The Academic year 20/21 is a strange one with a lot of uncertainties. Are we going to offer courses completely online, in a hybrid form, or on campus? Now that September is over, it’s time to take stock. What is going well and what is going less smoothly? A few lecturers and students tell us how they have experienced this first month.
So far, it’s going relatively well
Most lecturers and students agree that things are going relatively well so far. Liesbeth De Strooper, lecturer Arts and Culture Studies, says “I am coordinating two courses and have adopted a different approach for both, which seems to work well. I try to motivate the students as much as possible to just follow the online lectures ‘live’.” The lectures of Matthijs Leendertse, lecturer Media & Communication, are in hybrid form “I must say it is nice to also see students in real life again even though it is in a massive lecture hall with relatively few students.” And Jasmin Seijbel, PhD Candidate History, gives classes to first year students on campus. “I really enjoy meeting our new students and I think it is important for them to get to know each other and the university.”
Second year IBHistory student Megan King adds that “the lectures and tutorials are going as smoothly as possible right now! I have been on top of all my work which is essential for staying organized during online education.” And Master Cultural Economics and Entrepreneurship student Marco Aperti is noticing the extra commitment of professors, “dealing with meetings on zoom, shared folders on google drive and synchronized calendars. That is definitely remarkable!”
There are some struggles
But with such a short and uncertain timeframe for preparation, it is, of course, only logical that some things are not going so well. Thomas Calkins III, lecturer Arts and Culture Studies, has mentioned that “there are some online functions that are not working as advertised, and Canvas can be tricky as well. You only need to miss something as simple as clicking a button, and students can’t access materials that you’ve promised them.” And Matthijs Leendertse sometimes feels like driving in the dark because he can’t see all the faces of his students on Zoom when sharing slides.
Master Media & Creative Industries student Lisanne Storm is experiencing some trouble with Zoom: “my Internet connection at home is really unstable, so when I have a Zoom meeting, it's sometimes difficult to follow the conversation.” Student Marco Aperti sees that support staff, professors and students are all walking the extra mile to catch up. But he does wonder why it’s not possible to just slow down during these unprecedented times.
Missing real-life contact
To the question 'What do you miss most compared to an academic year without COVID-19?' all participating lecturers and students gave the same answer: real-life, face-to-face interaction between lecturers and students. Thomas Calkins III: “I miss students coming up to me after class and wanting to discuss an idea further, which they don’t do as much after a video conference.” Jasmin Seijbel wants to add that she misses the longer tutorials during which you can have in-depth discussions with the students on the study topics. And Liesbeth De Strooper misses the contact with colleagues and the commute to Rotterdam. “I teach from my living room, and it is a luxury to be able to do that. However, the separation between work and private life is completely gone now, and I do wonder how healthy it all is in the end.” Second year IBCoM student Agustin Medina has mentioned that he “misses the spontaneity of going to campus without having to make a reservation for study space and the certainty of knowing how education would look like.”
(Recorded) videos are here to stay
To end on a positive note, there are also things that work remarkably well. Cases that we might want to maintain when education shifts back to campus. For example, Matthijs Leendertse has started making short explainer videos on key concepts. “This seems to be working well for students to prepare for the readings and to prepare for the online seminars. And it is easier to work with guest lecturers as it does not all have to be live.” And Thomas Calkins III has found a way to simulate small discussion groups by utilizing Zoom’s breakout rooms, which instructors can use to randomly assign students, and then can check in intermittently. “I think this would actually be more difficult in a lecture room, and probably more disruptive.”
Students Megan King and Agustin Medina stated that “having recorded lectures and tutorials uploaded is very helpful when it comes to studying for exams.” They hope this will continue after the pandemic.