The use of e-learning to back up universities during times of crisis or emergencies has long been in discussions on various campuses. With the WHO declaration of H1N1 at the pandemic flu level on June 11, some are re-looking at virtual learning as a way to support social distancing—or strategies for self-isolating as a protective measure to keep the flu from being passed from person-to-person and possibly recombining in other more dangerous ways.

It’s interesting, but faculty uses of the L/CMS to post their course documents and the years of infusing student learning with uses of the learning / course management system really would make for an orderly migration online. Learning how to “distance” constructively, though, may be difficult. So much of the modern concept of student life is socializing and meeting new people and having social adventures.

Would online learning seem to be a kind of cloistering?

And Campus Hygiene Protections

Emergency preparedness plans involve not only looking at going virtual for learning but also for maintenance of university infrastructures and services to try to stop the virus spread. This would include having alcohol-based anti-microbial hand washes widely available. This would include proper cleansing of computer keyboards and tables (and other “fomites”) and other shared services. This would include awareness-raising albeit without fomenting panic, which would be clearly counter-productive.

Reaching a Wide Student Audience

Our campus has had a concerted public health effort surrounding hand-washing and other public health issues of late. These have involved the creation of informative and colorful flyers posted in bathrooms about a range of issues.

It seems like something as big as a pandemic for the first time in four decades warrants no-holds-barred learning and actions to head off potential human illnesses and deaths.