Experience Of Online Learning And Self Isolation
Universities around the world have had to adjust their teaching to now be done online in the wake of the COVID 19 pandemic. To find out how this experience has affected students, we spoke with four international students from St Petersburg University in Russia. They shared their online learning experiences, tips for staying productive during self isolation, and their thoughts on the future of education. Let exploce My Experience Of Online Learning And Self Isolation below.
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Experience Of Online Learning And Self Isolation
How has your university adjusted to online learning?
Keti Dubva (Master of Corporate Finance): In my view, the university has done an incredible job transitioning to online learning. If I’m not mistaken, this was done in just three days. Janet Carr (Master of Geoinformatics and Cartography): We still have some hands on classes teaching Bachelor students in our department that we need to conduct using the training method remote creation. So we ended up resuming them online.
Abdul Kadir Ameyaw (Master of Management, CEMS): Very fast. I think the university was able to adjust quickly due to the excellent technical team as well as the IT biased nature of the School of Management. Since online platforms like Blackboard are used and all professors are well versed in how to use it, adjustment has been made easy. That is once of My Experience Of Online Learning And Self Isolation.
How is the research process structured?
Abdul Kadir: The studies are much better structured than I expected. I don’t really see a difference between online and offline structures. Team work is done in separate channels, we have allotted time slots for those discussions. When the time is up, we join the common channel to continue the class.
My Russian exam must be taken in written form. The camera was on during that time so the teacher could see what we were doing. I think that’s fair.
Exams are held online, however a few times we encountered some problems due to the quality of the internet connection and the hardware used by the students. It would also be nice if universities implemented an official on video mode, to force every participant to turn on video and microphone when needed. It makes the interaction more vivid and human.
Janet: Right now I’m focusing on my thesis. Even before self-isolating, I practiced distance learning while working on my thesis because my supervisor works in Italy, so it’s not something new to me. We’ve been using Skype, Whatsapp, email communication, so quarantine doesn’t really change anything.
What do you lack most when studying at home?
I can’t say I’m missing something specific, or of inferior quality. I can only say that I miss the college physically, I loved being there, especially knowing that it was my last semester but it was not something in the hands of the university.
Kevin: I miss interacting with people, making lasting friendships, which was extremely important to me during college. These connections are very valuable in the future business and building those relationships is absolutely essential. Experience Of Online Learning And Self Isolation.
Janet: Our stay at home affects everyone, not just me. We all need to meet our friends, laugh and share with them, I find that healthy. But since it was done for our safety, we had no choice but to sit inside and listen to every rule that was made. Of course, it wasn’t something we planned, it just happened and we needed to accept it. That is once of My Experience Of Online Learning And Self Isolation.
Abdul Kadir: I have no contact with humans. I love my course mates and my interactions with them during breaks. Go to lunch together, tell jokes, and more. It’s not the same online and I miss that. Also, the human aspect of the studies is lost a bit and for me it makes it a bit unnatural.
Has your personal productivity been affected by the move to online learning?
Keti: I don’t find it difficult to follow lectures and participate in group projects etc. So I will rate this experience as helpful, in terms of getting an idea of how to organize my work with people who are not close to me. I believe distance learning can really help us acquire the skill to freely adjust to change.
Abdul Kadir: I think I’m being too productive. I haven’t had any time off since locking the door. As a dual degree student, the requirements are really high and there are too many deadlines to meet so I have no choice but to be productive. I think my productivity improved when I switched to online learning.
I don’t have to waste time driving to college or in traffic. I could use that time to read an article, do an interview for my thesis or business project. I found the experience helpful. It could benefit me in the future in the sense that I now see college or work as a mindset and not a place. Experience Of Online Learning And Self Isolation.
