Friday Follow Up

As dozens of colleges and universities canceled face-to-face classes and moved to online delivery of these classes since March 9th (i.e. not the same thing as intentionally-designed online education), the US postsecondary system appears to already be entering the next phase.

Phase 1: The Rush to Zoom

Phase 1 could be considered as all-hands-on-deck, do whatever you can to have some educational presence for all classes online. Commenters have rightly pointed out that students’ and educators’ health and safety are more important than worrying about quality course design or even equitable access. In the EdTech world, think of this phase as Put everything on Zoom and worry about details later. Substitute Microsoft Teams or Webex or Collaborate for Zoom, as so many instructors opt for the comfort of synchronous video discussions to replace the face-to-face experience. [snip]

At the same time, it has become quite apparent this week that any view of these emergency shutdowns and online migrations as only taking a few weeks is mistaken. We are likely at the point where the full spring term for both semester and quarter-based institutions will be delivered fully online, if at all. And there are plenty of scientific analyses suggesting that the disruptions will last at least until late Summer.