The large state university I work at has a lot of online and distance programs. It is not prepared to go fully online. In addition to the strain it will put on network infrastructure, the faculty have not had time to adapt their courses to online format. On top of that, many faculty do not have the technical training needed to teach completely online.
Since I am in IT, I am already preparing laptops and answering questions about how Skype and Zoom work, etc. I can expect to be very busy with remote support once administration makes the declaration.
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Or jobs writing for SNL!
While your joke is somewhat valid for Harvard College students (1 in 3 students at the university), I sure as hell hope they still bother with classes for those studying at Harvard Medical!
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I can just imagine the massive delight of administrators who have been trying to force faculty to teach online classes for years.
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You know what they say;
You can always tell a Harvard man…
but you can’t tell him much.
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I have serious doubts that the Internet infrastructure will be able to handle the surge of the tele-work, teleconferencing, on-line classes, plus the shut ins streaming 4K Netflix. My 300Mbit connection buffers video most Sunday evenings as it is.
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I have a feeling I might get in some pretty heated arguments about school closures tonight. The first cluster of cases in my state was announced yesterday and they were all in this county. Tonight I have PTA. We were already in deeply heated discussions last month because two students had seizures from a poorly contained flu outbreak where our district stayed open while other nearby districts closed. With how recent the announcement was and the residual heated feelings from last time, I expect fireworks.
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So far the actual response of the University to various questions about housing and costs is ‘we are still figuring it out.’
Staff are still expected to report to work, but we’re being told to get ready to work from home if we can.
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Also sports: Ivy Leagu e suspending basketball games.
Now they are. Their implementation has been a little erratic though. To wit:
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This is almost assuredly an article missing the nuance of a plan. There will be plans for students who cannot return home and for feeding those who remain on campus. (Where I’m working we’re exploring either meals delivered to dorm rooms or shift eating).
Further evidence is that they’re allowing space for graduate students to continue their laboratory research. While this not directly related it does indicate a more nuanced plan than the headline.
edit: grammar
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I’ve seen some courses where the students have to upload videos of themselves performing certain tasks, or post photos of projects and others critique on a shared file site or voice thread or the like. Would that work for you?
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I’ll work something out. But a lot of the course was designed around lab time involving hand skills and specialized equipment like a laser cutter and a vacuum former. It’s gonna suck for me and the students alike.
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So students won’t be allowed on campus even for things like lab work? Seems like that would be a relatively safer setting compared to a crowded classroom. Oh well.
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Still working out the details. I’ll know in the next week or two I guess.
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Hey, indeed.
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Oh, yeah, I was picturing them folding up cardboard into new shapes or something. Meant to add on first post: I know nothing about Package Design.
Good luck!
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I know where you can sign up for an online course on the subject. 
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Translation: Do not bring back whatever you caught on spring break.
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They’re all jumping on this bandwagon today. Strange though that I haven’t heard anything about partial refunds of room and board.
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At the risk of being accused of “killing us all”, I’m really starting to think this is way overblown.
I live about a mile away from the notorious Washington State Life Care Center. I regularly have had coffee at the Starbucks nearby. I’ve even quietly driven by there just to see where it is (it’s on a side street), and saw the cavalcade of news reporter vans filming their segments.
I navigate the empty streets.
My workplace is shutdown, with a WFH policy.
Schools are online only.
I stay away from my elderly Mom, talking on the phone instead.
…and nobody seems really sick.
And, yes, I even got sick about a month ago. I got it likely from a coworker who caught it on his honeymoon. It was like the flu. I stayed away from everybody and eventually got better after about a week.
There’s no talk of the hospitals filling up. No friends or acquaintances have (badly) sick friends. The Coffee shops are still staffed (but only lightly filled).
Feels like Y2K-like mania to me, primed by being lied to by the POTUS and Co, for the last 4 years.
I’m I hope I’m right.
