From Tweed Jackets to Big Blue Buttons: Maths is leading the online learning charge

Second year Maths degree student, Rebecca Roper and Dr Andrew Gascoyne, Senior Lecturer in the School of Mathematics and Computer Science, add up the benefits of learning online during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Andy has been using Big Blue Button and Panopto as part of his Mathematical Modelling module. He has also been using Matlab which is not normally available off Campus but access to this software was made available to students by the software developers as soon as the lockdown was announced. Andy is leading the charge with some great ideas at the moment and the students are reacting really well to it.

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis students and lecturers have been tasked with finding new ways to teach and learn. This presents a significant challenge for all subjects across all disciplines and mathematics at the University of Wolverhampton is no exception.

The term `mathematician' often conjures up images of tweed jackets and dusty chalkboards but the current crisis has seen a marriage between the old and the new where traditional teaching methods are being combined with modern technology to not only preserve the learning experience for students but indeed enhance it.

Rebecca Roper is a second year Bachelor of Science with Honours Mathematics degree student and Dr Andrew Gascoyne is a Senior Lecturer of Mathematics.

They took some time out to tell us about how the learning experience has changed over the last few weeks and to offer some advice on how students can successfully negotiate the obstacles placed on all of us during this difficult time.

Rebecca, how has your learning experience changed since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis?

Learning has become a lot more online based and more independent.

Are your lecturers using any online tools to continue to deliver teaching? If so, please tell us a little about them.

Our lectures can now be accessed through Panopto videos recorded by our lecturers where we can see their screen and hear their voice. We, therefore, are still getting the explanations and worked examples. Any questions we have can be either emailed, asked on our Canvas demo solutions page where we can access the lecturers answers, whether it be a Panopto explanation or just written workings, or we can ask them on our live Big Blue Button conference which is held weekly during our scheduled lecture time.

We can share our screen with the lecturer so they can see our work and point us in the right direction, and we can see their screen and follow their working live. We have also had access to Matlab so we can continue to practice our modelling coding for our coursework which we are also able to complete using the software

How do these tools compare to your traditional learning experience?

Most of our lectures were previously recorded on Panopto but I used them more as a revision tool to get explanations on examples when I had forgotten what to do instead of using them as my main learning tool. Matlab was previously only accessible on University computers but Matlab have extended the trial period for students so they can use it at home for free. We never used to use Big Blue Button as any questions could be asked face to face in lectures or during appointments.

Would you like to see any of these tools retained as part of the learning experience in future? If so, please tell us a little about how you would like to see this done.

I would like Big Blue Button to remain in use as it’s very convenient for me as a student who has to travel around an hour to get into University and would be useful if this could be used instead of face to face appointments if they are on days our lectures don’t fall on.

What advice would you give to other students who are continuing their studies through this crisis?

My advice would be to keep on top of all your lectures and any assignments you have due in. Use all the tools being provided by the University and your lecturers to support you and further develop your learning. Try to get into a routine for when you are going to work on each of your modules and keep to it while finding time for yourself to relax and do something you enjoy. Make sure you keep in contact with your friends and support each other through these times.