Since the end of March, Tinkoff Education has switched entirely to distance learning due to the coronavirus. Before that, all courses were offline, in the Tinkoff office, for three months, and the transition took place in the midst of training. We asked teachers and students how they experienced it.
Eugene, Python teacher
“I always lectured in front of real people, but here there was a black screen.”
The most important thing that was lacking in online as a teacher was feedback. I was used to lecturing in front of real people, but here in front of me was a black screen. And the guys were also embarrassed to turn on the microphone, we did not ask them to turn on the cameras. That is, for an hour and a half to two hours I talked as if to myself, with pauses for answers to rare questions.
During an offline lecture, you can make a joke, pause or dwell on the current topic in more detail if you see puzzled faces. Online lectures are different, it's hard to feel the mood of the audience. In order not to go crazy, I represented the audience in front of me, then it turned out to be both joking and laughing myself in response. In general, I quickly got used to it. But, perhaps, if you perceive this more as a webinar, and not as an attempt to transfer live performances offline, then there will be no problems. Many colleagues liked this format more.
Plus, you don't need to prepare as thoroughly for an online lecture as for a regular one. You can always spy on: slides and abstracts to them before your eyes.
Evgeny Bulygin, student of the course "Backend Development in Python" (Yekaterinburg)
“I wrote a copy of Instagram”
I am a second year student of the Ural Federal University in the direction of “software engineering”. I went to Tinkoff Fintech to deepen my knowledge of development, went after a couple of times a week.
In the middle of the course, due to self-isolation, we switched to Zoom, listened to lectures online, but the schedule remained the same. Personally, I did not notice a big difference in the presentation of the material, the quality of teaching did not decrease.
We did our homework and before quarantine on our own, sent it to teachers and received feedback. I spent a lot of time on them: every day I spent about six hours on homework. For example, there was a homework assignment - to write an asynchronous chat, or write a service for evaluating films such as "Kinopoisk", or a service for processing pictures. Then everyone wrote a course project: I made a copy of Instagram, finished the course in first place in terms of points.
Personally, I liked listening to lectures live, in the office: the teacher was joking, we could answer, everything was somehow relaxed and lively. And in "Zoom", even when the teacher tried to joke, there was just silence in response.
We had our graduation, if you can call it that, also at Zuma. The teachers praised, told about other courses and said goodbye, we were sent electronic certificates. They promised that they would send real certificates with gifts. While we are waiting. (From Tinkoff Education: We will send gifts and certificates as soon as the situation with the coronavirus changes).
Masha, teacher of the QA Engineer course
“During the lectures, I had to ask the guys: 'Are you alive there?'”
Even before the quarantine, we thought about filming the lectures on video and then posting them for the course participants. Self-isolation came, we began to conduct lectures at Zuma, and there it is easier to record video lectures.
It was difficult for me to switch completely to online, my material was prepared for offline lectures: for example, during practical classes I drew on a flipchart to demonstrate examples of the topic. But online, I solved this problem: I found an editor, shared the screen and rendered the material like this.
During the lectures, I had to ask the guys: "Are you alive there?" Because at the beginning we asked them to turn on the camera and microphone, but the students did not react to this and, out of habit, were not ready to actively communicate online.
We, as Tinkoff employees, are already accustomed to working as part of a remote team, for us constant calls is the norm. And for those who are not yet used to daily video conferencing, it is strange and scary. But we couldn't force people without their desire to show themselves. In general, in the very first online classes, there were completely black screens in front of me, then over time someone began to turn on the camera.
I began to spend more time communicating with students online in a general telegram group and in a personal, answering questions about lectures and homework. Previously, they could be solved quickly after an offline lecture.
But what I really liked about the online lectures: the teacher can immediately demonstrate the live coding process, can show the work process itself - our tools, search for errors right in the browser, create documentation and much more.
Unfortunately, the online format does not always give an idea of the participant as a person: how active he is, what his character is. But we, as educators at Fintech, need to give our feedback on the best contributors for the HR department. And here, of course, the quality of our reviews suffered. After all, without personal interaction, we could not say whether this person is suitable for the team "in spirit" or not.
