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.
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”.
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!”
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