So, you recently converted your topic to online delivery in a matter of days and are worried that it’s not your finest work? Perhaps you feel uncomfortable with virtual delivery and fear the rapid conversion has lost the social aspect of learning? Or maybe you are one of the lucky ones, with topics that were planned, designed and developed from the outset for online delivery, and you’re not sure what all the fuss is about?

An interesting article in EDUCAUSE Review may help alleviate concerns by suggesting that what has happened across the sector as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic is a quick solution, and not necessarily best practice online learning and teaching. Where online courses typically take months of deliberate planning, design and development before delivery, what has happened here is different. It is not necessarily high-quality online education, but a quick, improvised solution to an immediate problem enacted to enable the continuation of teaching and learning in a storm. It is a life raft, not a luxury liner. It is Emergency Remote Teaching, not online learning. It is a foundation that will enable continual improvement, and ultimately, flexibility of delivery which many of our students greatly appreciate.

Read the article here.