Kent Union have launched the De-Stress platform to support students during COVID-19 and the exam period. They have created a website that acts as a hub for the advice, support and activities that are available over the next few weeks.

From simple revision tips to giant games, they are here to help you get through this time so you can fulfil your potential. If you need to talk to someone about your exams, you can contact the Advice Centre who will provide free, confidential and impartial advice.

There are also resources from the Student Learning Advisory Service and Student Support and Learning. The platform is not just work and no play, there are lots of activities for you to get involved with such as quizzes and you can learn a new skill such as knitting and cooking.

We have three more weeks left of self isolation and the University are keen to help you though this stressful period. As well as numerous online resources to assist your studies we also have tips on how to stay healthy and how to manage your stress.

A video on how to cope with anxiety during a crisis has been created by Carers Trust East Midlands and Gerard McGill, who is a counsellor at the University.

It covers how to manage your anxiety, how to spot triggers and the small things you can change that will make your life less stressful.

The short video shares tips on how to create a daily routine, implementing exercise, having a healthy diet and how to communicate with your family and friends.

You can read a story with some more tips on how to manage your anxiety.

Studying remotely can have its advantages – curating your own environment, working to your own timescale not to mention saving time and money. we spoke to three students who are making the most out of studying at home.

Zoe Horsham – MSc in Social and Applied Psychology

How are you coping with studying remotely?

I’m really enjoying having the opportunity to study remotely. I find that the use of online meetings for lectures saves a lot of commuting time and gives me more flexibility within my day.

Which online resources are you using?

I am using Zoom for meetings/lectures, and Kentplayer for recordings of lectures when livestreams aren’t available, which is accessed via Moodle. Moodle is my main source for all of my assignment information as well as where I can submit my coursework.

Give us an outline of your day

I aim to wake up at around 8am, and the first thing I do is make a list of all the things I want to achieve that day (taken from a list of weekly targets I set up on Monday evening). I aim to keep a 9 to 5 structure for my workday as best as I can. I work in my room or in the garden in the nice weather until around 1pm.

Then I have a break during which I take my allowed exercise time and use it to walk my dog. I aim to get back and start work again at around 2pm, and continue until 5pm, trying to complete as many items on the list as possible. Any that aren’t completed get pushed to the next day’s list, which I’ll add to the following morning. Then in the evenings I relax by watching videos and surfing the internet, and playing video games.

Sam Walker – BSC biomedical science and I’m in my final year

How are you coping with studying remotely?

I have found studying remotely much more effective for me as I have a family and commitments, so being able to work from home and log onto sessions via my phone etc enables me to carry on what I’m doing at home with the kids and work. There are moments when it’s hard as well, for instance when you have deadlines and it makes it much harder to try get them done in peace without the kids under your feet. However, studying remotely gives you so much more flexibility as all the sessions are recorded so if I am busy with something at home I can log onto the session in the evening once the kids are sorted and catch up then.

Which online resources are you using?

I have been using Zoom to enable face to face chats with lecturers and students during live revision sessions. WhatsApp has been used to ask each other questions in relation to study, also we have a group on Facebook with a few lecturers where we can post questions. We have access to Moodle which contains all the recordings and slides for the lectures, also we have full access to the library online as well. I’ve never struggled to find the information I needed from home yet due to the resources available.

Give us an outline of your day

Normally I get up between 8am and 10am depending on when the kids come in to wake me up. Generally I will lie in bed, log onto my student portal and check my emails, our question forums and if anything has been scheduled for the day. Then throughout the day it all depends on how demanding the kids are and how much free time I get to myself to whether I can sit on the computer and do work.

Generally I have had live Zoom sessions going while cooking dinner, preparing lunch doing housework etc. Unless there is a pressing deadline I generally do bits where I can. If not, the night becomes my time to catch up on things that I missed during the day When I get time to myself I just want to sit down and enjoy a few minutes not running round. In my downtime – when I get it – I generally curl up in bed with my other half and watch Netflix or play the Switch or Xbox.

