Online teaching during Covid 19

How has the transition to online teaching affected students?

I left England at the beginning of March and returned back to my home country; Sweden. The initial challenge was to accept the change and understand that it was beyond my control. I found it difficult to say goodbye to all my friends as none of us knew when we would see each other again. We stayed in touch and continued our conversations through text and video calls daily. I resumed my studies through online teaching and finished the last essays of my second term at university. The transition to online teaching went pretty smoothly, with some lecturers scheduling advisor meetings on video before the exams which in the end helped tremendously.

The exams were then held through an online link, where students could submit their exam answers. The university library had made much of the literature accessible online, making it easy for us students to find legitimate sources for our coursework. However, the biggest challenge was to stay motivated throughout the last deadlines of the year.

One of my friends, Justas, aged 19 said:

“When the pandemic initially started to take Europe by storm, our academic year finished early and we had to find motivation to meet all our deadlines during a very uncertain time. Due to everything happening around you, motivation was very difficult to find. Online teaching itself was definitely unnatural at first, but I think I got used to it quick.

I will no doubt miss in-person lectures and classes, but it is not as much of an issue as I thought it would be at first. Now I feel like I have reasonably acclimatized to the current state of everything and I feel much more comfortable going into the next year knowing that some of the teaching will be online based.”

This new way of online teaching through online platforms has become the reality for students all over the globe and the idea of online learning has become less daunting than before. When we arrive back to campus in October, many things will be different but hopefully will the joy of reunion facilitate the transition back to university life.

Feel free to contact me for more info about my story or share your own enthusiasm. Other questions or your own tips for a Fresher like me in the comments below