The Power of Digital Communities During Social Distancing

Over the past few weeks, we’ve had many conversations with faculty and administrators and it’s no surprise that the coronavirus (COVID-19) is top of mind for all of them. In truth, this unexpected pandemic has caused many colleges and universities to recognize that they don’t have a comprehensive plan to keep classes going if campus closes for more than a few days. And while “going online” may sound like an easy solution, we all recognize that it’s actually an incredibly difficult transition for faculty, staff, and students. 

There are many considerations when going digital. Normally, a school would take months - or even years - to navigate this process.  Of course, in the midst of this pandemic, institutions don’t have this luxury and will measure their runway for change in weeks or days. To accommodate a move in such a short timeframe, institutions are turning to each other for advice, best practices, and technology solutions.  We’ve had the opportunity to participate in many of these conversations and are inspired by the openness of our higher education community and the willingness of our members to share with each other.

To support this movement of collaboration, we’re announcing the launch of the InScribe Continuity Planning and Support community. This community is freely available to all education professionals and is a space to share concerns, questions, ideas, and solutions during this time of change and uncertainty.  In this community, you can also find links to many of the valuable resources published by other education organizations and institutions.  

It is our hope that this community will offer a space for leaders to participate in an ongoing dialogue about their experiences preparing for and executing continuity plans for their students and faculty.

Be well and take care of each other.

ABOUT INSCRIBE

InScribe is a community and collaboration platform that brings together experts and peers to ask questions, share knowledge, and help one another. Because we believe that education is not a solo sport.  Get in touch at hello@inscribeapp.com.