It is hard studying with kids but doing it remotely makes it so much easier to adapt to my lifestyle. I also save a lot of money on petrol – I used to spend two hours travelling into Uni for a 45 minutes lecture, so this mounts up in costs.

Jay Bevan – BSc Computer Science and AI

How are you coping with studying remotely?

I am treating it as I would a normal home day, inserting a couple hours of work into the schedule at my leisure. I’m finding it easier to pace myself and feeling more productive when I control more of my hours.

Which online resources are you using?

I use Moodle and supporting websites relevant to my course like Khan Academy.

Give us an outline of your day

I’ll wake up at 9am, have breakfast at 9:30am and then work until 12pm. Between 1pm to 3pm I will do circuits in front of the house with various bits of gym equipment for an hour. I will then resume work at 3pm and work through till 5pm.

It can be a bit of a culture shock to going from studying in a group, having lots of face to face time to studying on your own. A few weeks ago we published a post with tips on how to study remotely and today we have caught up with three students who are sharing their study tips and their own individual approach to studying remotely.

Jay Bevan – MSc Computer Science and AI

Use Pomodoro timers, I like to do 45 minutes as that gets through the peak of my focus and just before I start losing it. Stick to a fairly lax schedule so you can reshuffle things to your liking, the freedom you get will make you more productive and you’ll stay in a positive headspace.

Sam Walker – BSc Biomedical Science

Definitely put away all your distractions such as the TV. Always try to log on in the morning so at least you get a rough plan for the day. Don’t stress too much if you can’t make a session as there is always a way to catch up. Use your lecturers; they are there to answer questions and they have the knowledge to help you.

Zoe Horsham – MSc in Social and Applied Psychology

It’s important to have a structure to your day even when you don’t need to go anywhere, because without one your body can easily fall into the trap of wanting to sleep all day. To-do lists really help give me a sense of productivity at this time, which is really key at the moment when there’s lots of things that I’m not able to do.

Studying in a different space to where you sleep is ideal as you can relax more easily at night and fall asleep faster. Make the most of the online resources that are available and don’t be scared to contact lecturers or supervisors during this time. They are still there to help you, and expect to hear from you if you have any issues. Arranging Zoom meetings with them can really help explain things and save sending long emails. Plus it gives you a stronger sense of interpersonal connection which can be important when you’re working independently from home all the time.

As a result of COVID-19, all Scheduled Timed Written Examinations will be taken online, so we have prepared the following two resources to help guide you through.

There is a step-by-step guide to help you to successfully plan, revise and prepare for online assessment and the second is a technical guide for students on taking our online examinations this year.

Planning revision and preparing for online exams

This guide is relevant to all types of exams; however, your module convenor will provide more subject-specific material and advice on Moodle.

It takes you through the principles of good revision, how to revise and include exam practise as well as what best to do the day before and how best to deal with taking the exams themselves.

Online examinations 2020: technical guidance for students

The May/June 2020 exams will take place online using Moodle. This guide is designed to help students access their exams and upload their completed answer booklets to Moodle.

This guidance includes how exams will work in Moodle, opening your paper, downloading the answer booklet, submitting your booklet once completed and where to find technical support if needed.

As well as help and support within the University and the Student Unions, there is a lot of external support for students regarding health issues and wellbeing.

NHS 111

This is the NHS urgent help advice line. It’s fast, easy and free. Call 111 when you need medical help fast but it’s not a 999 emergency.

Medical Centres

For contact with your GP or a nurse practitioner, contact the surgery you are registered with.

Samaritans

Samaritans is a registered charity aimed at providing emotional support to anyone in emotional distress, struggling to cope, or at risk of suicide throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland, often through their telephone helpline. Please call 116 123, which is free to call, or you can email them at jo@samaritans.org.

Big White Wall

Wherever you are located, you can access free, 24/7 online support for issues around mental health and wellbeing. The Big White Wall (BWW) is a Care Quality Commission registered service recognised nationally through awards by the NHS and is a safe environment overseen by qualified therapists called Wall Guides.

