Embracing Engagement Through Technology in Online Legal Education Free

Pedagogy in online graduate education needs to support and be supported by technology tools that can enhance authenticity, community, and overall engagement. An examination of graduate-level legal education, as an example, reveals the importance of technology integration and engagement in a field that has been resistant to pedagogical change. According to the faculty and other law school professionals who make up the Working Group on Distance Learning in Legal Education (2015), best practice development for online teaching in law has been slow to advance, due in part to the restrictive rules in place for distance education imposed by the American Bar Association (ABA) as the principal national accreditor of juris doctor (JD) programs. However, information and communication technology (ICT) is driving changes in academic and professional environments and necessitating the evolution of all graduate education. According to Maharg and Paliwala (2002), ICT fosters change in legal education and “provides the pressures promoting changes as well as pathways, tools, and techniques for implementing them” (p. 78). It follows that distance education in the legal space must also evolve to incorporate the most appropriate tools and techniques for its online community.

In legal education in the United States, an “interrogational Socratic” method of lecture is the tradition (Paliwala, 2002, p. 185). The Socratic method in law school involves a faculty member leading a conversation with the goal of arriving at the main principles of case law through a question and answer session, drilling down until the faculty member is satisfied that the student responding to the questions either (1) arrived at and understands the principle, or (2) is hopelessly lost and needs the assistance of a different student in the class. This method generally is part of a tradition of “authoritarian teaching,” made up of an unwillingness on the part of faculty to be flexible about the curriculum, the teaching and learning process, and the concern with the student learning experience. Paliwala (2002) indicated that this authoritarian teaching style might be accompanied by a status-based personal and intellectual arrogance on the part of law faculty.

By contrast, developing philosophies regarding distance education support a different model. For example, Garrison, Anderson, and Archer (2000) advanced the widely cited community of inquiry model that comprises the overlapping elements of cognitive presence, social presence and teaching presence, the intersection of which is where the authors proposed that meaningful learning occurs (as cited in Cui, Lockee, & Meng, 2013). This model focuses on concepts including open communication, the connection of ideas, group cohesion and encouragement, and teacher management of content and learning outcomes. Although the teacher is considered to be a key component of the Community of Inquiry, the desired teaching style is collaborative as opposed to authoritarian. Similarly, Paliwala (2002) suggested that rather than the traditional authoritarian model, a more effective learning process in legal education is problem-based, where the teacher facilitates student learning in a more democratic fashion, involving increased transparency in the studentteacher dialogue.

Yang and Cornelious (2005) pointed out that for students to be successful learners online, instructors must pay more attention to developing a sense of community in the virtual classroom. Conrad (2002) agreed, citing community-building through engaging learners in their learning tasks is a key step toward successful learning online. Conrad also defined a constructivist view of an instructor’s role in online education as providing a “facilitative and collaborative presence that invites peer interaction among learners and a more democratic sharing of responsibility than what may have occurred in some traditional classrooms” (p. 212). Yang and Cornelious (2005) indicated that a distance education community needs to be learnercentered, incorporating active learning and strong participation by all students.

In addition to a focus on community and interaction, Dede (2008) proposed that, “learning involves mastering authentic tasks in meaningful, realistic situations” (p. 51). Young (2006) added that high-quality materials and feedback are very important to students, as is having professionally meaningful assignments. Conrad (2002) stated that adults need to see relevance in their learning to remain engaged. As adult learners, law students find value in practical, relevant coursework that builds skills that they will need as they move forward with their education and after they graduate. As Maharg and Padiwala (2002) indicated, “[l]aw is a terrain of contested meanings and negotiated solutions” (p. 86). Since negotiation is a crucial skill for lawyers, the ability of law students to be involved in their learning to the extent that they “interpret, negotiate, and reflect upon the structure of the law as they learn it” allows students to become more engaged with the knowledge base when they are immersed in resource-based learning (Maharg & Padiwala, 2002, p. 87). Among their keys to student-centered online learning, Alley and Jansak (2001) reported that experiential, active learning will augment the distance learning environment (as cited in Yang & Cornelious, 2005). Similarly, Herrington, Oliver, and Reeves (2002) list real-world relevance and the opportunity to collaborate as among the most important characteristics of authentic activities that support engagement.

