2019/2020 Year in Review
Contributed by Emily Schudel, Chair of ETUG Stewardship Committee
Hi everyone, and welcome (almost) to the new school year, a new one in oh, so many ways.
As I wrote back in May, like all of you, your ETUG Stewardship Committee members have been busy. Busy helping faculty figure out what it means to develop and teach online courses, busy supporting students moving into a new, and usually not-signed-up-for, online learning experience, and busy creating innumerable learning opportunities, tutorials, and orientations for staff, faculty, and students at our institutions.
Of course, all this means ETUG has ended up a bit on the back burner, but we are still here, so I thought I would take a moment to reflect on the past year and to give you a glimpse into the future.
Even without COVID, we had a few bumps on our ETUG road this last year, but with the bumps have also come some fun and exciting things. We launched into the fall after an incredible 25th Anniversary conference hoping to continue that excitement with our fall workshop. Unfortunately, that did not work out as planned, but not wanting to give up, we offered our first-ever, full-day webinar on November 1, to a fabulous group of 40+ attendees. If you want to remind yourself about this inaugural event, see our Include-Ed Webinar Recordings.
Knowing we would not have a spring workshop in 2020, with the Festival of Learning coming back, we started planning for both our presence at the Festival and for a series of webinars to our ETUG folks who might not be able to attend the Festival. We were well underway with our planning when, well, March 18, which was for me at Camosun College the day we all left our offices to work, teach, and learn remotely.
And now I’ve come back to where I began this post. All of us busy at our own institutions, trying to provide support for ETUG members via Slack, finally publishing a newsletter in May, and hosting a series of laid-back pub nights in Zoom (thanks to Keith Webster, Terri Bateman, Becca Shortt, and Tracy Roberts).
So, we look forward to a new year. There will definitely be no face-to-face event this fall, but we are planning another series of webinars for you all — check ETUG Speaks for a look at what you are looking for from us. We also invite you to submit a story about your experience with the great online pivot on our ETUG Stories Splot site. Stay tuned for more updates as we move into the fall!
Finally, I wanted to thank you all for allowing me to support you during the past year as your Stewardship Committee Chair. I am stepping into the background a bit for the next year as our leadership team rotates to bring Keith Webster to the forefront as our new Chair. He will do an amazing job I know, with the continued support of me and Terri Bateman, as well as Becca Shortt as our BCcampus liaison. Keep an eye on our ETUG website, and join our Slack channel if you haven’t yet. We look forward to supporting you in the coming year!
Take care, and stay safe.
Emily Schudel, past Chair, SCETUG