Abstract
Service-learning has long been heralded as a high-impact educational practice that deepens student learning while fostering civic responsibility. Yet, as teaching increasingly shifts into digital and hybrid spaces, how can educators preserve the relational, place-based, and reflective aspects that make service-learning transformative? This interactive workshop explores the opportunities and challenges of integrating service-learning into fully online and hybrid courses, with a focus on pedagogical adaptation and innovation. The session will delve into how service-learning in online contexts can support transformative, reflexive learning that transcends traditional didactic models. Participants will engage with examples that illustrate peer-to-peer learning, and shifts in learner agency, as students take on more autonomous and socially embedded roles in virtual service partnerships. Through case studies, collaborative dialogue, and hands-on resources, attendees will consider how online platforms can mediate mixed modes of sociability—balancing asynchronous digital tools with community responsiveness and real-world impact. Discussions will highlight how digital service-learning promotes inclusive, multimodal engagement, especially for learners who are geographically dispersed, working full-time, or from underrepresented backgrounds. Participants will leave with concrete strategies for designing online service-learning experiences that are pedagogically sound, socially transformative, and technologically integrated. By reconceptualizing community-based learning through a digital lens, this workshop positions service-learning as not just adaptable to the online classroom—but essential to the evolution of engaged and equitable digital pedagogy.
Presenters
Emily Acosta LewisProfessor, Communication and Media Studies, Sonoma State University, California, United States Missy Garvin
Sonoma State University Aja LaDuke
University of Connecticut
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
Considering Digital Pedagogies
KEYWORDS
Service-Learning, E-learning, E-Service-Learning, Online Service-Learning, High-Impact Practices
