COVID-19 5

Can opportunities be found within this pandemic? 

My colleagues and I have found that in creating and modifying our instructional materials for the asynchronous environment, while practicing user-centered and accessible design principles, is a lengthy process. It is longer and more labor-intensive than creating materials meant to be used in a face-to-face context when we have the luxury of explaining more fully as students use them. We have to spell each step out, and ask our student employees to test the results. Then, we find that after creating a new product we are compelled to go back to improve the previous products. 

Some librarians are good at creating short videos. I'm not, not yet. I'm better at explaining steps in written form with graphics. When a student colleague completed one assignment I had written, I saw gaps. Now back to modifying!  

Is iterative change or continuous improvement, as in changing our instructional materials, contradictory to transformational change? We're in the middle of a catastrophe, and transformational change should result, as seen by publishers opening up digital collections for no cost, education going online-only, and libraries continuing to provide services and collections digitally. What will the transformational change be in library instruction and our learning objects?

COVID-19 4

One of my colleagues asked to meet online but hadn’t used google meet before – he was pleased with it being so easy, and actually tutored me on changing my settings even though it was his 1st time using it! He has been thinking about how to re-open in f2f with shields between faculty and students in offices and in public-facing offices (in my case, our service desks), using only the largest classroom/lab spaces with fewer students.

Will the uni limit the # of students in f2f classes for the fall? It seems counter-productive to financial sense but common sense for maintaining health. If we schedule f2f library instruction, do we ask to split the classes up into different days or sessions if they have too many students to space appropriately? It’ll be noisier when we ask them to collaborate while being farther apart, and we can handle that! (As long as we’re prepared ahead of time.)

How do we do the “working with each student individually” in a lab/classroom setting? I can only imagine it takes away from emotional safety if a student has to share their topic loudly. We might have to do this in hallways if in a space that allows for it and in my library, have one of the adjacent small rooms booked.

I’m not sure how to handle f2f individual consultations in my office – or if we should only use the bookable small group rooms – but wiping them down in between uses? And/Or do we both wear masks, no matter which space we use?

I think we could do some great brainstorming together!

COVID-19 3

People write that the world will be different after this, and I think education becomes even more important - teaching people to see others' points of view, teaching empathy, caring, and how to practice kindness. Changing the economy from frontier or pioneer (always expanding) capitalism to something more like democratic socialism, I hope. 

But how do we deal with fewer hugs and kisses? They have become more important, more necessary, and deadly. 

We also have to teach people to pay attention to the sky, the sunshine and precipitation, the clouds, the plants and animals. We have to change our mechanization to use less-destructive energy. We have to recycle, stop polluting, and actively clean up the planet. Put resources into recycling plants and return to creating products that last a long time. Put education resources into teaching people to fix things - the trades are important - plumbing, mechanics, heating and cooling. Cleaners, teachers, servers, carers (e.g., daycare and nursing home workers, nurses, "personal care attendants") need to be paid as well as or better than the so-called "white collar" employees and owners. Everyone needs healthcare, education, and other human rights. The United Nations has "Peace, dignity and equality on a healthy planet" on their homepage now. Their sustainable development goals are what pre-school to higher education should consider as the basic curricula. 

COVID-19 2

Yesterday, we went to a park for a short walk. We walked slowly on a boardwalk at the end of the road and saw a few birds, a bird's nest, ripples on the lake, pussy willows, and a lone Spring Beauty blooming. As we returned to the car, I was grateful that another walker had waited for us to leave the path before he proceeded.

Grateful that he stayed away.

That is what has been the most difficult thing for for me about this crisis.* Being afraid of seeing other people, of interacting with them when I can't control the distance. Of picking up groceries or take-out food when the substitute shoppers, cooks, and servers aren't wearing masks of any sort. Of neighbor kids running full tilt toward me as they are pulled along by their dog. There's nowhere to go, no escape. I have to turn my face and body away, hold my breath, keep walking until I am compelled to breathe.

Is there anything positive that may come from what’s happening?*
Via social media, I've seen cool art and crafts that others are making. I've sent more letters, both via snail mail (hurrah for the USPS) and email. I've made more of an effort to cook on the weekends, trying recipes that are new to me. I've exercised more during the week. I chat more with colleagues.