Mikhail Volkov, student of the QA Engineer course
“At one of the first lectures, the teacher suggested testing the chair”
I work, and I combined my studies at Fintech with a full working day. To arrive on time for a lecture, he came to work early and left early in the evening. In the online format, I didn't waste time getting to the office.
We had about six lessons before going online. I remember that in one of the first lectures, the teacher suggested testing a chair as an example in order to consider the general principles of testing, as well as to clearly show the differences in the types of testing. In another lesson, there was a game where we studied the distribution of tasks in a team. After each lecture, you could always approach the teacher, ask questions about the topic or homework. This is not possible online: all communication went into the course chat and in personal messages with the teachers. There was not enough live communication.
Before Tinkoff Fintech, I took various training courses, both online and offline, in other companies. In most cases, teachers in these courses rarely answered students' questions. Here, I always received feedback, even when all my studies went online, at any time of the day or night. Most importantly, the teachers were happy to help. And it's all free.
I liked that for the course, the teachers initially created a web application with defects and on it we trained to look for errors, describe, create test documentation, and slightly automate the testing process. In general, the course has two important parts: how to write test documentation, and the technical part of testing itself. As part of lectures and homework, we wrote test documentation, in practice we used PostgreSQL, Postman and other technologies to test a web application. In my opinion, lectures with theoretical material are still better to be conducted live: it is easier to ask questions and consider examples this way. But the practice is very convenient to take place online.
Anton, teacher of the course "System and Business Analysis (Ryazan)"
“In the classroom, you can always see who needs to be woken up, who wants to ask, but is shy.”
As a teacher, feedback from students has ceased to suffice.
I am an analyst, and by the nature of my work I have many contacts. I'm used to it when everyone communicates with each other, actively listens.
In the audience, you can always see who needs to be woken up, who wants to ask, but is shy. And when you communicate with students remotely, you get the feeling that you are talking to emptiness: students do not turn on cameras, they do not ask. If you are shy, you can write to the chat. But most of them didn't use it. You don't know whether they understand everything, or whether they are sleeping.
To remove it, the program had to be slightly redesigned. In offline, we wanted to simulate situations of communication with customers for the participants. But in the remote format, everything did not go as we wanted: we had two teams of students. In theory, they were supposed to self-organize and interact with each other. Offline, you can always direct the work of teams. But online it didn't work out the way I wanted it to.
Of course, I like offline lectures more. But online has its advantages: presentations are more efficient due to the tools that provide streaming services: I shared the screen, drew directly on the slide to better present the material. Plus, it is convenient for students, especially those at work: there is no need to take time off from work to be in time for a lecture.
Artem, student of the course "System and Business Analysis (Ryazan)"
“During the lecture, I usually locked myself in a separate room in order to concentrate on the material as much as possible.”
I liked the format of real lectures, I liked our group, teachers, live interaction. It's commonplace.
Tinkoff's office is in the center, I live nearby and spent 15 minutes on the way to the office by car. Yes, when we went online, there was no need to waste time traveling. But for Ryazan, travel time is not as critical as, for example, in Moscow. Although sometimes after work or school someone was late, sometimes we waited 15-20 minutes for the start of the lecture. In the online format, everyone started on time.
During the lecture, I usually locked myself in a separate room in order to concentrate as much as possible on the material. Usually we listened to the teacher, and almost no one asked questions: there was a feeling that either people were shy, or they were just listening to the lecture in the background, while they were doing their own thing.
I finished second in the course by rating. I spent a little time on my homework - an hour and a half, since I am already familiar with the field of business analysis.
Online is very good for those who just came for new knowledge: you can study remotely, and the lecturers provided enough information both offline and online. But if you come to Fintech with the further aim of finding a job, then the format of offline classes is still better: you see real employees, you see the atmosphere in the company itself, you understand whether it suits you and whether you are suitable for this place.
Azamat, teacher of the QA Automation course (Yekaterinburg)
“They don’t torture me with questions online and you can always spy on a nearby iPad.”
Last year I attended a public speaking course, and all the skills I got there are aimed at contacting people live. How a teacher could easily capture the attention of the audience offline. For example, imagine that there are 25 people sitting in front of you in a 5 × 5 square. And in the farthest corner, instead of listening to the material, a person is playing on the phone. You do not need to call out to him or somehow address him: you just go around the hall, stand behind him and continue to tell the material. The person immediately turns on, and you continue the lecture.
