Selby College’s Remote Learning Success – Students Share Their Views

Following the reopening of College campuses from June 15^th, Selby College has been working to ensure a phased and safe return of its staff and some of its students. Despite this, the College is continuing to support the majority of its students with their remote learning efforts.

After excelling on the BTEC National Extended Diploma in IT, Bethany Stronach has enjoyed the creative aspect of IT and is now planning to progress to our Level 3 Extended Diploma in Creative Media & Technology in September to further develop her new-found creative interests.

Bethany has found many aspects of learning from home challenging and has also spent lockdown away from her normal family home. Thankfully, the College was able to deliver a device at the beginning of lockdown for Bethany to use in the short term.

“Most days I don't find it difficult to get up and start doing my course work on my computer. My tutors are always willing to support me and sometimes I even get help from the other students. I actually get a little more work done when working from home and enjoy learning within our virtual classrooms, which are run in Microsoft Teams,” said Bethany.

The support from her tutors has helped to provide Bethany with the motivation she needs to get the most from her course while at home and hopes that her calculated grade will be sufficient, along with her reference, to get her onto her dream Media course.

Joe Linford, Level 3 Art and Design student at Selby College, has also found remote learning to be very productive.

“I have been coping well with my work and have been keeping a productive atmosphere around me whilst working so that I can reach my desired outcomes successfully. My tutors have been helpful and have given me all the information I need in order to produce work that is up to standard; they have been willing to support me wherever they can,” said Joe.

Daniel Cooper, who is currently studying A Level Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics and Further Mathematics at Selby College, has used the time to explore beyond his course subjects, which has helped to further enhance his knowledge in these areas.

“I have received a wide range of support from all my course tutors. This has differed from having regular in-class style lessons on Zoom, to trying out new websites designs to help and build on our knowledge, from PowerPoints of concise information to help with getting to grips with new ideas to homework that helps review what we know. Of course, face-to-face learning is more dynamic and our questions can be answered straight away, but remote learning helps to improve your independence and encourages you to utilise your own resources,” said Daniel.

Our Higher Education (degree-level) students have also been embracing the positives of remote learning. Higher National Diploma Computing student Will Matthews has found that his tutors have been on hand to help with any matters relating to the course, as well as personal matters and concerns regarding the current situation.

"Remote Learning has enabled myself and others to collaborate and share ideas, which are available during and after the lesson. It has proven to be an effective way of course delivery with a seamless transition from face-to-face learning to online. Furthermore, the ability to use online learning on a variety of desktop and mobile devices means that tutors, course resources and lesson content can be accessible 24/7,”added Will.

While online learning will continue for all students, the reopening of the campus on June 15^th followed Government guidance that Colleges should have some ‘face-to-face contact’ with Year 12 students before the summer break.

Prior to this, the College carried out a detailed assessment of the risks posed by Covid-19 and has implemented a range of measures and safety actions to ensure the safe return of its staff and students. This includes social distancing measures, safety precautions and increased handwashing and sanitising facilities and regular surface cleaning and disinfecting is being carried out throughout the College day.