Considering the importance of student engagement with relevant, authentic coursework in the context of online legal education, there are several ICT tools that support a sense of community and overall student engagement with the learning environment. Initially, in terms of instructor facilitative presence in an online course, the effective use of the school’s learning management system (LMS) is a key consideration. Generally, institutionlicensed platforms such as Blackboard or legal education’s Thomson West Education Network (TWEN) are supported by available training on the collaborative features of the platform. It is crucial to ensure online faculty are fully trained on the opportunities to connect and communicate with students through the LMS platform. Making sure faculty members understand the importance of frequently logging into the course’s site, responding to questions and comments in a timely manner, and generally showing a presence are necessary starting points for student engagement.

Of course, writing is a technology that once was new and continues to be an important—and evolving—communication tool. LMS discussion boards are a valuable collaborative tool when students are required to reflect, interact, and engage with course materials and their classmates. The opportunity for written, measured, and thoughtful communication can allow all students to have a voice in class. Face- to-face law school courses, as with any classroom, frequently feature a few students who dominate conversation to the exclusion of others. Either in a Socratic discussion involving a faculty member and one or two students or an open-ended question that calls for voluntary response, it is difficult for all students to be heard. An online discussion board likely will provide more engagement for more students. Students also can work in smaller groups through an LMS, uploading written drafts of assignments for peer review, collaborating on assignments, or holding smallergroup discussion board sessions. LMS platforms also feature many avenues for formative and summative assessment, including faculty feedback on assignments, summative quizzes and exams, and general discussion board comments.

Audiovisual tools are important supplements to written assignments and feedback. The creative use of video technologies, including recorded videos as well as web conferencing, is another way that ICT can support student engagement, community-building, and opportunities for active and collaborative learning. Teachers can build their presence in an online environment by posting brief, regular video announcements that give detailed instructions about an assignment, make a key point about available materials, or just check in with a relevant comment. Students can use video to practice presentation skills and post them for peer or instructor review. And the use of synchronous web-based interaction using a web conferencing platform like GoToTraining, Skype, or Google Hangouts can provide collaborative interaction from questions about an assignment or assessment opportunities to active learning exercises involving real-time oral arguments, negotiation sessions, or mock client interviews. As virtual reality (VR) tools become more sophisticated and accessible, simulated legal skills-based learning that currently is accomplished through synchronous and asynchronous video tools will be able to evolve into the even more realistic experiences that VR can provide. The idea of a VR courtroom appearance, client interview, or practice deposition is potentially the type of authentic, meaningful learning opportunity that would foster true engagement.

Addressing education generally, Dede (2008) proposed that ICT assists in the representation of content, learner engagement, and student assessment in ways analogous to a carpenter’s use of various tools to successfully complete a construction project. Similarly, Harris and Hofer (2009) highlighted the importance of instructors’ ownership of the technology they use, as well as the importance of planning strategically for the use of digital tools and resources so that ICT integration is effective. Mishra and Koehler (2009) reminded us that there is no one perfect approach to ICT integration in classroom contexts. But as we focus on the advancement of student learning, a thoughtful approach to leveraging technology in support of pedagogical affordances is crucial (Mishra & Koehler, 2009).

Paliwala (2002) proposed that classrooms “are merely theaters with props and actors, which are constituted by and yet also provide the spaces and times for the interplay of power relationships between students and lecturers involved in the process of learning and teaching” (p. 179). Paliwala added that although, on the surface, most legal academics teach in the same way they always have, classroom “props” are changing, as we have the opportunity to integrate multimedia tools to supplant the “chalk and talk”or “sage on the stage” method of imparting knowledge. In a face- to-face law school environment, a learner’s thought process is often drawn out and explored through a Socratic dialogue, with a faculty member ultimately mediating “right” from “wrong.” More recently, however, there has been a recognized gap in a traditional legal education based on the need to hone content-based critical thinking skills and the practical lawyering skills that a more experiential learning environment would provide. As we try to find the right blend of content knowledge and actual competency to practice law, it seems that a more learner-centric, experiential process where law students can experience the content in context while sharing knowledge and learning from each other would result in a far more engaging and valuable education. ICT tools can facilitate experiential opportunities in an online environment.

Dixson (2010) found that the path to student engagement is not a particular activity or assignment; rather it is about creating significant communication among students and their instructor in multiple ways; in other words, “it’s all about connections” (p. 8). A successful online environment and effective integration of ICT can foster those connections. The ability for a law student to focus on collaborative, meaningful, context-based learning in a virtual community can provide the path to engagement for adult learners that is key to successful student learning.