News Outlets like @GuardianEdu are doing a terrible job communicating to Uni students about "online teaching". Most imply that all teaching will be online, when Universities like @Cambridge_Uni have only said "lectures" will be online. #dontdefer #university 1/

Yes, lectures are central to a university education, but a lot of learning also takes place in one-to-one meetings, or group tutorials and seminars. Depending on your course, there might also be labs, practical sessions, or workshops. Self directed learning is vital, too 2/

In my experience, students stop attending lectures in large numbers by about week 3. Where lectures go up online, there is an even steeper reduction in attendance. While "in person" lectures are the ideal, it's also true that students demand online recordings to avoid lectures 3/

So if you're thinking of deferring, consider that most of your learning (hour by hour) is already online - reading, mock exams, interactive workbooks, media portfolios, essay writing, planning group work, making presentations, etc.- You do all of this online/digitally already! 4/

Yes, obviously the social element will be gone if students are mostly at home (or, potentially, restricted to dorms and classrooms only, if living on campus), but the advice to defer is very misleading. Students may come to regret that decision. Why would I say this? 5/

Firstly, it's wrong to assume that instruction that is not in-person is somehow less academically worthwhile. Students will still be learning from world-class experts in their field. In fact students might have more access to Professors, as unis are hiring fewer casual staff 6/

I've seen comments on here like "imagine if [famous intellectual" had to study online!". Guess what? Most famous intellectuals attended university when "education" was done alone, in the library, lab, or archive. Higher education is about self-motivated learning, with support 7/

In fact, think about how academic researchers share their knowledge - largely through journal articles and reports, to be read by others in their field. THIS is what learning often looks like - being well read and well informed. Online learning is well equipped for this 8/

So, on that point, students may in fact get more one-to-one contact this year; learn to focus more actively on their studies, and develop deeper knowledge of their subject area by actually doing the readings (in the absence of mates and hangovers to distract you). 9/

Secondly - I wonder what students plan to do with their "gap" year? I've seen comments about getting a job, moving in with mates, even a backpacking year. These seem unlikely. The economy is shrinking. Low skill industries have shut up shop. Global travel has halted 10/

If you don't already have a job lined up, think about what you will do for a year... Even if you could get a flight to Australia, for example, the flight would be expensive, and the economy is not in good shape. Social distancing is the norm there. No partying, few jobs. 11/

While learning online might require students to be more disciplined, committed, and self-motivated It's not realistic to put your life on hold for COVID-19, when one of the better opportunities out there is to at least dedicate time to your studies, rather than waste a year 12/

Third, your parents don't have all the answers. I've seen a lot of parents on here suggesting that it's a huge waste of 9k for their kids to have to learn online. My question for them would be - what do you assume online learning means? Why is it beneath your child? 13/

University education doesn't happen only on campus. Yes, students access services - gyms, cafes, learning zones - but these are added extras. What they also access are global research databases and archives; professional digital tools; academic staff, careers services, etc. 14/

These are all still available - and in many cases there will be more access to these services. Libraries are working to expand digital collections; academic staff are readying to limit research to focus more on teaching; innovative digital tools are being added all the time. 15/

On that point: parents who make disparaging remarks that their child may as well go to the OU are also showing their ignorance - this isn't the 80s where people were posted work books for distance education. This is interactive, live, higher education - delivered with skill. 16/

Third: there's no reason to assume that everything will be "virtual". True, universities are not being very clear right now - everything is still being planned - but it's likely that most will be "hybrid" with large activities like lectures to go online, but others in-person 17/

While we don't know what this will look like, chances are this will mean small group tutorials or one-to-ones on campus as early as possible. Even if these are conducted online to begin with, students will get the same access to teaching staff, and other students, as usual 18/

Just because lectures are online, this also doesn't mean boring recordings. It might be live streaming or video question sessions; it might be a recording with subtitles, annotations and interactive activities. Most campuses use far more sophisticated software than just Zoom. 19/

It's fundamentally wrong to assume that "lectures online" means no verbal contact with anyone; no tutorials; all other activities online for that period; self-directed learning 24/7. We can do a pretty good job of replacing most of the on-campus contact - with extra support 20/

Fourth: we have no idea how this ends. If you take a gap year this year, how do we know everything will be normal next year? It's a gamble to assume that the first year (or 2nd, or 3rd year) you imagined will be waiting for you in 2022. We may need to adapt to a new "normal" 21/

Universities may be forced to maximise course capacities in 2022, while having tight budgets, leading to resource strain. Social distancing may still mean dorm-based isolation, and few parties. Competition for places may be tougher, with lots of deferred students returning 22/

To finish, I have a few caveats to this. There are of course many students for whom staying at "home" is genuinely not possible. Students experiencing family breakdown or homelessness; students in crowded housing, etc. For these students, campus living should be an option /23

Students may also have limited access to internet, hardware, and software to complete their course work. In this case, universities must prepare to provide these resources to students, free of charge. Students must have equal access and opportunity, as they would on campus. 24/

In general, however, don't put your life on hold for COVID-19. If you feel able to study, and don't have another feasible plan, you shouldn't worry that you won't get a good education. It's not the case. Yes, you will need to be more motivated, but the rewards will be there /25