Tonight’s Lilly Conference online 2022 session was from our NC State DELTA, Libraries, OIT, and OFE team! Entitled “Instructional Considerations for Academic Continuity: Mid- and Post-COVID-19,” Diane Chapman, Maria Gallardo-Williams, Stacy Gant, Jonathan Holloway, and David Woodbury from NC State University presented on efforts to improve instructional practices on our campus. They are, as Chapman mentioned, a “cross-banded team.” They defined academic continuity as the uninterrupted delivery of instruction that prevents the coming together of instructors and students are usually unplanned. The Academic Continuity Team came together with several goals including strategizing about technology and instructional methods. Chapman shared information about the disruption caused by COVID-19 and student challenges such as wifi, housing, and food insecurity. NC State decided to replicate a site called Keep Teaching from Indiana University. The site came together in seven days! The Provost required in the spring of 2020 an Academic Continuity Plan for every course and the team developed a template. To help faculty develop their plans, Chapman described the Keep Teaching webinars the team developed. A faculty peer support network was created – and I think I was part of it! The Libraries coordinated requests for teaching technology and lending. Training on Panopto and other resources was provided, and forum posts and news helped get the word out. Chapman explained that there is now a rich database of forum articles. Technology training included a “Getting Your Course Online Quickly” workshop with open labs. Chapman concluded that they learned a lot from the diverse team they formed. They also spoke about leveraging existing campus expertise. Chapman listed current and future considerations to provide continuous accessible instruction.
