Zooming in: Teaching in the Times of Covid-19

When you think of a world turned upside-down, the first images that might pop into your mind are economic crises, natural disasters, violent protests, and perhaps the looming deadline of a final paper. Of all these possible end-of-your-world scenarios, a deadly pandemic caused by a microscopic agent of Hell appears almost unthinkable. Yet, here we are. It has taken the internet fifty years to alter the state of our reality; it took Albert Einstein ten years to discover the theory of relativity and to warp space and time for the entire human race; and it took the Beatles eight years of hard day’s nights, yellow submarines, and twists and shouts to dramatically redefine the reality of our culture; alarmingly, although quite impressively, it took the coronavirus a single month to accomplish all of the above, and more. 

To restrain the coronavirus from expanding faster than Will Ferrel’s Húsavík song, universities in Iceland have implemented a Covid-19 response strategy based on the Chief Epidemiologist’s safety guidelines and regulations. The result has been that the majority of teaching is being conducted online through an arrangement of virtual discussions and pre-recorded lectures. 

As expected, this has brought forth a rising case of people wearing their pajamas more often, or talking about their cats (and, why not, the present state of their plants), or their children making a cameo appearance as surprising as Bill Murray in Zombieland (SPOILER ALERT). But if you thought these were obstacles of the most aggravating nature, wait until you find out about the previously-unknown horrors of terrible computer audio. At their least annoying, these microphone hazards have the potential to unnerve the nervous system as much as the deafening, metallic rumbling of lawn mowers early in the morning; at their absolute worst, I am afraid the drowning audio can be as disturbing and horrifying as Iceland’s erratic weather forecast. We are happy to report, however, that not all is as gloomy as it sounds. In challenging times, teachers at the university have adapted to the circumstances and shown great resilience and leadership. 

From the warm confines of our rooms, with the sweet background noise of cats, pouring rain, or whatever our cohabitants might be up to at the moment, we spoke with two teachers from the University of Iceland about the effects of virtual teaching during this pandemic. 

Margrét Ann Thors

is a sessional teacher at the University of Iceland for the Faculty of Languages and Cultures.

Nikkita Hamar Patterson

is a PhD student in English (on “Extreme Cinema”) and a sessional teacher for the English and Film Studies departments. She reminded us that “teachers of HÍ want the best for their students and are putting considerable effort into making education safe and accessible. I also see that students want the best for their classmates as well, and are putting in considerable effort. This is a collaboration. We should celebrate it.”

Some of you have offered students the opportunity in the past to take your courses as distance education. How does it feel to have the entire classroom move into an online realm?

Nikkita: It’s a different experience, but I like to look at it as a creative opportunity in exploring different ways to communicate to students and inspire different types of interaction and connection.

Margrét: I have not found the transition to be too difficult. I incorporate a live discussion session on Zoom into each of my classes, which makes a big difference, I think. I feel I know the students who join the live discussion session much better than I know the purely distance students. Also, from a logistical and technological standpoint, I much prefer to record mini-lectures ahead of time as opposed to recording entire in-class sessions for distance students.

In your personal opinion, do you think this new arrangement is detrimental to students – say, the majority who favor in-class discussions – as opposed to those who are shy and not very comfortable communicating in public, or large groups?

Nikkita: In my opinion, this is a very negative question! Online or in-class, students are still and always have been individuals, not a homogenous entity. Everyone is different with their own strengths, their own challenges, and their experiences. One challenge of a classroom might be a success online and vice versa.

Margrét: As indicated above, live discussions are still a big part of my courses. I think students who tend to be shy/hesitant to speak in the classroom seem to have an easier time participating on Zoom. I also like that I’m able to randomly scramble students into different Zoom break-out rooms so they speak with new classmates every week.

What were some of the challenges in the spring, when you had to suddenly switch to online teaching, compared to the fall, when you were relatively aware that meeting restrictions would favor online teaching?

Nikkita: I was very lucky in the spring with my class. Like I said, students are individuals, and it was so lovely to see a group of individuals choosing to work together through some unpredictable circumstances. My belief with education is that one will get back what they put into it. It takes effort, self-awareness, and optimism to work together. I was really proud of their positive attitudes and flexibility, and it showed in their work all the way to the end. Admittedly, we had Tiger King to help lighten the mood.

Margrét: I was on maternity leave in the spring, so I can’t answer this question fully. But I will point out that I was only given about a week’s notice in August that we were moving online for the fall semester. During the summer, I assumed (perhaps naively) that I would be teaching in person.

Lastly, do you see online teaching as the future of education? Do you see a future where most lectures will be delivered online?

Nikkita: There have been so many signs that this was the direction we were going. Covid naturally sped up the transition, based on our needs and objectives shifting towards safety, outweighing our practiced tradition. I do not think that is a bad thing. The world is a very gloomy place right now, but if we look to history, we see that progress came out of hardship. Going online addresses and adjusts to a lot of our own global and social issues from climate change to the accessibility of higher education. We are on the tipping point of something big. I don’t know what it looks like yet or what it will become, but this is an opportunity to mold it into something truly special.

Margrét: Well, I wouldn't be surprised. In many ways it’s more efficient, save for the inevitable technological glitches every now and then. It’s cool that Icelandic students living abroad – Denmark, Sweden, etc. – are still able to study “at” HÍ and participate in live discussions. But I think as education continues to move more and more online, professors will need to become much more creative and tech-savvy in order to compete with online content creators who deliver the same material in super engaging and user-friendly ways.

Finally, I’ve always considered the atmosphere and energy of college campuses to be very enlivening and intellectually stimulating, so I hope there continues to be a place for in-person dialogue, research, and exchange of ideas.