Another year online?

[Ellewoods20]

Despite the easing of restrictions in June, some universities have informed students that lectures will remain online in the next academic year. What’s the point? :(

Totally agree @Duplobuplo There’s always a step up from 1st to 2nd year that some students find challenging. But the 2021-22 year will be back to as normal as we can manage, government regulations and laws notwithstanding, and that means form deadlines, evidence needed for mitigation, action taken after any unevidenced absence, and independent learning required.

I hope, though, that this year will have given them a sense of what they can do under difficult circumstances and a sense of real achievement from that.

@Stirmecrazy. We’ve been told we’ll have a permanent blended learning approach as it’s what the students want.

If lecturers are so sure that students prefer online learning, why aren't the Uni's giving prospective students the option? Instead, we're, again, getting weasel worded statements about what the Uni "hopes" and mentioning blended learning etc. Like last year, Uni's WILL know what their "Plan A" will be for September as lecturers/staff not only need to plan, but also need to arrange travel/accommodation if they're not local to their Uni (i.e. live abroad etc). Why aren't they communicating this to their prospective students? This time last year, the "instruction" was sent out to lecturers at my son's Uni not to plan to return to campus at all for the 20/21 academic year, except for the practical/lab courses. Yet, their students were still conned into believing that there'd be "blended learning" including F2F seminars/tutorials etc which the Uni knew weren't going to happen, particularly when lecturers weren't even going to be in the country! The least Unis can do is be honest, open and transparent about their Plan A for September. We all know things can change, especially in the midst of a pandemic, and we all accept that things may change if the covid situation worsens.

[quote CovidCorvid]@Stirmecrazy. We’ve been told we’ll have a permanent blended learning approach as it’s what the students want.[/quote]
Where is the research for that statement?

@CovidCorvid

I’ve just spent a bit over 6k on a garden office. By the time I’ve bought a desk, chair, heater and filing cabinet and printer it will be getting on for 7k. Believe me I’d rather teach on campus and be allowed back to my office than have to spend this money.

Surely that means you'll be less likely to want to return to "normal" face to face teaching and lectures at Uni? If you've spent so much doing that, you won't want it to be sat empty in your garden whilst you have to commute to campus every day?

@Kazzyhoward. It’s been looked at I believe on a course by course/school by school basis. Our students were invited to a focus group meeting. I didn’t attend as it was run by student experience staff. As a lecturer it’s not my decision. Though I certainly have had multiple students say to me they hope we stay online. 🤷‍♀️

I suspect the university are delighted. It’ll save money. As a lecturer we’ve been told to give up our offices. So I need somewhere to work when I’m not teaching whether that’s online or face to face.

@Kazzyhoward I think you're overestimating the university management there. Believe me, we get very little notice of how we are supposed to deliver or timetabling. In a 'normal' year our timetable comes out about a week before term. Try finding childcare around that! And last summer they left it right to the wire to decide how things would be delivered. This year is no different which is why I won't be recording any content until October because I know they'll suddenly decide students want a different form of delivery and change their minds on whatever system they have in place.

[quote AllThatisSolid]@Stirmecrazy The plural of anecdote is not data.

But there you go again, basically saying an academic on this thread is not telling the truth ….[/quote]
I never questioned your truth I just said I would love to see the research. So don’t put words in my mouth I actually believe the research is true why would you make it up. Thats why I would like to see it but I think the premise may not be based on what students are experiencing in real life and I would have liked to understand the demographic of your catchment population . I am naturally curious I know if I polled everyone of my DD’s friends all 18/19 they all without exception would prefer face to face . So you can take that chip off your shoulder

Even if I do go back face to face it won’t be sat empty. I’d go to campus for a face to face lecture and then back home to work in my garden office when not teaching. I won’t have an office on campus and as a lecturer you really only spend approx half your time actually teaching.

I’d love to be told plans have changed and I can keep my campus office. If that happens the garden office will happily be converted to a she cave. 😁

Nearly every parent has said their child has had a bad experience yet there is little acknowledgment that moving back to normal will ever happen. Our poor kids. What a rubbish time to be young. And what a stunted education they are going to receive. Makes me so sad for them.

Don't forget some of us also have dcs at uni. Both mine are for example. And yes one has struggled if I'm honest. But that's a function of the pandemic and Gov rules. Not the lecturers. and I'm sorry but yes this dc was one that watched lectures from bed with video switched off

I have a Dd at uni. She initially hated online stuff to the extent she interrupted for a year. But now she’s got used to it and said yesterday she hopes it stays online, I was amazed.

