At Collabwith, as we are working with academics and lectures from Universities we have several meetings and conversations with them during the day. One of the major issues they are facing now is the “digital fatigue” from students and from themselves.
Digital fatigue is coming when we are all the time in front of a screen, and we have only “digital interactions” and “digital relationships” all over zoom, and mainly with off video, and off audio because issues with our internet capacity. The consequence is that students and teachers are increasing their depression and sadness feelings and the consequence of this, is that learning capacity is going down but also the teaching performance.
It will be almost a year since our first lockdown, and many universities since then, they have only all-digital-approach. This is creating an overall decrease of learning performance, and increase of depression among students. Why is this happening? Because the digital transition has been made only via processes and machines. For instance, let’s put cameras everywhere in the classroom, record all our classes and do zooms all the time. And one of the main rules for a successful digitalization is to focus on people and human beings. Now, after one year, we all see the consequences of a only-process-digitalization approach.
Solutions? A digital transformation has to be well though, and it has to take into account us, people as a human being with our ways of interacting between each other, our needs, our emotions and our well-being. Digitalization. Systems are not design on the well-being impact of the person or user of technology and now we all suffer the consequences. We have created a methodology to design technology with Emotional Intelligence, as an essential part of the “Integrated Reporting for Technology Design“.
One thing is clear, the highest level of learning is happening when we are calm and feeling good with ourselves. How can the online learning process be created with emotional intelligence in mind?
Below, some “emergency tips” how to handle the current situation, and then my recommendation will be to think how to integrate “emotional intelligence” into the teaching and learning immediately to be able to reduce the depression rate among students and teachers as fast as possible.
TIPS REMOTE LEARNING AND TEACHING DURING LOCKDOWN
- Accept limitation of productivity and learning.
- Keep your team spirit, do activities together outside work not only.
- Team with your family or flatmates, now they are part of your “work-learning team” as well.
- Increase your empathy to the lockdown situation and compassion to others’ situation, for instance teachers and other students.
- Focus on yourself, mindfulness is doing your food, your coffee, your tea and your laundry too.
EXTRA TIPS TO FOLLOW
- Accept the digital knowledge of others.
- Learn and get energy from inside yourself, via breathing and enjoying quite times.
- Build a relationship with your students team on remote, which is not friendship but a relationship.
- Call your friends and family, not only your teachers and other mates.
- Focus on solutions instead of the problems when you are facing an issue.
We have prepared an “Today Planner” to be productive, focus on actions but also how to be and practise mindfulness, gratitude mentality and emotional intelligence skills for your day. Download your “1-page Daily Journal“ here.
At Collabwith we have created webinars and workshops focusing on Emotional Intelligence for Learning and Teaching. Contact us to discuss how we can work together.