Here you will find links to key information and guidance to help you to succeed in the hybrid learning environment and ensure that you make the most of online and/or face-to-face learning opportunities in the 2021/22 academic year.
Lucy Evans looks ahead to the 2021/22 academic year with information and guidance for new and returning students.
At Surrey, we want to ensure that you have a supportive, diverse and vibrant learning experience. Since 2020, we have adapted the way we teach to ensure we all stay safe. We call it “hybrid education” – a blend of online and campus-based learning.
Given the current pandemic scenario and based on student feedback, we have enhanced Surrey’s hybrid education experience for the 2021/22 academic year with a significant amount of face-to-face, on-campus teaching.
Committed to enabling students to study successfully in a digital environment, and by reflecting on best practice during the 2020/21 academic year, all taught students are provided with free, personal, digital copies of their essential textbooks.
Many of our students have enjoyed the flexibility that hybrid education offers, however many missed the vibrant campus life with interactive on-campus sessions with our academic staff.
For the 2021/22 academic year, we will continue to deliver hybrid education enhanced with a significant amount of face-to-face, on-campus teaching. Most lectures will be delivered face-to-face on-campus but they will be recorded and/or may be streamed, if appropriate. All tutorials, seminars and labs will be timetabled for face-to-face delivery. In semester 1 of 2021/22, assessments will remain online with only a small number of exceptions.
Face-to-face teaching will be supported by well-curated learning materials on the virtual learning environment known as SurreyLearn.
Our on-campus learning facilities and student support services are already open as before, and we anticipate that students can return fully to campus as usual from September 2021.
Please be assured that your safety and wellbeing will always be our priority, and we will continue to take all necessary measures in accordance with government guidelines on Covid-19. We are also making contingency plans should there be any changes to this guidance.
The Library’s Academic Skills and Development team have created a range of resources collaboratively with students at Surrey. They are designed to help you to adapt to the hybrid environment by exploring aspects of your learning which can then be applied to your course of study.
A set of seven quick-guides (each 2-pages) and associated Panopto mini-presentations (each 3-5 minutes long) to support success in hybrid learning and assessment; topics include: studying effectively online, revision and preparing for online tests and exams, avoiding collusion and plagiarism and effective teamworking in the online assessment world.
- What is hybrid learning? (interactive guide, also available in an alternative written PDF format)
Advice and guidance to help you to thrive in the hybrid learning setting. You will find strategies and tips to help you become an independent learner and how to effectively use resources available to you.
This guide contains everything you need to know about making effective notes in the hybrid learning setting. It offers examples of note-making strategies and tips on how to make your notes effective, for when: (i) viewing pre-recorded content in SurreyLearn, and (ii) attending online live classes.
This is an essential guide to managing your time effectively in the hybrid setting. There is practical advice on setting up timetable and calendar feeds, to ensure you stay in control of your learning. The guide also explores factors that may impede effective organisation and time management, to allow these issues to be addressed.
- Actively participating in your (Hybrid) Learning Community (PDF version; interactive version coming soon)
This guide explores how being 'active' in your 'learning community' enhances your knowledge and understanding of your subject and will help you to develop strong academic, professional and personal attributes... and why this is especially important in the hybrid learning setting.
- My 'Learning Journey' in a hybrid learning environment (interactive guide also available in an alternative written PDF format)
This guide highlights skills and strategies which will enable you to study effectively, learn more about your subject, and develop transferable skills useful for your development as a learner and meeting your career aspirations. This guide explores the concept of learning as ‘personal journey’, encouraging you to imagine your ‘best possible self’ for successful learning in the hybrid learning environment and beyond.
All of the above are links to study-supportive content in your SurreyLearn module, 'my Learning Development at Surrey'. Here you will find advice, tips and strategies via online guides and pre-recorded tutorials from the Library's Academic Skills and Development and Maths and Statistics Advice teams on a range of topics including finding information, referencing, academic writing and developing confidence with mathematics and statistics.
This module also includes information on how to meet with members of the team to discuss your specific study needs, either by attending a drop-in session or appointment.
