By Tan Lin Nah

With COVID-19 now affecting more than 200 countries and territories globally, education is among one of the critical considerations for families, communities and governments both currently and in the long term. While governments prioritize the need to flatten the curve through movement controls and social distancing, schools and institutions of higher learning globally have moved, either successfully or haphazardly, into online learning and alternative assessments.

With this shift, educators are now fully experiencing the opportunities and challenges that come with online learning. Not least among these concerns are the privacy and cybersecurity of learners, that recently took center stage with concerns arising from using Zoom.

As we enter Phase 3 of the Movement Control Order in Malaysia, educators are faced with two realities. Firstly, that even after the MCO is lifted, there will be a heightened sense of precaution among families and communities. Secondly, as a response to the first, online learning will no longer be just a part of the education experience, but actively serve as the main means for institutions to ensure academic progress and create a sense of normalcy.

To do this sustainably and with the least disruptions to student experience, the infrastructure to support students online is a key consideration. Recorded or live lessons are an important part of continuing education at this time. For many institutions, however, due to the urgency to move online, the present tools may only serve as a temporary stop gap rather than long term solution.

To be effective, sustainable online learning must speak to the ability for educators and students to collaborate in a safe and conducive environment; must provide a platform that is interactive and engaging beyond just an exchange for notes and materials; and is able to monitor student activities and behaviors systematically—which is even more important during these times when there are little to no opportunities for face-to-face interactions. Most importantly, with students now logging in from home or mobile connections, it must also offer a sense of security that what students do or post is not exposed to external viewing.

This includes both the front end user-facing systems as well as reliable, scalable and robust backend infrastructures that are able to support the sudden increase in online learning activities during the MCO.

Having partnered with Blackboard for more than eight years, the opportunity for students and educators to "meet", connect, and share their ideas in safe online spaces has been one of the drivers of INTI's ongoing online learning journey. In spite the MCO and the need to move all programs online, Blackboard has successfully been able to scale up server resources to cope with the additional traffic – ensuring students are still supported where ever they are.

Leveraging a good multi-functional learning management system (LMS) provides online security measures, starting with access that is tied to specific student or educator accounts. Additionally, established LMS' provide platforms that can flexibly support a variety of teaching and learning activities including notes, resources, and even creative assignments that leverage videos, journaling, gamification, or group projects.

Having a platform where everything is captured in one space not only makes it easy for students to access information (similar to a company's intranet), but minimizes the need for students to post or link information from external sources. Likewise, it provides a secure platform for online assessments, and can integrate tools such as Turnitin to maintain academic integrity.

Running live lectures or group discussions through a LMS also leverages institution-managed student or lecturer accounts, reducing the need for personal data and external communication platforms. It also assures clear guidelines on the collection and storage of data or information by the LMS partner, which minimizes the risk of data breaches to third parties. For some institutions, all information and materials uploaded from previous semesters can even be removed from the system before the start of new semesters.

Additionally, a key feature of having a good LMS is its monitoring and analytics. Beyond attendance, the real time features of an established system allows teachers to identify who is logged into live lessons, the frequency of students having to re-log in, as well as student engagement during the online lesson and in participating in other online activities. This helps educators to identify student concerns and challenges early and develop proactive steps to support students—especially during these uncertain times.

As online learning becomes the new normal for educators globally, putting in place steps to ensure our students receive an enriching and secure learning experience, both during and after this time, is an important part of the support we can offer them.

(Tan Lin Nah is Chief Executive Officer of INTI International University & Colleges.)