Once upon a time, online courses were a novelty. A department might have offered one online course per year, or perhaps a professor might have decided to offer sessions online when they couldn’t be present in-person. In any case, they were rare, and the majority of students at Canadian universities went their whole lives without taking a single class online. Those days are now gone. This September, students across Canada and the world will flock to their computers to take classes over platforms like Blackboard and Canvas. Students will no longer have the opportunity to get to know their professors and colleagues in-person, and while in some ways home-learning might be a positive (hello, wearing pyjamas in every class) it also will make student life harder.
Students rely on their professors for all kinds of things beyond education. From needing some sympathy (and extensions) when hard times hit to asking for reference letters for another program, students need the help of professors for far more than class material. In pre-COVID times students were often encouraged to meet their professors in person, either by chatting with them after class or going to their office hours. These interactions made students more memorable to their professors, so when they needed any extra help they would be better-equipped to offer it. Students won’t be able to catch their professors after class anymore, or knock on their doors in the same way. Serendipitous conversations won’t be happening in university hallways either this year. So, how can students stand out and make an impression on their professors this year?
As students begin learning online en masse, new standards for digital privacy and for class interactions will have to be set. (Image information below.)
While most university courses usually include some level of online activity, students with serious concerns could generally arrange for some kind of accommodation with their professors. Now, not only is everything going to take place online, lectures are likely to be recorded and stored in perpetuity (or at least until the end of the course). In addition to institutions capturing online classes and lectures, there is an increased likelihood of other students recording classes and—with them—other students. Whereas once upon a time if you said something foolish in a lecture hall it would end up forgotten within a week or two, now students are in a position of having every comment made in class saved for eternity. We are now in a position where your student identity is an entirely digital identity, and all of the security and practical concerns that might plague you on Twitter and TikTok will now be following you to class. From people recording you without your knowledge or consent to the permanence of online material, your digital identity is expanding immensely.
Between trying to make an impression without being able to meet anyone in-person and newfound security concerns, how is a student to cope?
Some of the standard advice does still apply.
- Email your professors, attend their virtual office hours (whatever form they make take)
- Speak up in class (whatever form that may take)
- Participation in class discussion boards is always a good idea, whether or not a class takes place in-person or online
Though there is, of course, new advice to take into consideration.
- Another good idea is to upload a photo of yourself to your virtual class platform. While having a live video feed may be uncomfortable for you or even impossible (depending on the speed of your internet), uploading a nice photo of your face will allow your professor and classmates to recognize you more easily without resorting to live video.
As for security concerns, this is where it gets a bit more complicated. The sad truth of the matter is that once something is online, it’s forever. You can’t always erase all embarrassing things online – your early Facebook years is one example of this fact. This might impact you in a number of ways. Using a photo of yourself instead of a live video is a good way to protect your privacy and prevent others from seeing your living arrangements, while still remaining recognizable and visible. Muting your microphone when you aren’t speaking is another way to protect yourself, preventing others from accidentally overhearing other conversations happening around you. Finally, consider using a VPN if your school offers you access to one. VPNs are very difficult to hack, and can provide you with an extremely secure connection in case your online learning platform is targeted by hackers.
As courses become completely digital, as a student you will have to think carefully about how to present yourself digitally. From camera angles to new approaches to security and collaboration with colleagues, you will be creating a digital version of yourself to participate in class.
While this article is just a brief introduction to some of the issues you may be facing and a few solutions, it definitely isn’t exhaustive. What else are you concerned about, or looking forward to, when it comes to being a digital student? Will your digital student identity be similar or different to your digital identity on social media platforms? How so? Let us know in the comments.
Written by Samantha Summers
Edited by Defne Inceoglu
Featured image Student, used under CC BY-SA 2.0 licensing
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