We’re putting everything in place so you’ll get a great learning experience and lots of support when you start your course this autumn.
We want to do this in a flexible way that works for you and follows government advice around keeping safe.
- We are confident that our blended and online delivery will provide the same high quality teaching we have delivered for many years. Virtual teaching technologies bring new opportunities and we are looking forward to giving you a dynamic and engaging learning experience
- We intend to provide a blended learning experience which incorporates live, interactive, and on-demand online learning, alongside in-person education on campus for certain modules
- Whilst there will be variations by module, teaching will include ‘lectures’ which consist of three elements: (i) some preparatory material for you to access on line, (ii) a live, interactive session on Microsoft Teams to develop your learning, and (iii) a post-lecture activity for you and us to assess you have understood the material.
The diagram below illustrates how these fit together to give you a connected and progressive academic experience.
Find out more about Microsoft Teams here. Microsoft Teams is a shared space for chat, video calling and working on documents with your seminar groups, lecturers and other students. Please make time to read through the instructions via these web links before commencing your studies. Microsoft Training videos can be accessed here.
- In addition there will be practical teaching or laboratory classes. Social distancing must be observed in these sessions which means you may be asked to do some preparatory material online, and possibly some practical work in your rooms.
- For Engineering programmes, we intend to offer laboratory sessions on core engineering skills. There will also be workshops using computer software. These may be run on your own computers while running Microsoft Teams as an interactive class. Finally, there may be weekly tutorials offering the opportunity to consider and discuss important aspects of professional engineering. We may run these using Microsoft Teams, or as face to face groups depending on risk assessment.
- For Digital Media programmes, we intend to offer workshops and practical sessions for modules requiring specific software or hardware resources. There will also be seminars for some modules. You are welcome to use your own computers and resources if you have them available. There will be opportunities for you to engage with your lecturers throughout your studies, either online using Microsoft Teams, or face to face depending on risk assessment.
We are looking forward to welcoming you to campus! Our approach to blended learning will offer you an opportunity for safe personal engagement with your fellow learners and lecturers. We think it is important for you to be and feel part of a real-life learning community as this will help promote your learning and forms a vital component of your student experience
Students who are unable to come to campus will be offered the opportunity to study the first term (Autumn 2020) entirely virtually – we will be providing online alternatives for in-person teaching, though it may be necessary to take some practical activities in the second or third terms where the learning outcomes are essential to your degree. We will do our very best to foster community spirit for students in the online environment as well as on campus.
We are very much looking forward to welcoming our students – returning and new – to EDA in the autumn!