Kent students have free access to BWW. In order to gain access to this service click on the BWW link using your Kent email address to gain access only. As part of the registration process, do not use your KENT account password for this service, instead please use the following code: KENT1. Note, you may, upon completion of the registration process change your contact email address to a non-Kent email account. Big White Wall take privacy very seriously, so please read their privacy policy for more information.

How to access Big White Wall

Please use the following code: KENT1

Thank you very much for your understanding and patience whilst we have been continuing to review our examinations processes and finalise everything necessary to accommodate the move to online. The examination timetable is now available to view via the Student Data System (SDS). Should there be further changes to the timetable, we will let you know by email.

Please also be assured that we have undertaken a review of our instructions to Boards of Examiners in order to ensure appropriate mitigation due to the COVID-19 crisis. Further information on this as well as guidance about how your examinations will be delivered online and how you will access, complete and submit these, will be sent to you soon. In all we do, we are committed to the principle that your academic progress will not be disadvantaged due to these circumstances.

If you have any questions about your timetable, please contact your Academic School. If you have any concerns or issues regarding your ability to undertake your exams online, then in such cases you should contact exams2020@kent.ac.uk.

We hope that you all continue to be safe and well and adjusting to studying online and please keep referring to our Coronavirus – information for students pages which we are updating whenever we have more information.

With my very best wishes to you and your families.

Yours sincerely,

Mary Hughes

Academic Registrar

Studying while self isolating can be difficult as it is but when you have other priorities such as childcare then you will need to rethink how you work.

The first thing to do is to establish a routine and stick to it. Children find routine very reassuring and calming so keep your getting-up, meal and bed times the same as normal and make sure that school work is still getting done.

Get your own studying done during evenings and mornings when your children are asleep or having some down time. You could get a head start by planning what you will study at each time.

If your children are teenagers then the key is to balance your time so you can give them the space they need.

If you have more than one child then try to find time while you are isolated to have parent one-to-ones with each of your kids. This could be hot chocolate or breakfast together, reorganising a room, anything that gives opportunity for conversation.

Make the most of having the children at home by involving them in the day to day running of the house – even nursery-age children are able to help with washing-up, dusting and laundry, so you don’t need to wear yourself out whilst they zone out in front of the TV.

If you can balance childcare or caring responsibilities with a partner please consider doing so. In the event that you are finding it impossible to balance childcare or caring responsibilities, or any other issue with your studies, please contact your School Support Office to discuss your individual concerns.

The Library and Information Services have introduced Microsoft Teams for students as part of the Office 365 package. Microsoft Teams is an online space where you can chat to fellow students, share files, attend seminars, take part in meetings and work collaboratively.

Even better, it gives you online access from anywhere, on any device, so no need to use the VPN. Perfect during this COIVD 19 lockdown as it will allow you to carry on working on your group projects and share ideas with classmates.

The benefits of Microsoft Teams are below:

Desktop and mobile apps available

To get all the benefits of Teams, we recommend downloading the app onto your devices. If you have the app you can even share your screen with support staff, who can use it to offer remote help with IT issues.

Text and video chat

This is perfect for virtual group work, quick discussions with lecturers or a chat with a fellow student to check in and say hi. These tools can be used with anyone inside or outside of the University and not just within your module-based team.

Channels

Teams uses channels to separate content. Channels are set up by the Team owner (your convenor) and within each channel you can store files, hold virtual meetings and have ‘threaded’ conversations. This is similar to other services like Slack or Discord.

File sharing and collaboration

Microsoft Office files can be shared in channels or in chat and can be live-edited by multiple people at once. You can do this within Teams, without having to open other web apps or desktop apps. You can also download files but once you do this it won’t update if further changes are made within Teams.

A Team space has been set up for every module and if your module convenor plans to use it for online teaching, they’ll be in touch with you.

Access Teams by clicking on this link.

Enter your login details:

Username: username@kent.ac.uk (example: abc1@kent.ac.uk)
Password: your Kent IT account password

Choose the Teams app and you’re ready to go!

To download the Desktop app, use the download icon on the bottom left within the web app. On your mobile device, search ‘Microsoft Teams’ on your App / Play store.