SurreyLearn, the University’s Virtual Learning Environment, will be used to support and enrich your learning experience, providing access to your course materials, information, and assessments. Your module tutors will use it in a variety of ways to provide resources and co-ordinate learning activities to suit your subject discipline.
Enhanced access to digital resources to support your learning
The Library have also been expanding access to digital resources:
- The Library are providing access to a selection of your essential reading through the BibliU Bookshelf. This means you will be able to download these titles to your own devices, read, search and highlight. Simply select the BibliU Bookshelf option in your SurreyLearn module (under Course Materials) to access.
- Our reading lists will link to your BibliU Bookshelf, as well as the other Library e-books, articles and digital readings.
- You can also search across the whole range of resources, both digital and print through Surrey Search.
Remember, the Academic Skills and Development and Maths and Statistics Advice teams are here to support you with developing your learning practices. In addition to the Hybrid Learning, Quick Guide and Panopto playlist resources above, one-to-one appointments and drop-ins, and Learning Development Online Workshops, are all available throughout the year.
For more information, see the Academic Skills and Development and Maths and Statistics Advice MySurrey pages.
A wide range of other resources to support your learning are available with the my Learning Development SurreyLearn module.
Our enhanced hybrid education for 2021/22 will include lectures. These are large teaching sessions, mostly delivered live and in-person but some are pre-recorded. Most lectures will be delivered face-to-face on-campus but they will be recorded and/or may be streamed, if appropriate.
The rest of your in-person teaching will include small group sessions, tutorials, workshops, seminars and any sessions in laboratories, studios and simulation suites. We highly recommend that you join these sessions in-person to get the most out of the interactions. These interactive sessions cannot be meaningfully recorded.
Guided learning activities will also be provided to you through our virtual learning environment known as SurreyLearn, to further help you in your learning and prepare you for your assessments. You should also expect to take the time to do your own study, through researching beyond what you learn in class.
You will be assessed, mostly online, through exams and coursework but also through many other types suited to your course, such as lab experiments.
A significant amount of your teaching will all be delivered through SurreyLearn and your module leaders will use this to provide structure and support for your learning. You should go to your individual modules to access your teaching content and other information. Your academics will also use Zoom and Panopto, which do not require installation on any device and run via a browser or mobile app.
Your academics will inform you when your teaching session will take place, and how to access these, online or on campus. In some cases, a Panopto recording might be shared instead of live Zoom teaching session. For any questions about this, please consult your academics, using, for example, a SurreyLearn module discussion forum.
Your module teaching team will provide you with links to your Zoom online teaching sessions via SurreyLearn. For more information, please refer to this Zoom guide for students.
With Panopto, you should be able to access your recorded teaching sessions via SurreyLearn. For more information, please see the Panopto guide for students. If you have problems finding these, please ask your academics.
The Library already has a large amount of material available online, which you can access via SurreySearch, or through your module reading list in SurreyLearn.
We also have our BibliU Bookshelf, which provides access to some of your essential textbooks. You can access this through your SurreyLearn module.
The Library’s Academic Skills and Development and Maths and Statistics Advice teams provide online and in-person support through appointments, drop-in sessions and Learning Development workshops, as well as providing advice on quick queries via email. For more information, see Academic Skills and Development and Maths and Statistics Advice.
The services also have a wide range of online resources available on the My Learning Development SurreyLearn module which you can explore to help you develop your academic, personal and professional skills.
You can also contact your Personal Tutor, who can also signpost you to other support services.
The following options are available:
- Use the Microsoft Office Lens app for Android and iOS. It is recommended that you scan the document as an image, not as a document. For more details, see the Microsoft Office Lens Guide (docx)
- Take photos of the document using a smartphone and then insert those images in the correct sequence into a Word document
- Scan the document using a scanner attached to a computer.
Video and audio coursework can be uploaded via Panopto and your module tutor will let you know if you are expected to submit your work using this method. Please see media submission via Panopto and SurreyLearn on how to do this.
Microsoft Teams is a collaboration and communication platform which you can use for group study and also group work.
Please see Introducing Microsoft Teams on how to install and make the most out of Microsoft Teams.
