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? :(

Given the circumstances, I can report excellent attendance to my face-to-face sessions from both home and overseas students. One or two are still stuck abroad or are still isolating after returning.

Looking at the attendance records, it's around 80% or 95% if those joining via Teams are counted. 5% no shows.

what scraps of F2F teaching they're offered in these last few weeks

Well, our students have been almost full-time in person (those who feel safe to be so) since the dispensation for my discipline in March.

Far more than scraps - my colleagues have been assessing work in person all week, and I join them once it's 14 days from my 2nd vaccination (clinically vulnerable).

Mine would have liked scraps. Has had nothing. Teaching ends this week. Exams all on line and proctored. And been told next year will be on line again even if COVID safe. That's why parents get angry because some Unis are NOT trying to return to normal.

DD enjoyed her lab session yesterday afternoon. She was put with a couple of friends, and got praised by the supervisor for being meticulous with her measuring.

DD enjoyed her lab session yesterday afternoon. She was put with a couple of friends, and got praised by the supervisor for being meticulous with her measuring.

I note that LSE and St Andrew’s have announced that next year will be partly online.

Leeds Uni students aren’t happy and one has started a petition.
thetab.com/uk/leeds/2021/05/14/university-of-leeds-student-starts-petition-demanding-for-in-person-learning-next-academic-year-54563

I am wondering rather cynically if unis want to keep lectures online as it enables them to increase the number of places on a course without worrying about the capacity of the lecture halls 🤔

My university is planning on being back to normal.

I met with our timetable person yesterday to confirm this.

I'm developing a blended offer because that's what students studying my course want but as a university our stance is on campus teaching which no social distancing- unless were told otherwise by the government.

Bristol planning on doing all Law exams as on line open book from now on. Several other courses saying going to be open book (not DDs). And they are keeping blended learning as 'students like it'. Even though students have not had it - it's been 99% on line. First years yet to step foot in a lecture theatre.
Come September I hope they complain and get angry, it's not good enough.

@Decorhate

I am wondering rather cynically if unis want to keep lectures online as it enables them to increase the number of places on a course without worrying about the capacity of the lecture halls 🤔

I think it's certainly part of the reason where I work - we have issues with timetabling without the added fun of any COVID related measures. Universities have expanded for financial stability with only a vague promise of an infrastructure (both staff and buildings) to follow

If you read the statement from Leeds they have stated that seminars, tutorials and practicals will all be on campus.
It's only the large lectures which will be online and these are generally a relatively small part of the learning experience because in pedagogical terms they're the least effective.
It sounds like students at Leeds will be getting a significant amount of on campus teaching which is supplemented by online/recorded lectures.

This approach is actually very effective.

But it's not what they want. And if it's such a good idea why was it not done ore COVID ?
Meanwhile my DDs eyesight continues to deteriorate due to the 10+ hours on a screen each day. Optician told her to keep off a screen. So that's the end of her degree then.

People make friends when they regularly see the same people. Going in person to lectures and chatting outside, while we waited for the lectures to start etc was part of the whole experience. Sitting in my little room watching lectures on line would have been so depressing in comparison. I thought we were meant to be looking after the mental health of young people these days.

@mumsneedwine

But it's not what they want. And if it's such a good idea why was it not done ore COVID ? Meanwhile my DDs eyesight continues to deteriorate due to the 10+ hours on a screen each day. Optician told her to keep off a screen. So that's the end of her degree then.

It's not blended learning if she's spending 10 + hours a day on a screen. You had a number of us agree with you - it should like her university has handled it poorly.

However, If you read what I've written I've explained that blended learning involves a significant amount of on campus teaching.
A number of us have explained that we were moving to a blended approach pre covid. This was moving at a relatively slow pace at my university because it's actually a significant financial investment to ensure you have the IT infrastructure and at my university you have to have completed a module on online pedagogy before you can run/teach a blended course. Something I've had to do this last year alongside the busiest, most stressful year of my career.

All of this has been accelerated because we were forced to deliver online. We now have the IT infrastructure, staff are more confident and in many cases the students have told us they like it!

You will find that a lot of businesses, companies etc are changing their practices because they will have evaluated what worked and what didn't over the last year. Why would universities be any different?
I'm a governor at a secondary school and a parent of a child at primary school and they will be implementing changes as a result of this year .

