Does anyone actually like online lectures ?

[Grandealmondmylklatte]

Just that really?

I feel so disconnected, unmotivated and resentful of uni rn. This isn't my first degree, and knowing what it was like before (not the going out, but the engagement, talking about reading with your friends, helping each other stuff) is making it worse. I have an essay due 7 January which is about theory we touched on in the first week of the semester online, I can't even remember it.

@Ncdforreasons I had to giggle a few weeks ago when I found out from one of the quiet but lovely ones on the course that they all really worry when some content comes up that I find hard because that must mean it's REALLY tough!

There are a few on our course who are very active in sharing information, resources, revision sheets etc - I did it for a module all last year where people struggled to translate the lecture content into what we needed to actually know for the exam - distilled it down into point and answer and shared it around everyone... but I'm fucked if I'm carrying the entire course again. I'll help the lovely ones - but the ones who sat at the back and took the mickey during face to face sessions, and now sit with their mates (they're all sharing a house) and smirk about people in breakout groups can get to fuck.

This is like talking to myself about myself @AaahWoof 😂
I stopped sharing everything last year. Especially after I realised that people didn't even bother saving it and some reading it so I was getting bombarded by "can you send me x again?" and questions about topic with "oh! How do you know these things!?". I broke, answered "It's in the notes you asked me to send you... Twice." And left.
I now have group of 3 of us and few people who ask so rarely, and are always nice and try hard, who I help and send stuff to. I spend lots of time on research so I have materials they don't. I also request pdfs if I want to read some research.

I actually even emailed the tutor and explained that I am not slacking, but I am also not carrying the seminars anymore. So did the other 2. He was actually very understanding and supportive as he knows we get our reading and prep done on time. I had thanked him properly for all the work he does. It's a lot. I am not surprised that academics are having MH issues and burnouts.

The best is that one classmate who keeps moaning how awkward it is when no one answeres and tutor keeps trying to get people engaged. She NEVER says a word. Ever🤦

I don't get it. People pay to be there. It's not mandatory. Why would you pay for something you then ignore...

for @AaahWoof and @Ncdforreasons I'd love to be teaching you!

My students are loving them. I have a high proportion of mature ,local students who in normal times commute in so they’re happy they’re saving money.

I do all my lectures live and also record them and they appreciate being able to rewatch them.

I try and do the dreaded breakout rooms in most sessions so they have some active learning. I think I’m good at “talking round” the PowerPoint rather than reading stuff word for word so hopefully it’s quite interesting.

My 2nd years are better at asking questions as we go along than the 1st years who are a bit quiet still.....but the 1st years haven’t met me and I feel sorry for them as they don’t know each other or the lecturers.

@QueenoftheAir be careful what you wish for. I can be very demanding😂

These are hard times for everyone though and I think lots of people forget that the lecturers are very much stuck between uni fucking with them and students fucking about. Everyone is stressed and everyone has things going on. Bit of patience and pulling own weight on both sides can make massive difference to the whole experience for everyone involved.

My students are loving them. I have a high proportion of mature ,local students who in normal times commute in so they’re happy they’re saving money.

I do all my lectures live and also record them and they appreciate being able to rewatch them.

I try and do the dreaded breakout rooms in most sessions so they have some active learning. I think I’m good at “talking round” the PowerPoint rather than reading stuff word for word so hopefully it’s quite interesting.

Same here. I was told the online stuff 'exceeded expectations' which made me very happy as I spent all term feeling like I was failing my students! They asked for more online lectures this term - they've ended up getting what they asked for albeit with a national lockdown thrown in 🙈

Excellent posts @Ncdforreasons (and I'm guessing Ncdforrea

Good to hear some truths from people on a course.

My friend who is a Lecturer finds it so frustrating putting all the additional work in to people who won't engage. It is just so frustrating.

Yes😂 bit of fail there.

It must be very frustrating. I honestly feel for the lecturers. Of course there are some bad ones too. We have one on our course, but majority from what I heard from various unies, are the hard workers trying their best.

The university bosses are bit of a different kettle if fish. It's disgraceful that even couple of days befire lockdown, when it was clear what's going to most likely happen, uni still encouraged students to come in as if all was normal. Even on tge day of announcement. Everyone knew f2f will not happen where not needed. Everyone expected issues after Christmas. Except uni it seems🤷🏻 That's not a fault of lecturers. They get fucked over too.

Well I've just had my first assessment results back from the move to online learning... there goes my first. No access to the library and being expected to be able to describe physical examinations with no actual experience apart from youtube is taking its toll when they're marking to exactly the same expectations as they would have from before. In normal years they would have had 3 hour workshops for some of the stuff we've had a half an hour recording and a few youtube links for.

That sucks @AaahWoof
I am lucky mine doesn't require physical learning like that or labs.
Don't give up on the first. It's just one assessment 🤞🤞🤞🤞

Hoping so since I am delivering 7.5 hours a week of them

Today we've had half the course being in a terrible state - the marks returned seem to have been very harsh toward the entire group (which kind of relieves me a bit since I was convinced I'd suddenly got thick) - and people are due placements to start and there's been complete radio silence from the university completely - and loads of people are getting really unsettled about it and just wanting to know, not definitely what is going on, but at least that things are being dealt with.

I know it's trendy to demonise these young people as just going to get pissed all the time - but most of ours are a really hard working bunch who've come back to the uni city because the uni has asked them to - and they're sat in empty halls of residence (it's a course allowed to return early) not being communicated to and they're freaking out.

AaahWoof, that sounds mean of them - not providing the usual 3 hours and then marking just as hard.

