the wider community.