{"id":1934,"date":"2021-08-06T09:00:46","date_gmt":"2021-08-06T08:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/itl\/?p=1934"},"modified":"2026-04-01T17:29:49","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T16:29:49","slug":"teaching-through-the-pandemic-elearning-professionals-in-the-spotlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/itl\/2021\/08\/06\/teaching-through-the-pandemic-elearning-professionals-in-the-spotlight\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching through the pandemic: eLearning professionals in the spotlight"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"\"<\/b>Dan Jagger SFHEA is a manager in the Faculty of Science and Engineering eLearning team. In this post Dan reflects on the challenges faced by him and his team of eLearning professionals as they\u00a0adapted to supporting Blended Learning\u00a0over the past 18 months.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Anyone who has worked at this University for\u00a0a period of time\u00a0will know that in an institution of this size,\u00a0change doesn\u2019t happen fast.\u00a0Unless of course\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0thrust into a global pandemic and then all bets are off.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0be the only person who feels like the past 18\u00a0months have\u00a0been a huge blur. I remember the initial meetings with faculty leadership in a corner office of the Schuster Building trying to establish what was happening, what we needed to do and how we could do it \u2013 that was March\u00a02020. And then\u00a0seconds later\u2026\u00a0it was Summer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In between,\u00a0my team had\u00a0rebuilt\u00a0the\u00a0FSE Teaching Academy<\/a>\u00a0website to support the shift to Blended\u00a0(or let\u2019s be honest\u2026\u00a0fully Online) Learning,\u00a0we were literally\u00a0figuring out solutions\u00a0one minute and then delivering\u00a0support sessions\u00a0the next.\u00a0The pace we were working\u00a0at\u00a0was frantic.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was clear that the technologies and tools we had used to support on-campus teaching wouldn\u2019t\u00a0always translate well to\u00a0fully\u00a0online learning.\u00a0We needed to adapt and in places improvise;\u00a0one of my favourite moments was\u00a0discovering\u00a0how staff had\u00a0created\u00a0DIY visualisers<\/a>\u00a0to use within their online lectures\u00a0–\u00a0cardboard, Duplo and gaffa tape were\u00a0never put to better use.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Over the summer, thanks to the incredible generosity\u00a0and support\u00a0of the University\u2019s\u00a0Alumni programme,\u00a0the eLearning teams had the opportunity to purchase\u00a0additional\u00a0equipment to\u00a0increase our ability to\u00a0support\u00a0online teaching and learning activities. In FSE eLearning\u00a0we\u00a0spent\u00a0the bulk of this\u00a0on camera equipment,\u00a0which\u00a0enabled us to capture some brilliant\u00a0Laboratory activities<\/a>. You\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0replace\u00a0every element of\u00a0\u2018real life\u2019\u00a0Lab activity with online tools but hopefully this sort of content plugged a gap in the short term and will be useful for students in the future.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The University eLearning teams also embarked on a recruitment drive to ensure we had the\u00a0human\u00a0resources in place to support the massive increase\u00a0in\u00a0blended learning support.\u00a0Typically,\u00a0there were hundreds of applications to sift through and\u00a0I\u00a0took part in over 40 online interviews. FORTY online interviews\u00a0\u2026\u00a0It feels surreal thinking about that now.\u00a0How\u00a0crazy\u00a0it must be for these people to join an organisation\u00a0in the midst of\u00a0all this chaos, never\u00a0having\u00a0met their new colleagues in real life or even set foot on campus.\u00a0But still,\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0been delighted with how this has all worked out;\u00a0our new recruits in FSE have played a vital role in supporting our staff\u00a0and students.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In\u00a0fact\u2026\u00a0I\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0think I could be prouder or more thankful\u00a0for\u00a0my\u00a0team\u00a0and how they have handled the whole situation. Not only the quality,\u00a0consistency\u00a0and professionalism of their work but the incredibly positive attitude and fantastic good humour shown throughout these\u00a0unprecedented<\/i>\u00a0times\u00a0(can\u2019t write about the pandemic without using\u00a0that\u00a0<\/i>word).\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0sure we\u2019re not the only team in the University\u00a0now able to\u00a0complete a full conversation using only animated gifs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And so\u2026 here we are approaching the end of another academic year, a full year of online learning.\u00a0After a bit of rest and recuperation we start again in September with yet another significant change in our teaching and learning approach, this time adjusting\u00a0to Blended Learning\u00a0proper\u00a0(fingers crossed).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

They say that\u00a0the only constant in life is change\u00a0itself<\/i>\u00a0and as a team leader and manager I’ve attended\u00a0my share of\u00a0courses on\u00a0Managing\u00a0Change. I wonder if\u00a0the often discussed\u00a0\u2018change curve<\/i>\u2019 should\u00a0now incorporate a few barrel rolls and a loop-de-loop. It\u2019s\u00a0been a wild ride.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Contact Us<\/h4>\n

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+44 (0) 161 306 6000<\/p>\n

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Find Us<\/h4>\n

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The University of Manchester
Oxford Rd
Manchester
M13 9PL
UK<\/a><\/p>\n

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Connect With Us<\/h4>\n

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