Thinking systematically about the online academic experience

Abstract

Two months into the coronavirus pandemic, most university and laboratory staff have been asked to work from home. We are fortunate that while most physical work has been on pause, research, scholarship, and teaching can continue via teleconference calls and collaborative online workspaces. Even as universities and labs attempt to partially re-open in the summer and fall, online scholarship will likely have to continue as students and staff struggle to return to campus due to travel and visa restrictions, and parents have to stay home due to school and daycare closures. Now is the time to brainstorm what work still needs to be done to create useful and productive virtual spaces for academics and research scientists—both amidst the pandemic and afterward. In this commentary, I will first discuss the need for a systematic approach to physical resources for online academic work. Then I will discuss the organization and operation of the larger academic gatherings.