More on another day.

*Prompts from:
Jen A. Miller. "Why You Should Start a Coronavirus Diary." New York Times, April 13, 2020.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/13/smarter-living/why-you-should-start-a-coronavirus-diary.html

Student Scholars Day: Hero Journeys

Watched the following presentation: DeVlieger, Kristie. Monomyth Strikes Back. https://youtu.be/0oSxmmD1918
Abstract: The Monomyth, commonly referred to as The Hero’s Journey, examines the stages of the hero who goes on an adventure, faces a crisis, and returns victorious. This narrative framework has relevance in a variety of fields, including marketing, narrative creation, classroom instruction, and literature analysis. As a WRT (Writing) major, I encountered many stories that would have benefited from the monomyth and sought a way to provide a tool to fill this need for student writers. My research involved reading related texts and creating a survey to evaluate current student knowledge. I learned several of the invisible research components, user accessibility training, and two software systems. I was able to create a Subject Guide on the Monomyth for the Library Website, that provides a comprehensive introduction to the topic and provides further resources. The Monomyth has continued importance as new applications of the framework develop, something I have been experimenting with since.

And read through this Library Subject Guide: DeVlieger, Kristie. The Monomyth (The Hero's Journey) https://libguides.gvsu.edu/monomyth 

I hadn’t been aware of the following 2 sources on Kristie's guide and had fun/learned from reading them:

• Kenneth W. Davis & Scott R. Weeden's Teacher as trickster on the learner's journey – found this interesting as I’ve often found myself in the trickster role in my life but hadn’t considered its relevance to teaching. Also, I really resisted the call to teach, and went through the archetypal journey in learning to teach well! 

• Carl B. Yoke's Slaying the Dragon Within: Andre Norton's Female Heroes – read some Norton while growing up, and also have looked to the heroic women examples of authors like Lois McMaster Bujold, Ursula Le Guin, Laurie Marks, Robin McKinley, and Sharon Shinn. Davis, Kenneth W, and Scott R. Weeden. "Teacher As Trickster on the Learner's Journey." Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. 9.2 (2009): 70-81.

Yoke, Carl B. “Slaying The Dragon Within: Andre Norton's Female Heroes.” Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, vol. 4, no. 3 (15), 1991, pp. 79–93. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/43308112 . Accessed 8 Apr. 2020.

This page is cool, too: Odenthal, Kathleen. A List of Modern Day Archetypes 

COVID-19

Ahmad, Aisha S. 2020, March 27. “ Why You Should Ignore All That Coronavirus-Inspired Productivity Pressure.” The Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/article/Why-You-Should-Ignore-All-That/248366

“Global catastrophes change the world.... the legacy of this pandemic will live with us for years, perhaps decades to come. It will change the way we move, build, learn, and connect. … The emotionally and spiritually sane response is to prepare to be forever changed.”

"Let go of all of the profoundly daft ideas you have about what you should be doing right now. Instead, focus intensely on your physical and psychological security."

I felt quite productive at first, but today am having trouble concentrating. So Ahmad's thoughts are very relevant. Also, it is warm out!

Stage 2
"Now more than ever, we must abandon the performative [productivity] and embrace the authentic. Our essential mental shifts require humility and patience. Focus on real internal change. These human transformations will be honest, raw, ugly, hopeful, frustrated, beautiful, and divine. And they will be slower than keener academics are used to. Be slow. Let this distract you. Let it change how you think and how you see the world. Because the world is our work."

Stage 3
"On the other side of this shift, your wonderful, creative, resilient brain will be waiting for you. ... Things will start to feel more natural. The work will also make more sense, and you will be more comfortable about changing or undoing what is already in motion. ... Emotionally prepare for this crisis to continue for 12 to 18 months, followed by a slow recovery. If it ends sooner, be pleasantly surprised. Right now, work toward establishing your serenity, productivity, and wellness under sustained disaster conditions.  ... On the other side of this journey of acceptance are hope and resilience. We will know that we can do this, even if our struggles continue for years. We will be creative and responsive, and will find light in all the nooks and crannies. We will learn new recipes and make unusual friends. We will have projects we cannot imagine today, and will inspire students we have not yet met. And we will help each other."

What an amazing essay, exactly at the time I needed it.