AIBU? Online study.

[Judith0000]

I am studying online, the tuition is delivered via Microsoft Teams 3 times a week.
Every single lesson, certain other students chat away with the tutor about things that are completely irrelevant to the course, including their children's extra curricular activities, their DH's hobbies, holidays they had booked but now cannot take due to Covid amongst other things.
I am finding it so difficult to concentrate and learn amongst all of the chatter, however, I cannot mute anyone except myself and I need to be able to hear when my tutor addresses me.
No one else in the meeting seems to be concerned, so I'm not sure if they're just as bothered as I am but are keeping quiet, or if they dont mind at all.
Maybe I should be able to filter it out in my head?

Does anyone have any tips on how to remain focused while listening to other students chatter?
I accept that there will be talking going on, but I expected it to be related to the course, not 45 minutes of students opinions on their husbands and children.

AIBU to find people talking so distracting when I am trying to study, to the point I cant concentrate?
How do other people cope with this?

Can you directly email your tutor and politely express your concerns and see if they can address it? I'm sure you will not be the only person feeling that way. It would drive me insane.

Im not a Tutor, but ive run a few work Training Sessions. I ALWAYS mute all participants except myself. I, thought that was standard practice.

Pressed post too soon...

If the participants want to ask a question or make a point, they Type it in the chat box, and we discuss at the end.

In person you would have a percentage of the time taken up with idle chit chat and getting to know each other wouldn't you? You would probably have a break and a bit of a chat then too. You sounds very intolerant of normal social interaction.

Shouldnt they all be muted? Then you unmute when addressed.

Zoe the OP and the group are meant to be studying - while a bit of general chit chat is expected it is not a “social event” therefore your comment re the OP being “intolerant of normal social interaction” is nonsense. This would piss me off too OP. I would email your tutor and ask that all participants be muted unless addressed.

I agree with PP, a pooled email yo the person leading the meeting to ask if they could mute all participants unless they have a point to raise , in meetings we used a card with the word question on one side and point ( as in I have a point to make)
It works week as we tend to have about 20 people in most meetings it would be a right racket otherwise.

@ZoeMaye

In person you would have a percentage of the time taken up with idle chit chat and getting to know each other wouldn't you? You would probably have a break and a bit of a chat then too. You sounds very intolerant of normal social interaction.

The format of online learning is that only one person can talk at a time. As it's all online, talkers can't 'read the room' to see other people's expression and body language showing an interest / lack of interest in their stories as they would in person. These social cues would normally reduce boring chatter. Unfortunately many people see Teams as their own, private captive audience and, in the absence of any social feedback, take the opportunity to bore on about themselves. The tutor should keep the lesson on track though by muting all participants.

OP I agree with the previous posters. Email your tutor to let them know you find the constant off topic chats very distracting and ask if she could mute participants. You're there to learn, not to listen to a stranger talk about their mundane life disappointments

I'm trying to picture this situation - what is there to concentrate on/be distracted from if tutor is engaged in chatter and not teaching? That in itself is annoying of course, after initial welcomes. Are you paying for this course? Even if it's free of course, you are investing your time and efforts. If time wasting is excessive I'd definitely be contacting tutor.

I know how you feel, OP. I did a 'micro credential' course at Uni last year on statistical computing that was supposed to comprise of 3 hours x 10 sessions. Here's how a typical session went:

Assuming the lesson was supposed to start at 12:00,

12:00 - 12:10 Sit idly waiting for the many latecomers
12:10 - 12:30 Sit idly listening to 5 or 6 students talk about their week, the new guys they met on tinder, get into political debates, discuss society at large etc
12:30 - 12:50 Sit idly while the lecturer answers superfluous questions because people (usually the same 5 or 6 students) cannot be bothered to read and follow the step by step instructions sent to us about simple things like which packages are needed for the day's lessons or which datasets are needed and from where
12:50 - 13:30 Actual lesson
13:30 - 13:40 Break
13:40 - 14:45 Actual lesson
14:45 - 15:00 Q&A session

Another student was frustrated as there never was enough time for the lecturer to go through any actual questions he had during the Q&A session and emailed the lecturer about his concerns. The lecturer dismissed it and told him that it was a difficult time for everyone and that he wanted to foster a fun, social environment in his classroom.

Maybe I lack empathy but it felt like a colossal waste of my time and money and I actually ended up learning more from Stack Exchange than I did in those '30' hours!

@H2OConnoisseur

Yes but that's basically how it is in person at a university too though.

This seems ridiculous.

I did distance learning for 3 years. When we had webinars... there was perhaps some chit chat at the start for a few minutes with intros and where everyone is in the world... but then down the work because everyone has various responsibilities to get back to.

That would be annoying. I would e-mail the tutor and perhaps suggest he mutes everyone after an initial 5-10 minute chat

With my teams lectures there is only chatter when we come in and say hello, more than one person is off mute sounds horrendous! As soon as the lecture starts we are all on mute and put the little hand up to talk. We get sent to breakout rooms in smaller groups if we need to discuss something.
Yours sounds like my worst nightmare and it's no wonder you can't concentrate. I understand it is hard for everyone involved but you are there to learn the subject not what Betty's husband does at the weekends! Email your lecturer and ask what can be done as you are missing out on information due to others talking.

@ZoeMaye

In person you would have a percentage of the time taken up with idle chit chat and getting to know each other wouldn't you? You would probably have a break and a bit of a chat then too. You sounds very intolerant of normal social interaction.

They are there to study not have idle chit chat. My high school son had online lessons during lockdown, the rules where all pupils where muted unless responding to the teacher or asking a topic related question. Students are there to learn not have idle chit chat. If that's what they want they should do it away from lesson time.