It’s a brave new real world for 50,000 QUT students who are now learning online to ensure continuity of their degrees during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lectures and tutorials moved online in March and will continue to be delivered virtually for as long as Australian Government regulations require.
QUT’s agile response is an investment in technology and is utilising the university’s expertise in teaching methods and online technology.
QUT’s Pro Vice-Chancellor for Digital Learning, Professor Kevin Ashford-Rowe, said lecturers and their academic teams, along with technical staff, had been working very hard to make sure the transition was as smooth as possible.
“It is vitally important that we do all that we can do to ensure that students can continue to study successfully through this crisis,” he said.
“All of QUT’s lectures and tutorials have now moved online and students are continuing their studies at home.
“Some courses are easier than others when it comes to being taught online. But we are working through the challenges on how to overcome obstacles and still cover the practical elements that are so important to QUT degrees.”
For example, staff in the have made sure that geology students studying the second-year unit from home are still able to get their hands dirty.
QUT lecturer and exploration geologist Dr Patrick Hayman said his students were literally mailed boxes of rocks and minerals, along with identification tools.
“Our tech services have posted out kits of materials so that students can do their pracs from home,” he said.
“This involved sending out 5kg packages of different rocks. One was sent as far as Oman in the Middle East.”
The geology students are taking part in live and pre-recorded online lectures, as well as online exercises.
During lecture times, they will pull out the rocks and minerals for the week and the lecturer will guide them through the learning exercises.
