(How outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19 affected your life:)  Other than working from home and attending meetings via Zoom, the pandemic did not affect my normal flow of work very much, since I work with mostly online programs. I did experience an increase in web-based meetings via Teams and Zoom with individuals across my campus for various pandemic-related issues (e.g., trainings for those new to Zoom, Teams, or online learning; safe return to campus; etc.). Personally, there was an increase in stress due to health concerns in my family and helping my young children understand why our daily lives were significantly changing so rapidly.

To handle the uncertainty and flood of information, I limit the intake of information from two or three trusted sources and fact-check everything on my social media that seems concerning.

To help with the stress, I try to intentionally focus on moments with my family; exercise regularly; and eat healthier to make-up for all of my stress-baking.  

At work, the pandemic affected my life most by increasing my remote work, moving all of my meetings online, and increasing my use of gifs. :) At the start, I didn't notice the disconnect between colleagues occurring because of the lack of informal conversations that happen naturally around the office. As time wore on, I realized we weren't having as many back and forth conversations that typically lead to break-throughs in ideas for solving ongoing issues. Because of this, my team restructured some of our meetings to be more intentional about informal, collaborative conversations. The pandemic also sped-up some of the conversations we were already having with our faculty. Before the pandemic, our enrollment data was showing more interest in online versus on-ground; however, we were also receiving an increase of interest in synchronous online. Once the pandemic was clearly here to stay for more than a couple of weeks, these conversations moved forward quicker than expected.

I was fortunate enough to move into my new home on March 6, one week before the shutdown. Luckily, I was able to setup my home office the first weekend of the shutdown and in a separate room from my spouse, who already telecommutes for work. I have a desk that sit/stands, which is good, since my office chair is uncomfortable, but I won't spend money on a new one. I have a laptop and ipad, which acts as my dual monitor to help with efficiencies. I was already a heavy user of the cloud, so I didn't have any issue with access to files or the need to remote into my work desktop. For comfort, I enjoy taking my laptop out to the deck to enjoy the sunshine while catching up on emails or attending some meetings.

(About new approaches to online teaching and learning:)  I was already using Zoom as a discussion tool in my online courses, but I have become more aware of the time I'm allotting to that area of my class with people are spending significantly more time on their computers. I also find myself trying to differentiate my activities more from what the students are likely experiencing in other courses or projects in their workplace to provide variety.

(About how video conferencing and Zoom has impacted life and work:)  I think Zoom (and Teams web-conferencing) has changed my work for the better and worse. It is better because I am making connections with more people across campus and the field with the increase in comfort of using these web-based meeting tools. The setup is more collaborative than the phone calls I was often having previously. It is worse due to the amount (fatigue is real) and decrease in the informal conversations that are possible in a Zoom setting.

I am more intentional about informing students of my availability to meet about class topics or to discuss issues they are facing at work (especially the K- 12 teachers in my graduate-level classes). I have shortened my window of time to reply to emails. I know how much uncertainty everyone is facing, if a quick answer to an assignment question can lessen that feeling, I am happy to help. Also, I increased my feedback on all assignments because it appeared that students were craving the information. In the past, I would guess around half of my students did not review feedback; however, this year, before I would send my email to the class announcing feedback was available for review, I was receiving questions from students about the feedback received.

(About engaging with colleagues:)  My team uses Teams chat in multiple ways and times throughout the day. The whole team, small groups, and 1:1 chats are frequent. There is a good balance between serious issues to resolve, collaborative discussion to resolve persistent issues, and more informal, but all are heavy in emojis and gifs. I find it really important to find the fun and laughter as many situations as we can. Life is heavy right now; laughter makes it manageable.

(About new technologies that are helpful:)  We would not have made a successful transition to remote work without the use of Teams. It is not a new technology, we used it prior to the pandemic, but is became a necessary everyday tool moreso than any other.

I suppose my background and comfort with technology could be considered a superpower to deal with the increased reliance on it, as well as a spouse in IT. But I believe my real superpower in my ability to cope comes from the strength of motherhood. There is nothing like a 5- and 2-year old to put you back into the reality of taking life one day at a time and a game of hide-and-seek away from joy.

(About what a “new normal” could look like:)  In education, I think we will see an increase in our reliance on online technologies and the recognition of the possibility of taking learning wherever you go. The pandemic has all but forced this transition on us. Though this pandemic has provided an opening for the continued question of the quality of online learning, I have hope that it will also stifle many, as more individuals experience the opportunities online provides.

(About what will be remembered from this time:)  The given memory of this year will likely be uncertainty, fear, and grief. Yet, I believe I will also remember it as a year of immense growth and learning; a year of determining what matters most; and, a year of extra time and giggles with my children.

(About how to prepare for a future pandemic:)  I don't think I would do much differently than I have while facing this pandemic, except maybe engaging in less discussion on the topic. My advice for future pandemics: be sure that your sources are reliable, understand that you can only affect your behavior (or those who you are responsible for), and take time to do things that you enjoy whenever you can.

Dr. Katie Uhlenhake serves as Assistant Dean at Baker University.  Her email is kuhlenhake@bakeru.edu.