I am hoping my twins (all on line on their law course this year) who had their final exams in December are not treated too badly - they have never until now done an on line exam so all those years of hand writing, techniques for exams etc all out the window with brand new things like typing the exam, word count limits, on line issues, sections to complete, open book exams too - very very different.

On their online workshops last term I think they have found the slides most useful of everything and very good (other than one brand new module which is clearly tacked on this year and is done at a very different level -much harder and double the amount of content)

@AaahWoof

Well I've just had my first assessment results back from the move to online learning... there goes my first. No access to the library and being expected to be able to describe physical examinations with no actual experience apart from youtube is taking its toll when they're marking to exactly the same expectations as they would have from before. In normal years they would have had 3 hour workshops for some of the stuff we've had a half an hour recording and a few youtube links for.

That is pretty poor. It might be worth looking into your university's 'no detriment' policy.

We have a policy that states during emergency COVID measures a students overall mark can't fall below the average mark attained prior to the measure being put into place.

I wish i had seminar leaders and lecturers like you all, I don't mind my online lessons but there are 200 + on my course and we haven't been able to get to know each other well due to strikes and covid so we don't engage with each other in seminars but I try to make sure I say something in each seminar I attend

Currently no "no detriment" in place @SueEllenMishke - we were told this year the blended stuff was going to be so high quality it wouldn't be needed... now the students are really starting to get annoyed and pushing for one so I'm hoping a U-turn comes (especially since I was carrying straight firsts all last year)

We also had a change of referencing system dropped on us with no support given as well.

I've actually emailed the course yeargroup leader today as a load have come back to campus and are freaking out they've been forgotten about with regard to what is happening with their placements etc - I don't want them in empty digs all weekend panicking so I asked if just a holding email could go out so that's not happening. We really do appreciate it's shit circumstances, not the staff (although I'm pissed off about my assignment mark).

@AaahWoof

Currently no "no detriment" in place *@SueEllenMishke* - we were told this year the blended stuff was going to be so high quality it wouldn't be needed... now the students are really starting to get annoyed and pushing for one so I'm hoping a U-turn comes (especially since I was carrying straight firsts all last year)

We also had a change of referencing system dropped on us with no support given as well.

I've actually emailed the course yeargroup leader today as a load have come back to campus and are freaking out they've been forgotten about with regard to what is happening with their placements etc - I don't want them in empty digs all weekend panicking so I asked if just a holding email could go out so that's not happening. We really do appreciate it's shit circumstances, not the staff (although I'm pissed off about my assignment mark).

Given the new lockdown I would raise this again. Maybe your SU can help?

I'm teaching online. Sure it's a nursing course and they are getting social contact in practice and glad of the flexibility but the students seem to be getting on quite well with it. Some of my students have kids at home etc so it's about flexibility at the moment.

@AaahWoof most books are available electronically now! I'm not sure that's a reasonable excuse tbh!

How would no detriment work now? For example we haven't submitted anything this year yet. Would they go by last year when half a class managed to get their grades up because of open book exam and 6+ months extentions? I wondered about that because some already started moaning about it in... October.

@lovelemoncurd we don't even have some core ones available online for multiple users at the same time in our library. Apparently the cost set by certain publishers is astronomical and some apparently don't even do that size multiple user licence. So I get that moan. Not everyone can pay for all the books.

We had, however, our lecturers innocently hinting that we can each download x pages, there is xxx pages in a book and there is xx of us so... Hint hint.😂

[quote lovelemoncurd]@AaahWoof most books are available electronically now! I'm not sure that's a reasonable excuse tbh! [/quote]
One of our key texts is available online and people got assigned a chapter to read. The library software was booting them out of the book after 2 minutes. We quite often have 1 copy of stuff available, or we're allowed a limited number of pages to download but the website doesn't run right so it thinks we've hit our cap but it hasn't displayed them.

I'm also dyslexic - I struggle reading words on a screen (I've got a really high level IQ and cognitive profile but then my ability to read, process and retain written text is through the floor) - I need much more effort to focus reading an ebook than a printed version of the same text. Normally I get round it using text to speech - but none of the software I have works with the library ebook setup - so my DSA adaptations are essentially useless.

How would no detriment work now? For example we haven't submitted anything this year yet. Would they go by last year when half a class managed to get their grades up because of open book exam and 6+ months extentions? I wondered about that because some already started moaning about it in... October.

It will be individual to the university. I only teach PG courses so can only offer that perspective but at my place it comes into play at the exam board. If a student's overall classification was lower than the pre-covid average then they were awarded the pre-covid average grade.

Thanks @SueEllenMishke. We had it last year just for an exam, not coursework so I wonder if that will be the same.

I did pre recorded segments together with one live hour a week. I also used canvas to create discussion forums, which I moderated. The moderation took a lot of time. But I felt it went well and the feedback was good. It was EXHAUSTING though. Much much more work than usual.

I think, when things return to normal, I will try and implement some of this. Perhaps make an argument for blended learning.

My twins did their finals (at Bristol) in the last term from home and online. Thankfully most of their exams were before the summer term. One was doing a dissertation on something where he needed the library and in fact used to go every day about 9 - 5pm to the library until CV19 struck at Easter. I think his lecturer gave him access to one book but it was all very very hard. His twin found some access to books on line and sent him a link but it was certainly a very different experience. They both did fine and got 2/1.

For people who work in a library (my son before CV19 even in university holidays with a very large nice house here used to go to the public library every day to work as that is how he works and he has an eye condition which means he cannot look at screens for long which is absolutely wretched now with things moving on line. His whole law course this year is 100% on line and no printed materials provided at all.

I have obviously offered to buy any book he needs and we have posted him materials printed off at home last term.