Pandemic Report
Miro
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Figma
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Miro 〰️ Figma 〰️
This project aims to discover and understand the building blocks OCAD students need to maintain their wellbeing while also learning successfully as they continue transitioning from learning at home to learning in person. I created this research report by conducting student interviews and creating literature reviews to support my findings.
The navigation of higher education in the COVID era has been made complicated through the introduction of online delivery. This complication stole what would have been the most formative stage of post secondary education for students, leaving them without a foundation to build upon or a direction to move forward in.
My research goal was to identify and understand the building blocks students need to learn successfully after transitioning from learning at home to learning in person. With this in mind, I came up with 4 main research questions to aid my interview and information gathering process.
Besides interviews and literature reviews, I also used auto and digital ethnography, as well as diary studies and affinity mapping to hone in on my findings and to categorize different aspects and facets of my research.
Following the findings of my research I saw 4 opportunities for OCAD to focus on to better help their students through this transition process from online to in-person learning.
After reflecting on the insights that came from careful and empathetic analysis of my research, I found that OCAD’s diversity also lends itself to the ways that the online and transition to in person learning has affected its students, as many consequences of the pandemic can be directly attributed to student success. Although the change in class delivery affected students in their own unique ways, the primary research I conducted offers 5 major insights into how students are collectively adjusting to the rapid change caused by the transition from online to in person learning. Students are continuing to adjust their course of education in tandem with the negative effects of prolonged online education. Many of their concerns revolve around time management and balance, their sense of community, campus accessibility, mental wellbeing and negative feelings, and coping with a loss of time. These issues continue to hamper students' ability to learn, and there is currently a lack of planning for the future on OCAD’s part to address these feelings. Thankfully, OCAD still has the opportunity to better aid their students acclimate to the transition from online learning to in-person education.
