SHARE YOUR STORY HERE: ousa.ca/feedback
In light of the global pandemic and the shift to online learning, OUSA wants to hear from post-secondary students about their experiences. OUSA is launching a campaign to collect student stories and feedback about their online learning experience.
When students first experienced emergency online learning earlier this year, they raised important questions about the quality of online education. Seven months into the pandemic, online learning is still the dominant course delivery method for most institutions and students are still facing significant challenges.
Students are concerned about:
-
Making connections with classmates due to the lack of face-to-face interaction
-
Receiving support from professors and accessing supports outside the classroom (office hours, academic advisors)
-
Receiving support from their peers through study groups
-
Accessing mental health support services such as counselling services which are usually offered on campus
-
The value of online learning compared to in-class
-
Access: some courses may not be offered online at all
-
Access to proper technology such as a laptop
-
Access to a high-speed internet connection
-
Finding a safe place to live
-
Social isolation due to lack of social interaction with their peers on campus
OUSA's campaign will start a broader conversation on the future of online learning and will help sector stakeholders to identify the challenges that students face in this context. Institutions, governments, and instructors can look to students' personal accounts of distance and online learning to address any concerns that students are facing.