Lecturers at Nottingham universities have explained the impact the global pandemic has had on their teaching as both institutions have switched to online learning.
With some staff having to now teach students who are home abroad or in lockdown at their permanent addresses hundreds of miles away in the UK, lecturers have revealed the switch has been "difficult at times" but has improved in practice "a lot" since two months ago.
Both Nottingham Trent University (NTU) and the University of Nottingham moved all face-to-face teaching online, a decision that has meant assessments have also been affected.
Nottinghamshire Live spoke to lecturers based in the city to find out what they think online teaching has been like.
Steve Faulkner, sports engineering lecturer at NTU said: "Obviously the biggest impact for us has been that we cannot do any laboratory-based work which at this time of the year is not too bad because we try and do all of that before Easter, so before our remote teaching really took off.
"With lectures, they can be a bit more flexible for students with how they are not tied down for two hours at a certain time. We make sure they go online that week so students can watch them at their leisure.
"I'm trying to provide more resources for my students to access online too as they are having to do a bit more of their own learning."
Steve, who beat cancer in his teenage years, was planning on completed the Tour De France this summer to raise money for Cure Leukaemia.
Those plans have now also been postponed for 12 months due to the global pandemic.
The lecturer added: "Some of the engineering students come from abroad and have had to go back to countries in Asia and the Middle East. It's good they can access lectures in their own time because it allows for the time difference then.
"We would normally have some revision sessions at this time of year so to get over that we've done things like making lectures from last year available.
"We're still available as staff and we're using face-to-face platforms like Microsoft Teams as much as we can.
"I think in some ways engagement is better because the students do not have to travel and things to start learning and now that necessity has been removed. I think some students are enjoying that.
"We're able to see who has engaged with the files we upload and for how long so that's revealing who is engaging. There's definitely positives and negatives with the whole thing."
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Dr Zakwan Arab, senior lecturer of civil engineering at NTU, said: "It has been a bit difficult at times because the switch to online learning was very sudden and we were not so prepared at first. The students weren't prepared either though.
"There's a sense that students do feel it's a bit of a holiday for them.
"There's a lot of tools that make our work easier that we're having to cope without like computer screens and having to sit in a chair for a long time.
"Usually we prepare to work at the university and then come home from work so now it's quite hard to separate the two."
Originally from Syria, Zakwan added that although there have been obstacles, there's "no other way to keep students' education going" in the current circumstances.
Zakwan, who lives in Beeston, added: "You can see with engagement that perhaps the later years are more engaged than the first years.
"The online teaching has got a lot better now though and more students are able to organise themselves now.
"We need to figure out how we can settle the new students in who will start in September because it will not be so straight forward.
Steve Denton, Nottingham Trent University’s chief operating officer and registrar, said: “Our switch from campus-based to online learning, in such a short period of time, has been challenging for both staff and students, and we remain grateful for how hard everyone has worked to allow our community to adapt.
“NTU tutors have devised bespoke online lectures and seminars which suit each of our courses and all of our students. We have deliberately avoided a blanket approach for our students to ensure what we offer is in their individual best interest at no detriment to them.
"As you can imagine these methods of working were introduced within a very short timescale and we welcome student feedback which will enable us to continue to improve our offer.
“We are already introducing further online communities, with extra resources, to help students should they face issues such as accessing course materials or technical problems."
