To best respond to student queries as quickly as possible, the HND team have stepped away from the traditional 9 to 5 working day. They are scheduling in Google Meets as and when students need them and adopting a “flipped classroom” approach where reading/research is done in the students’ own time. Discussions are then had either via Forum or via face to face Meets.
Google Meets has come to play a significant role, not only for group advisory sessions but, more significantly, for 1:1 tutorials. Engagement levels have been impressive, particularly with second-year students, where 100% have taken part in at least one 1:1 session. Lecturers are also adding audio to their slides by using Screencastify and the Microsoft slide recorder function.
Course Manager Alec Dyer explains,
“As course manager, I take personal responsibility for my learners so I understand the importance of regular communication. I send out weekly updates via email, often with an audio file attached. I keep a log of when I last had an interaction with each learner to ensure nobody slips through the net and is left feeling completely isolated.”
“Students are trained in using the Google Suite for Education early on in the course and are actively encouraged to use the various applications owing to its collaborative and accessibility benefits. Learners are sharing draft work with lecturers who can comment and respond to queries in real-time.”
“The learners are currently undertaking group work in a couple of modules, so they have been encouraged to establish social communication links with each other to better collaborate. This not only helps them achieve a better grade, but it maintains the social element of studying that can so easily be lost when working remotely. It provides another social group for the learners to share their thoughts and concerns with whether that be academic or personal.”