Get ready to learn online
This year, all students will have a combination of online and face-to-face teaching and learning activities for their course.
Here’s what you need to know and information about how to prepare for your online classes.
What will my teaching be like this year?
Teaching and learning activities this year will involve a combination of online and face-to-face delivery:
- Many, but not all, teaching activities with large numbers of students will go ahead using digital technology, and will be interactive and engaging.
- Some teaching in small-group settings, including seminars, tutorials, and practicals, as well as dissertation and project supervision, may be delivered face-to-face on campus wherever it can be done safely, in line with the government guidance on social distancing in place at the time.
Your school will let you know the balance of on-campus and online teaching for the next stage of your course and the support available to help you get the most out of your University experience.
When your teaching and learning takes place online, we will follow a set of agreed principles to ensure your experience is high-quality, engaging, inclusive, and flexible to your needs.
We are looking to adapt how we deliver your courses in the following ways:
- Timetables will be created in a way that helps everyone move safely around campus.
- Some practical sessions may be repeated, changed or take place later in the academic year.
We’ll continue to review our plans regularly and implement any changes, in line with government guidance, as quickly as possible. Be assured, if you can’t travel to campus immediately, you’ll have remote access to all the support services and teaching resources you need for your studies.
What can I do to prepare for learning online?
There are several steps you can take to make sure you are prepared for your online teaching and learning activities:
Learn how to study online:
You are invited to take a free online course developed by online learning and higher education teaching experts from the University’s Digital Education Service, which aims to ensure that you can:
- Develop effective online learning strategies
- Produce useful and reflective notes to support online study
- Contribute meaningfully to online learning discussions
- Collaborate productively online
- Find, evaluate and use online information to develop your own opinion
The ‘Preparing to learn online at university’ course is available for free and online with FutureLearn. For support and guidance on accessing FutureLearn, email onlinecourses@leeds.ac.uk. Remember that FutureLearn courses can also be accessed through Minerva.
We also have a selection of other University of Leeds courses that will help you to develop your subject-specific skills and academic skills. You can access these courses on Minerva.
Refresh your knowledge with a Student IT Induction
The Student IT Induction is designed for students new to IT at the University of Leeds, but it may serve as a useful refresher. It covers IT essentials such as your username, password and security, as well as useful services like computing off campus. There’s information on University Systems such as Minerva and email as well as advice on how to get help.
Start the Student IT Induction
Check Minerva regularly
Minerva will be your key portal for access to online teaching and learning. Through Minerva you will access learning content and take part in activities as directed by your tutors.
Each module that you are studying will have a dedicated site in Minerva through which your tutors will make your learning content and activities available to you. You should ensure that you are logging into Minerva regularly to make sure you are up to date.
If you need a refresher on using Minerva, please work through our guide to Minerva.
For more information about online learning
You can view our helpful infographic for quick access to answer any questions.
You can get specific help and support with IT from the IT Service Desk.