The format of a real lecture allows you to use many such features: to work with intonation, pauses. You can drop the pen after all, or you can knock to keep the audience's attention.
You can't do that in Zuma: all the guys are locked. They could turn on the camera and microphone at will, of course, but no one did it, everyone was shy and did not ask questions.
Although there is also a plus for the teacher: they do not torment with questions and you can always spy on the nearby iPad. Offline, you must be 100% ready so as not to forget the material.
An important point: when you come to a lecture in an office or other special place, you are concentrated, your attention is active. When you listen to an online lecture, you can do it in your underwear; children and cats can distract you. So I think students' attention span was lower. Although it was a plus for me as a teacher.
Comparing my teaching experience, it is certainly easier for people offline to ask questions. Online, after the lecture, you have a flurry of questions in the general chat or PM, as no one asked during the lecture. In such cases, we shared: guys, observe the deadlines, the teacher will answer chats at a certain time, he does not work day-night.
Evelina Yametova, student of the QA Automation course (Yekaterinburg)
“It was very comfortable for me to listen to lectures via videoconferences at Zuma. Firstly, you are at home, and secondly, you always get a video recording. ”
For me personally, going online is great. I myself am a shy person, it was uncomfortable for me to be at a lecture surrounded by people new to me. Plus saving time on the road: 40 minutes one way only.
Even at a regular lecture, the teachers told the material quickly, it was physically impossible to keep up with them.
Therefore, it was very comfortable for me to listen to lectures via videoconferences at Zuma. Firstly, you are at home, and secondly, you always get a video recording. One day I felt bad during a lecture and could not concentrate on the material. So I reviewed the recording later. This is a big plus for me as a student.
Sergey, teacher of the Golang development course
“The guys didn’t complain and the cameras were on.”
Initially, our course is structured in such a way that we present a significant block of information to students in the process of communication. We have difficult sections where you need to consistently complicate the material, immerse the student in the problem being solved. To do this, I painted on the whiteboard, asked the audience questions, and involved as much as possible in the process.
In the online format, we were deprived of such an opportunity, which, unfortunately, could not be replaced in a normal way. We replaced the whiteboard with a slide in the presentation, discussed incomprehensible points with the students in detail, but we did not manage to swing them into interactive mode.
But the midterm (verification) control was more successful. We immediately introduced the rules of the game: we designated the time when the student should connect to the call with the teacher, the included webcam became a prerequisite for passing the control. Surprisingly, the guys did not complain and the cameras were turned on.
Online, it takes more time to check the knowledge of one student during midterm control - in general, two hours more for the entire stream. But the check itself has become more qualitative: you can immediately see how much the student is guided in the code - he codes online with you personally - and how he solves problems on the basis of the material covered live. You see the whole process: how he thinks he is writing.
In general, I would like to note for my part that I most of all lacked communication with students at lectures; I would not replace them with an online format. As far as verification checkpoints are concerned, here, in principle, the online format turned out to be more successful if evaluated from the point of view of the quality of verification.
Sofya Mikhailova, student of the development course at Golang
“It's great that the teachers always answered questions about the lecture and homework, and could answer at 1 am.”
Personally, the transition to online saved me time on the way from university to office and from office to home. It's about four hours.
We switched to the online format early enough, did not have time to make friends with classmates. But in the chat we communicated closely. It's great that the teachers always answered questions about the lecture and homework, and could answer at one in the morning. It has never happened that I did not receive feedback from the teacher.
One of the main disadvantages of going online is still less focus on lectures. At home, it's easier to distract yourself, go for a snack.
But in general, the transition to online did not affect the quality of knowledge that you receive on the course. I am a third year student of the Moscow Aviation Institute, at the Faculty of Information Technology and Applied Informatics, and purposefully went to Golang as one of the promising languages.
Pain and joy online
Both teachers and students agreed on one thing: it is possible to study online, but it is better to meet live.
Pros of online learning:
- saving time on the road;
- comfortable conditions at home;
- there are lecture notes;
- you can demonstrate to students the process itself and the tools.
Cons of online learning:
- comfortable at home, but constantly distracted;
- worse feedback;
- not to find new friends, the atmosphere in the company's team is not visible.