Confinement Day 4 and 5 in France: Dear professors who want to continue teaching online while universities are closed

Universities have closed due to the Coronavirus and many of them are switching to online teaching to ensure the continuity of the education. My university in France is one of them. However, my university, a public university in rural France, does not have the IT infrastructure to implement this substitutional education, at least not immediately. Some professors have been sending their lecture notes via emails or trying to engage a discussion and corrections of exercises on the famous educational platform called Moodle (yes, that exists in France, too).

But as I am seeing how it's being done at the moment, I have some suggestions for professors who want to continue teaching online while universities are closed.

1. All the students might not have the means to participate

Again, our school is a public university. Public universities do not charge tuition for the education that they offer. Although many scholarships are put in place and it's very common these days to have one's own laptop, the school never required us to own one. We do have, of course, some assignments in which a computer and internet connection are needed and it should not cause any problems in general. However, that is because there are computers available in the university libraries.

I understand that it's highly unlikely to find students who do not own a laptop in this day and age, but I still think it is something to take into consideration when planning online teaching.

2. Don't expect us to check email every minute of the day

The one you are sending your email to is our university email account, not our personal one. Students don't spend their day checking emails. Thus, we cannot respond immediately to the deadline that you set for us.

Plus, setting a deadline on the day we are supposed to do that particular assignment at the normal time is not a good idea. For example, in this case, many students actually had to move completely from their dorm room back to their homes. That is a troublesome thing to do while worrying about your studies and assignments. Giving us a couple extra days wouldn't do much.

3. Please make the instructions and deadlines very very clear

Just because you sent the date and time of a deadline in one email, it does not mean that you don't have to spell out the information on the platform on which we are supposed to submit our assignments. If you want students to engage in discussion by a certain date, set multiple small deadlines to ensure each step of the way. Also, we don't only get emails from you. Students get emails from numerous professors as well as university administration. Please know that your information might be lost if you don't specify it on the course platform.

4. Please keep us informed of what you decided

Professors have been sending us emails individually and we don't know what was decided in their meeting. The fact that the department faculty head has not sent us an email informing us of what they decided that is applicable to all the classes is, in my opinion, problematic.

5. Don't work on weekends, and don't expect us to work on weekends

It says it all. You can set the deadline on weekends, but don't expect us to engage in discussion during the time we are supposed to be resting. 

To fellow students who are working from home, keep your spirit up and don't overwork! Try to separate your personal life and work or studies because when you are at home all day, it's very easy for you to be absorbed in the workaholic cycle because you can, in fact, work non-stop without any exterior interruptions. 

Get some air by opening your windows. Go take a walk in your yard or on your way to the garbage bin. Do some exercise that you can find on YouTube!

The most important thing is your health.