Anna Ode, student i Applied Cultural Analysis
#utbildningpågår
What do you study at the moment?
Hey, my name is Anna and I’m studying a master programme in Applied Cultural Analysis. My current course is called Fieldwork and Project Management. This semester my class is divided into groups that collaborate with different clients, either an organization, municipality or a company. My group is working with the Church of Sweden, who wants us to explore what opportunities there are to promote usage of church spaces.How is the transition to distance education for you?
Digital teaching works mostly well. The teachers give us good and clear information and they have adapted the teaching to the new circumstances. For example, the literature list has been updated with articles that are available online and that do not require a visit to the library. Having lectures online works well and it is quite nice not to have to commute from Malmö, where I live. Sitting at home can be tedious though. It feels a bit boring not being able to meet my group. We stay in touch via Whatsapp and Zoom which is fine but I would of course prefer to see them. During these digital meetings, technical problems can arise which are annoying and can complicate the conversation.What is most difficult in this new situation?
What I find to be the most difficult is that my group can’t do fieldwork as we have planned. The idea was to go out to the field and conduct observations in church spaces and to meet and talk to informants. But since the situation and the field have changed, we have to rethink. The interviews will be held online and we will focus on conducting netnography. I think it will be an interesting challenge but at the same time it’s a shame that we probably won't be able to meet informants in person.Do you have some recommendations for students in the same situation?
- Write to-do lists with both big and small tasks, eg "write an email to ..", “take a walk”, "have a zoom meeting with ...". It feels so nice to check off the different tasks.
- Do not study in bed. That place should not be associated with school.
- I do not know if this tip is fully accepted as some advocate not to leave the apartment and perhaps soon this will not be allowed. But! If you are healthy and have a friend who lives nearby and who is also studying: take a walk to them and study at their place. It can be nice to have someone to talk to and eat lunch with, and also it’s good for the discipline when someone else 'supervises' you :)
