Remote studying is demanding for students. It is important to take this into consideration when planning your course. As a rule, studying remotely is more demanding for students than attending contact teaching.
The students that previously needed additional time in examinations will most likely need it in online exams as well. In some courses, examinations have been replaced with written assignments. In that case, additional time to complete the assignment may be necessary.
The schedule of a single course can seem relaxed, but students usually have several courses at the same time. If every course requires weekly assignments, the need for additional time rises from this combination of courses.
Examples
- Dyslexia causes a need for additional time for assignments and exams, if they include a lot of writing and reading.
- Attention deficit disorder makes independent studying difficult. Make sure you give clear instructions. Additional time can also be necessary. Some students can benefit from group assignments.
- Social anxiety or autism spectrum disorders can cause challenges in group activities. If a lecture based course has been replaced with group assignments, individual arrangements may be needed. Video conferences can also be difficult for some students, which can increase the risk of dropping the course. Different methods of group work can support studying in these situations.
Tips for teachers
- Pay attention to the clarity of your instructions on online platforms (short sentences, concrete examples).
- Be mindful of the students' stress levels; students can feel overwhelmed by e.g. the amount of assignments, unclear instructions, multiple group assignments, technical challenges and/or time management demands.
- Make sure the course material is easy to access.
- Be prepared to be flexible with deadlines, you can plan your policy about deadlines beforehand.
- Think about alternative ways of completing the course in advance.
- Contact students that seem to struggle with meeting deadlines.
Recording lectures
Due to the copyright protection of the teacher, the recording of the lecture is only allowed if the teacher has given permission for the recording. Therefore, the student must request separate permission from the teacher of each course to record the lecture. The teacher can discuss with the student whether simply recording the sound is a sufficient operation or whether a picture is needed. In most cases, audio alone will be enough if lecture slides are available.
In both cases, the recording must be made in such a way that other students do not appear in or hear the recording. Otherwise, the permit must also be obtained from these students. What is important, however, is that all students know that the lecture is recorded, no one is shown on the recording and the recording is not published anywhere. It might also be reasonable to agree that the recording will stop immediately after the lecture so that everyone has the opportunity to ask questions or discuss the lecture when the recording is not on.
Permission to photograph should be requested and given written. The permit should make it clear that although the student has been given the right to record the lecture for his or her own use, the permit does not entitle the student to show or publish the recording to outsiders. Even an oral agreement to record is valid, but in cases of misuse, proving an oral agreement is challenging.