Losing a dimension does not mean losing touch with reality

31 July 2020

Fifteen minutes for fame

One thing you may come to understand quite quickly is that there is a reason why your lecturers are here at Solent, being expert at their subject, and not storming to international success in the world of global entertainment. They may also have been asked to develop online and distance learning resources very quickly and to build ways of working with you remotely that may still need a little tweaking here and there. This does not make them video or podcast stars and certainly not David Attenborough. Be patient and supportive. As TV’s Professor Brian Cox once told me: things can only get better.

I am not a number!

Get to know your group, uni colleagues and lecturers. Indeed, anyone with whom you may be in contact on a regular basis. These are real people. Find out more about their hobbies, interests and personalities. They are more than just a well-selected bookshelf. They can be just as fun as normal on screen and, who knows, the etiquette of facetime might help them shut up enough to be less annoying than they would be in ‘real life’. Get to know too how best to use the various ways you can communicate online. Some are more formal than you think, others might need you to be a little more relaxed or less self-conscious. You might just need to find the real you more often.

A girl sat in front of a laptop looking stressed and chewing a pencil

A ghost in the machine

Let’s face it, turning off the computer and then turning it back on again doesn’t seem to solve all of our technical difficulties and even in an excellent virtual environment like Solent’s you are going to come across a few problems now and then. Don’t despair, the pixels haven’t got it in for you. They just need you to get to know them a bit better. Embrace the technologies available and learn the skills you need to navigate your way around. The university has experts who can help reconnect your ghost with a machine and solve any glitches, provide the right app or software and recommend the solutions you may need.

A chair with a lit up sign on it saying 'think outside the box'

No one is ‘an island’

A former Prime Minister is famous for claiming that there was no such thing as society. The virtual world tends to stand in the way of you reaching that conclusion. Reach out, someone will be there. There are tips galore in the virtual world on how best to study and learn in a … well … virtual world. Some brilliant ideas and resources can be found on the SOL site to which you will have access but others are out there too. Read and think widely. Be proactive and participate in learning communities. Not everything you see or hear on the internet is reliable or useful but try things out for yourself and go with what works for you.

Finally, there is no such thing as a talking pink rabbit

We all are capable of believing in stuff that doesn’t really exist but if you are talking to yourself and seeing or hearing strange things, then my guess is that it might be time to pack your device away - or at least take a break from it. Online learning means you have more opportunity to go at your own pace and have a rest or some quiet time when you need it. A lot of people work to 15-20-minute time slots, building in gaps for a change in pace, a comfort break or a cup of tea when they need it or, most importantly, some thinking time. Your brain muscles need their daily exercise too. Take them for a walk or jog every now and then.