Vignettes from the Field
Snapshot
Emma |
Student |
Discipline |
Arts/ Law |
Enrolment status |
Full time, on campus |
Year |
6th |
Experience |
Positive |
‘I worked at least part time through most of my degree, so I really rely on that technology being available, because I haven’t always been able to get to my lectures’. Emma
Emma’s story
Emma is currently enrolled her sixth year of an undergraduate Arts/ Law degree. She has studied as a full-time student during her course but has frequently had part time work and has ‘many friends outside Uni’. She describes using WBLT in a blended environment, with online notes, presentation slides, photos and an active discussion board.
WBLT and learning
Living only ten minutes’ drive from University, Emma describes herself as ‘almost always’ attending face-to-face lectures, however she acknowledges that there are times when it is not possible to attend. One example she cites is in recent weeks when she was on a ‘work placement’. She used WBLT to catch up on the six lectures she would have otherwise missed. In the lead up to exams, she also uses the technology to revise content and to review aspects she may have missed during the lecture.
Impressions of using WBLT
The technology’s been pretty good for most of my subjects at Uni.
Emma’s experiences of using WBLT have been generally positive. Although she enjoys the atmosphere of the lecture and finds the chance to communicate with the lecturer motivating, the main reasons she ascribes to attending face-to-face lectures are around time management; she enjoys the routine of attending the lecture and then the tutorial later that day and admits she ‘would not have got around to listening to the lectures and then would have crammed at the last minute’.
The flexibility offered by WBLT is seen as Emma as being valuable when there are timetabling issues:
‘In fields such as Arts, you can prioritise about lecture attendance…a tutorial trumps a lecture due to compulsory attendance.’
Learning Futures
Emma sees the future of University learning as utilising technology more to enable flexibility. She sees the growing use of discussion boards as continuing to build communication opportunities to reduce isolation for those students who can’t attend.
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