In this piece, I would like to focus on supporting students to prepare for remote learning

Alone Together was written by Sherry Turkle (2011), a digital ethnographer, and explores how technology is helping to shape what it means to be human. It makes a rather one-sided claim that technology is replacing social interaction and human contact.  Writing in the midst of an unprecedented world pandemic, nothing seems further from the truth.  The need for social interaction is increasing and many of us are seeking ways to exploit technology to achieve this.

I am a lecturer. I am a lecturer who is passionate (as many of us are) and who loves my students (as many of us do). I have been open-mouthed and wracked with grief during the frantic move towards online learning. In between breathing through the overwhelm, rapidly  learning the skills of a whole new pedagogy, trying to become-octopus like in juggling the multiple multiples of this time, I have not yet found home for my grief.

The rush for online programmes has gained momentum over the past years, as public higher education institutions have seen the need to place traditional contact programmes online. Private higher education institutions have commanded a stronger presence in this space. However, in light of various public higher education institutions wanting to extend their reach into teaching and learning spaces beyond their geographical range, online programmes have somewhat presented a logical solution.