“Time moves slowly but passes quickly,” Alice Walker.

That’s exactly how I feel. On the one hand this week has been an energizing blur of workshops and meetings; on the other it feels like time is moving like a slow-flowing river, in no hurry to reach its inevitable destination. April is fast disappearing, yet the past month feels like one of the longest in my life. Strange times indeed.

As we continue to adapt, it’s been so heartening this week to see the desire of everyone, to do what is necessary to ensure learning keeps happening, our students are still supported, and that life moves forward, even if the ‘way forward’ continues to be dynamic and uncertain.

The BlueJeans workshops Terri and I led, with help from Mike and Albert, were a good experience for us as co-facilitators and from the feedback we received, for those who attended. I was definitely nervous for the first couple – after a month of ‘using’ BlueJeans, I still felt a touch of impostor syndrome in ‘teaching’ others (reminiscent of supervising my first PhD student only a month after I’d graduated from my own PhD program). I enjoyed the dynamic of co-facilitating with Terri. We obviously planned who would talk about what and very quickly were able to switch back and forth, going with the flow of what was needed by the people attending a particular session. The level of engagement was like nothing I’ve experienced face-to-face. I feel blessed to work with so many colleagues who truly care about what they do.

It was interesting to be both student and facilitator this week. Terri and Mike’s sessions on Blackboard were excellent and again, much appreciated by all those who attended. Not only did I learn new tools in Blackboard, the sessions helped solidify my understanding of how best to integrate the use of both BBL and BlueJeans to provide an optimal experience for students. One month on, I can’t believe I thought holding a 3-hour BlueJeans session with my students was a good idea; ah, the naivety!

I’ve been reading a lot of Inside Higher Education articles this week and the tenor of the discussion is similar to that at the college. It is unlikely we will ever go back to the way things were. There is a huge shift happening across the world and in all aspects of life; and particularly in education. As a optimist, I believe we can hold on to what serves us well, bid farewell to what needs to be let go, and embrace the magical yet to be.