
A school and college guide to how universities responded during the lockdown
Please note, this content was kindly provided by Arione McQueenie whilst she was working with the University of Buckingham. This has been republished from the UniTasterDays Teachers' Guide to University brochure.
Moving university teaching online - how did universities teach online?
On March 16th 2020 the UK went into lockdown
- and our students found out that all teaching
and learning would be moving online. So how did
universities respond to this? Here, Venessa, one of
our students will share her first-hand experience
of learning virtually.
“A few months ago, virtually every student worldwide
was forced to transition from studying in class and in
person to an online platform. When I first found out
about the news, I was quite scared: I was concerned
about missing out on university life, on social life,
on university networking and if this would have an
impact on my grades. Luckily the university put
measures in place to make sure the students still
received quality education, even though it couldn’t be
in person.”
“We started using video calls, which really helped
because I could see my classmates and interact
with them, so I didn’t feel like I was completely
missing out on that social interaction. Our libraries
also transitioned online so we still had access to all
of our books. Meetings with lecturers and personal
tutors were also all moved online, so we weren’t
just interacting through email. You could also book
appointments with other departments online such
as student welfare, so if you needed to speak to a
counsellor you could book a meeting with them and
know you could still have the conversation that you
would have had if you were on campus”.
Studying during lockdown – Venessa’s top tips for your students should they take part in online learning in the future:
1. Scheduling and organising every day.
2. Imagining you are in an actual classroom
during lectures. Including access to a notepad
and pen - just like on campus.
3. Staying involved with all the different virtual
events that the students’ union are putting on.
“Overall, transitioning to online learning wasn’t as
scary as I thought it would be! Even though it is not
the same as an in-person university experience, it is
still a really good quality learning experience”.
“In terms of focus and concentration, just remember
that as long as you’re doing your best - that is okay.
The simple fact that you are out there and doing your
best needs to be applauded. So keep going, we have
got this!”
Want More Updates & Advice?

Teachers, careers colleagues and support staff: request your FREE UniTasterDays Teachers' Guide to University brochure.
This brochure has been produced by UniTasterDays.com in collaboration with HELOA - to support the university guidance that is provided in secondary schools and colleges.
Editorial has been provided by over 35 colleagues at universities and higher education institutions throughout the UK. On topics covering how to support students with their university decisions, university events, widening participation & fair access, UCAS applications (including writing school references) and more. It also includes the key student finance facts from Martin Lewis.
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