Selected Resources to Help Teachers, Students, & Others Weather the Pandemic

The Coronavirus pandemic has upended virtually every aspect of our lives, from how, where, and even whether we work or study right now; to how we socialize and entertain ourselves; and even to how we shop for our daily needs. Some of those changes may be temporary, though many of us are already talking of having lost track of time, since the schedules most of us previously had in place have gone out the window. Other changes will be long-lasting, in ways that feel difficult to imagine right now.

One thing we know for certain is that higher education, and indeed K-12 education along with it, operates at least for the moment in markedly different ways than it did even a week ago. Again, countless people–instructors, students, parents, administrators, support staff–are scrambling to figure out the implications of these changes on a daily basis. At the same time, we find ourselves turning simultaneously into armchair epidemiologists, learning how the disease works and spreads; overnight experts in distance learning, whether that be by teaching courses, taking courses, or helping our children learn–or possibly all three at once; practitioners of social distancing, figuring out how to foster the bonds that are so fundamental to our humanity even when they’re devoid of literal human touch; navigators of a world whose brick-and-mortar businesses are increasingly scaling back or shutting down; and players of numerous other roles we never imagined playing until recently.

These cataclysmic changes have sparked many lively conversations among academics suddenly figuring out — often with extraordinary support from pedagogy and IT staff — how to move face-to-face courses online for the rest of the spring 2020 semester. The logistics and implications of that dramatic shift in turn spark many other ones. We in the UWM AAUP therefore thought it would be helpful to offer the list below of resources for tips on online teaching, information about the pandemic, and other tools for simply getting through the day with body and mind reasonably intact.

All of us in the UWM AAUP send best wishes during this challenging time.

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Teaching, learning, UWM responses, & higher ed more broadly

Academic Preparedness for Teaching and Learning | UWM Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning

Please Do a Bad Job of Putting Your Courses Online

UW Extended Campus COVID-19 Teaching Resources

Move Your Course Online for Spring 2020 (self-paced course)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/PlagueAverse/ (tips/discussions for moving from f2f to online)

Home – 2019 Novel Coronavirus Information [UW-Milwaukee’s responses to the crisis]

Coronavirus Information for Higher Ed: higher-ed and other resources from the AAUP

Resource List for Distance Learning & Research (Hesburgh Libraries, Notre Dame)

Activities for parents, kids, and everyone else

Wisconsin coronavirus: Spectrum offers students free internet access