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Student stories: "To study in pandemic times" (SWE)

Documentation from Lunch 'n' Learn 20 January 2021

Published Jan 21, 2021

Students are not a homogeneous group and the experiences of studying at a distance during the pandemic are different. But the common denominator is that the distancing is stressful in different ways. In this webinar, student Teo Elmfeldt gives examples of what life as a student is like right now and which different teaching methods and digital solutions work well and which ones work not so well. Here is documentation (film and link to presentation) from the webinar. Here you find the documentation, film and link to the presentation from the webinar (in Swedish).

[The video initially only has machine-generated captions but these will be updated with manual editing of subtitles that better matches the content.]

About the webinar

Students no homogeneous group

Teo began by explaining what "type" of student he is and is not, to remind that students are not a homogeneous group when it comes to needs and conditions. KTH students' experience of the study situation right now varies, and as research for this presentation he searched for the different "voices" and experiences that are important to highlight. Teo is both an "ordinary student" and has worked with student influence at KTH and has through his network been able to bring out more perspectives such as: the situation for international students, students with compensatory support, newly admitted students, etc. The presentation does not claim to deliver "a truth" or to talk about the special challenges that disproportionately affect different student groups. But the ambition is still to broaden the perspectives. In his presentation, Teo thus highlights important and interesting aspects of distance education and pandemic times and leaves "something for everyone" to take on to their own activities.

Digital teaching methods that work well/less well

Teo brings up examples of which digital teaching methods work well and what does not work well with these. Those reasoned around are:

  • Zoom lecture
  • Recorded lectures
  • Blackboard
  • PowerPoint
  • iPad/tablet
  • Exams via Zoom
  • Open book
  • Sit-down exams

We also get examples of "what good courses do right", for example:

  • Assignments in pairs/small groups valuable both for continuous examination and to get a context for the course. Different learning methods.
  • Do you have a PPT, publish it!
  • Try transcribing videos. Also publish the text independently from the video!
  • Shorter video segments so it is easy to find back when yor wonders something.
  • Make it clear when students are expected to interact.
  • Have a clear information flow on Canvas.

"Wish list"

Towards the end of the presentation, we also get to see a "wish list" of things that could be improved in the future:

  • All courses must have assignments, which one should explicitly work with in pairs/small groups.
  • That everyone does their best to minimize the amount of Zoom exams, possibly the scope and length of them by introducing other elements.
  • Record lectures.
  • Publish lecture material.

Presenter

Teo Elmfeldt, student in the Master's Programme, Applied and Computational Mathematics. He has also worked actively with student influence at KTH for the past two years. Teo will present both his own perspective and how KTH students generally perceived the teaching during the pandemic.

Presentation file

The presentation material is available next to the video when you are logged in to KTH Play (log in at the top right of KTH Play).

Presentation on Google docs (external page, in Swedish) .

Tip! The open network meeting 22/1 will have the same theme, so for those of you who want to follow up and discuss more about this, you are welcome to participate. Please note that the network meeting will be held in Swedish. Calendar post "Open network meeting about KTH's education in connection with Covid-19" .

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Last changed: Jan 21, 2021