Experts round-up ideas for using technology to overcome challenge of rising COVID-19 absences
As we enter the third year of the pandemic, education organisations have made great strides forward in the effective use of digital technology to support remote work and study.
Now, even though campuses are open, that new-found knowledge will be proving invaluable as many colleges and universities will be struggling to cope with high levels of COVID-19-related staff absence.
As cases continue to rise, increasing numbers of people are isolating, which has implications for how teaching and learning is conducted, for the continuity of support functions, and for the wellbeing of staff who are stretched while covering for colleagues.
Recognising the extra pressure this creates at institutions, Jisc's subject specialists have penned a series of blogs pulling together advice to help members exploit the potential of digital tech to mitigate disruption.
Scott Hibberson and Esther Barrett pull together resources to help teachers, including advice on best practice when it comes to delivering online.
Mark Clark shares ideas for actions that can mitigate the absence of a key IT person. He advises that more than one member of staff should be familiar with critical processes, and suggests using the IT team capacity assessment tool.
Lis Parcell and Chris Thomson collate strategies and resources that can help keep support services going, such as ensuring that tasks normally covered by one or two members of staff could be easily picked up by others.
For example, the use of cloud tools to share knowledge of key processes, and enable people to join meetings online and in person and record or create text transcriptions of discussions for those who are absent.
This blog also promotes empathy for returnees and new starters and highlights the importance of maintaining wellbeing.
The impact on emotional and physical health of working remotely is also tackled in Laura Hutton’s blog. Also covering how to maintain accessibility standards, she talks about the need to supply clear communications in a variety of formats.
Finally, Jisc’s strategy and law expert, John Kelly, writes a short piece addressing the question of whether the general data protection regulation (GDPR) prevents staff from sharing with others the fact that someone has tested positive for COVID-19.