[quote CovidCorvid]@Kazzyhoward. It’s been looked at I believe on a course by course/school by school basis. Our students were invited to a focus group meeting. I didn’t attend as it was run by student experience staff. As a lecturer it’s not my decision. Though I certainly have had multiple students say to me they hope we stay online. 🤷‍♀️

I suspect the university are delighted. It’ll save money. As a lecturer we’ve been told to give up our offices. So I need somewhere to work when I’m not teaching whether that’s online or face to face.[/quote]
So Unis should give students the choice, or at least be fully honest and transparent. How about they offer both for a trial period and review how popular each was and outcomes. You know, a proper research based, scientific study rather than a random group of students in a focus group meeting!

How can you run both without doubling the staff?

Guess you’ll never please everybody. All students on my course had the opportunity to attend the focus group and it was an 80% turnout. So not just a random group.

@CovidCorvid

Guess you’ll never please everybody. All students on my course had the opportunity to attend the focus group and it was an 80% turnout. So not just a random group.

But it's still a "self selecting" group, i.e. doing the same course, at the same Uni. That just means a group of students at your Uni doing your course prefer online. You can't extrapolate that to all Unis, all courses, all ages, etc. A tiny sample is anecdote, not research.

Surely that means you'll be less likely to want to return to "normal" face to face teaching and lectures at Uni? If you've spent so much doing that, you won't want it to be sat empty in your garden whilst you have to commute to campus every day?

I've always worked from home at least 2 days a week. I've always enjoyed the mix of on campus and wfh. I really miss being on campus and can't wait to bet back to that regularly

You can't extrapolate that to all Unis, all courses, all ages, etc. A tiny sample is anecdote, not research.

Oh the irony....

@kazzyhoward. I’m not extrapolating it to all courses or all universities. I was talking purely about my course.

I’d said we were keeping a blended learning approach as it’s what the students wanted and you asked how I knew that. So I was answering your question about my course. Wasn’t discussing other universities.

I’ve no interest or influence in what other universities or other courses are doing.

"And my uni has done lots of research -a lot of our students are happynfor lectures to be online.Trust me the unis have done enough research so they do know what students are happy happy with or will out up with. Our admissions are up again this year so students are definitely not deserting top RG unis no matter what their teaching provision is like. "

I can't accept this. A lot of research? And most students prefer sitting in a small dark dingy single room (joke ) doing it all online? I call bullshit.

@Oblomov21

"And my uni has done lots of research -a lot of our students are happynfor lectures to be online.Trust me the unis have done enough research so they do know what students are happy happy with or will out up with. Our admissions are up again this year so students are definitely not deserting top RG unis no matter what their teaching provision is like. "

I can't accept this. A lot of research? And most students prefer sitting in a small dark dingy single room (joke ) doing it all online? I call bullshit.

Lectures online doesn't equal all online. Bless, did you think that's all that happens at uni?

"permanent blended learning approach as it’s what the students want."

Yes, I'm sure most would agree to that. Until they realise how much of the blended is entirely on-line, totally isolating and you question what the uni experience is that you are actually getting for your £6k?

No titchy. I do know, had grasped that different courses had varying different aspects.

The best thing is force staff in, make them press record when they start speaking and then off when they stop (just like many lectures before covid) and then those students who want to turn up can attend and those not can listen after.

@Xenia

The best thing is force staff in, make them press record when they start speaking and then off when they stop (just like many lectures before covid) and then those students who want to turn up can attend and those not can listen after.

While you could force staff to teach on campus you can't force them to record their lectures.

I have no issues with it but some of my colleagues will not record their lectures and this is their right.

Blended learning does not mean online only but for example recorded lectures and face to face seminars. To those who say they would like to see the research - in practice, thats commercial property i.e. universities are enterprises. In the same way, I assume McDonalds etc have done their marketing research about their customers so do unis. They are under no obligation to reveal it to anyone same as McDonalds. But yes, unis wont set stuff up that loses them customers domestic or international. But the reality is that all students hope to go to an RG uni so they dont need to do as much as post92 ones because their customers mainly just care about the piece of paper at the end of their degree in order to impress the employers. Unis are not school but businesses now.