Last week saw the beginning of the new term (or Hilary as it is called in Oxford). And with it, came the return to normality, or at least the return to full in-person lectures for students, especially first and second years whose lectures were nearly all online last term. Masks had still to be worn but we were back to the model of a fixed-time, a lecturer, a whiteboard and lots of pens (marker and biro).
But are they preferable to the online version? It's a big question and here is not the place to give an answer (even if we had an answer just yet, or one with which everyone agreed). Instead here are some thoughts from first-year Oxford Mathematics and Christ Church College student Lucy Wang as part of her short film about her first day of term. Linear Algebra, coffee, companionship and comfort food; and some interesting thoughts about the online-offline conundrum. She'll be back with more.
P. S. All first and second year lectures are followed by tutorials where students meet their tutor to go through the lecture and associated problem sheet and to talk and think more about the maths. Third and fourth year lectures are followed by classes.