@SerenadeOfTheSchoolRun

People make friends when they regularly see the same people. Going in person to lectures and chatting outside, while we waited for the lectures to start etc was part of the whole experience. Sitting in my little room watching lectures on line would have been so depressing in comparison. I thought we were meant to be looking after the mental health of young people these days.

Seminars, tutorials, practicals will all be on campus. Larger lectures account for a very small amount of teaching.

Lots of opportunities for students to meet each other!

Problem is the definition of blended varies so much. DD was told last September her course would be blended for 1st term due to restrictions. When she got her timetable that consisted of one in person day every 3rd week, rest online. So 90% online.
Individual courses need to be more specific about their definition of blended as most of us would assume nearer 50/50.

@wooliewoo

Problem is the definition of blended varies so much. DD was told last September her course would be blended for 1st term due to restrictions. When she got her timetable that consisted of one in person day every 3rd week, rest online. So 90% online. Individual courses need to be more specific about their definition of blended as most of us would assume nearer 50/50.

Last year was tricky and because we had emergency covid regulations things were changed quickly and without re-validations.

Going forward this should be an issue - and if it is then complain!!

Universities have to be very transparent in what they are offering so it should be clear what is meant by blended learning. I'm currently going through a re-validation to formalise a blended approach and I have to be very clear how the course will be delivered.

**shouldn't be an issue

Thanks @DelBocaVista that's useful to know

yeah, dc blended learning at the moment consists of everything online except going to the library. But as even booking space in the library is difficultt (apparently lots of students book a place "just in case"), he hasn't been able to do much in the library either.

As far as attendences of Team/Zoom meeting of my secondary school children, me, my colleagues, yes, good attendence but unfortunatly that often just means computer on, logged in to the meeting and doing other stuff rather than engaging in the teaching/meeting.

@Notagardener

yeah, dc blended learning at the moment consists of everything online except going to the library. But as even booking space in the library is difficultt (apparently lots of students book a place "just in case"), he hasn't been able to do much in the library either.

As far as attendences of Team/Zoom meeting of my secondary school children, me, my colleagues, yes, good attendence but unfortunatly that often just means computer on, logged in to the meeting and doing other stuff rather than engaging in the teaching/meeting.

That doesn't mean it will be like that going forward. Unfortunately for a large chunk of the last academic year universities haven't been allowed to teach on campus. It's not all their fault.

People need to start looking at when their university is doing from September. And look at the detail but just the sensationalist headlines!!

As long as we stay out of lockdown the majority of universities will be offering a significant amount of on campus teaching.

Online open book exams would be much more relevant to practice than pure memory based stuff to be fair. As you're not expected to know all precedent names instantly so much as principles then remind yourself of the exact details.

With a sensible time limit or massively increased expectations of accuracy (with a longer time limit) it would be a generally good thing and reward effective practical skills over a photographic memory for a random pair of names.

My friendships at uni (law) were from my sports club and my tutor groups rather than those I happened to sit next to in the massive lectures. Same with my legal practice course, lectures were massive and impersonal, still friends with my tutor group!

But did you sit with your tutor group in the lectures? We had about 4 massive lectures a day and our tutorials were in very small groups. If given the option to go to my first lecture in my pyjamas rather than cycling across the city in the icy wind I would have been tempted but wouldn’t have felt as much a part of things.

@SerenadeOfTheSchoolRun

But did you sit with your tutor group in the lectures? We had about 4 massive lectures a day and our tutorials were in very small groups. If given the option to go to my first lecture in my pyjamas rather than cycling across the city in the icy wind I would have been tempted but wouldn’t have felt as much a part of things.

When did you attend university? What subject did you do?

From a teaching a learning perspective we know that large lectures with little interaction are not the most effective teaching method.

I know people are having a field day slating universities and feel this is further proof of how lazy we are but they are missing the point.
Blended /Hybrid learning has been on the cards for a while and this has just been accelerated due to Covid - mainly because universities were forced to implement an infrastructure much earlier than planned!

@DelBocaVista brava for KOKO !

Everything you say is reasonable, rational, and pedagogically informed. Most universities were investigating aspects of remote/online teaching before the pandemic.

Anyway, I"m now off for one of my twice-weekly C-19 tests, so I can be OK'd to teach in person later this week.

But I'm just a lazy lying academic ...