Scientist; In Isolation! … And of course we lost a whole week of teaching so the syllabus would have to be adjusted some- how without overly compromising the module’s learning outcomes. As a team we had virtual group discussions and made some decisions: we agreed that good way to proceed would be to use written Discussion Groups for seminar classes. We would keep the groups open for 24 hours from the start of the timetabled seminar. This would allow those who would join later to contribute to the discus- sion threads and tutors to log back in episodically to moderate discussions and eventually wrap up. For lectures, we could afford to be a bit more flexi- ble – whether with narration or annotations, we could augment Powerpoint slides and if need be, meet up with students in ‘Ultra Collaborate’. But the latter immediately excluded students who couldn’t attend their timetabled lecture. So the race was on to adapt our ambi- tions for seminars and workshops to our new mode of delivery. We needed to tell students what our new strategy was, do short recordings or send emails in which we outlined the new rules of engagement with the syllabus, upload the revised timetable of each discipline to GCULearn, control the flow of email so that we wouldn’t crumble under the weight of requests, etc… and teach! On Day 1, of course we experienced prob- lems! Two discussion boards had mysteriously disappeared and had to be recreated on the wire, and one set of students did not log on. So our time was spent monitoring what was going, evaluating our approach, making adjustments and sending emails to students to remind them to join their seminar group! We’ll keep monitoring as we go along, adjusting where we need to. But one is for sure: it’s been a steep learning curve but we think we’ve got all bases covered. People ask whether things will be the same after this pandemic is brought under control. At the very least, I think we’ll have picked up some nice new tips to improve how accessible our material! All the same, human interaction is an important aspect of the learning and teaching ex- perience and I look forward to resuming normal service as soon as we can. Online Teaching? Coming Right Up … con- tinued from page 1 Home schooling a teenager as well as being a student with my own workload was a daunting thought for me, especially when it comes to Maths! Although my son, Liam, is in secondary school and used to doing his own homework, home schooling is quite a different experience especially under such strange circumstances. His school were prepared before its closure and issued all pu- pils with access to an online app where they can find their work but also email teachers with any questions (much to my relief!). With such uncertainty going on in the world I know that Liam understands what’s happening and that may cause him some anxiety so we have decided to take a more relaxed ap- proach to his learning. The school are uploading work on a weekly ba- sis and at a steady pace which he is finding that 2-3 hours per day is manageable. I think it’s important to keep a daily routine as much as possible whilst giving him some ex- tra free time for exercise and learn- ing something different. It’s been difficult trying to juggle my own studies and having a family so taking some time out to teach him some life skills has been good for both of us. So far we have taught him to cook a meal, do some ironing and he has spent some time fixing his motorbike with his dad. I know how much he is missing his friends and football but we are trying to remain positive and hopefully it will teach us all to appreciate the smaller things in life! I also think it’s a good opportunity for him to experience studying from home and time management for when he goes to college or university. Home Schooling in Isolation Our Extended Social Science Family Members were set an Isolation Challenge; Draw us a pic- ture of what happens at University! The results were phenome- nonal ... Charlotte, age 9, reflects on what her Mum, Kayleigh, does at Uni. Ava, age 9, depicts her Mum, Elisa, in a lecture eating snacks and being confused. Also featured is, Dr Annette Robertson. Harley, age 6, tells us his Mum, Jen, spends all her time in the University gardens, not in class. Owen, age 5, skillfully portrays his Aunt Nicole at University with her trou- sers on back- wards. The love hearts depict the snap-chats they send before school, and Nicole takes them to Uni to make sure she’s brainy. Theo, age 2, has interpreted a chaotic day in the office for his Mum, Dr Nancy Lombard. Jason, age 8, depicts his sister Starr at her laptop, with a coffee and a bin. Stanley, age 4, demonstrating his trademark flair for the abstract presents a conceptual piece of a cross between mummy (Dr Nancy Lombard), and a dinosaur with a big bitey mouth. Aisha, age 13, recreates a typical scene of her brother Kai, in a lecture. Aisha’s talent for detail captures Kai in the front row, a couple at the back holding hands, a student with love hearts in his eyes, another student going crazy and an alien.
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