#90: #whynotSLS?

In this post, I shared how I see SLS as a space that supports thoughtful, student-centred teaching and learning, but I am fully aware that not everyone feels the same way.

And that’s fair. Just because something has potential doesn’t mean it’s obvious or easy to see. So I’ve been thinking: why hasn’t SLS quite landed for everyone? And maybe more importantly, what might help us get unstuck?

1. We might be talking past each other when we talk about “e-Pedagogy”

Many may still think of e-Pedagogy as simply “how to use tech tools in teaching.” But it’s not. e-Pedagogy is first and foremost pedagogy. It’s about thoughtful lesson design rooted in learning science – like choosing a suitable Learning Experience and designing in alignment with the Active Learning processes. Technology should come after – as a layer to enhance what’s already pedagogically sound.

Which means, if you’re already designing lessons with intention, you’re already doing some flavour of e-pedagogy. It’s not about becoming a tech wizard. It’s about giving ourselves a shared vocabulary to describe what good teaching already looks like – and how tech can support it.

2. We might be seeing SLS as a bunch of tools, instead of a space for end-to-end design

Click “Add Text/Media.” Click “Add Progressive Quiz.” Click “Add Learning Assistant." It can feel a bit like building IKEA furniture without the manual. A lot of parts, not sure where they go.

But the real power of SLS – at least for me – is when it’s used end-to-end. Not just a place to plonk your Classpoint-enabled PowerPoint slides, or a place for students to submit their HBL homework, but a space for teachers to think through the whole experience: the learning activities, the enactment and the learning data collected. All these sits in one place, so you can easily revisit, revise, and improve your lesson year on year.

And once you have your lesson up, it gets easier to layer in more. Maybe today it’s just a free-response question. Tomorrow, maybe you try enabling Short Answer Feedback assistant to allow your students to get immediate feedback. Next time, you use Data Assistant to identify common themes/misconceptions and provide timely and targeted interventions.

And if another platform works better for a specific thing? Use it. Then link it into SLS. It’s not about SLS being everything. It’s about it being home base.

3. We might be focusing on symptoms, not the root cause

Sometimes we hear things like,

"My students can’t focus online."

"They don't submit work on SLS."

"They’re just copying and pasting."

When students aren’t submitting their work or seem disengaged, it’s easy to blame the tool. Yes, these things happen, but don’t they happen with pen and paper too? What’s really going on?

Maybe it’s not the platform. Maybe it’s the classroom routines.

Or maybe, it’s the kind of work we’re asking them to do. If the solution to students been disengaged is to hand them worksheets to fill in the blanks, are they cognitively engaged, or are they just “staying busy”?

We shouldn't underestimate what they are able to see and what they are able to understand, not just about the curriculum. So if you insult them by giving them meaningless things to do, then they will go with it, but you don't really touch them in any meaningful way. 

In fact, if the lesson is designed with e-Pedagogy in mind (re: constructivism - learning by doing) and invites them to do something meaningful – investigate, make, build – students are more likely to show up both physically and mentally.

So... what now?

Honestly, I don’t think there’s one magical fix. But here are a few thoughts that have been sitting with me.

1. Remind ourselves that we already know more than we think

e-Pedagogy isn’t another new and unfamiliar thing to grapple with, or another lingo to pick up – it’s a lens to help us see our current practice more clearly.

When we name it, we can talk about it. And when we can talk about it, we can refine it together.

2. Start with where people are

Sometimes what’s missing isn’t conviction – it’s just clarity. Or confidence.

A walkthrough. A real example. A nudge that says, “Hey, this thing you’re already doing? You can do it here too.”

Not every session needs to be visionary. Sometimes people just want to know where to click. That’s not resistance – that’s just a need for scaffolding.

And when communicating about SLS (re: Accommodation Theory), let's also be mindful of the balance between convergence (make our comms more understandable but risk oversimplification/diluting meaning) and divergence (preserve integrity but risk being too officious and create perceived distance).

Most importantly, let’s not just talk about where we want teachers to go, but also why.

3. Show the big picture

SLS has a wide range of features. But those features sit within a bigger story of teaching and learning. If we can help teachers see where each feature fits – and what it’s for – then the exploration starts to feel a bit more grounded.

Let the platform make more sense by showing how its parts serve the whole.

4. And above all, just try

We should see SLS for what it can do, not fixate on what it can’t. (Tang, 2024/5)

Of course there’s a learning curve and there will be struggles along the way – just like with any new approach or tool. But each time we try, it gets easier.

Sometimes, the best thing you can do is just get started.

And maybe, what we really need is this reminder: