Telecommuting During a Global Pandemic

 

In March 2020, the world experienced a pandemic phenomenon. Schools, workplaces, and businesses were shut down and forced everyone to stay at home for an extended amount of time. Public health officials advised limited social interactions to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus. In response to keep daily activities afloat, work from home and online learning spaces became enacted. Technology had the opportunity to showcase its ability to keep the world running in a smooth and efficient way. But was it successful?

Nora Flanagan said in her TedTalk that "schools without school has been traumatic, it's been makeshift, it's been messy." She was right. Teachers, students, and parents had to adapt to technology and use it in their daily lives during the pandemic. It was not a swift change either. According to Pew Research Center, 49% of US adults said that interruptions in their internet or technology-based services caused immense problems in their daily activities. 

Did online learning and virtual conferences work during the pandemic? That is a very difficult question to answer. Technology was available to students, teachers, and employees to further complete their daily activities, but to some extent. Accessibility to internet was the number one underlying issue to complete those activities. Attention span was another issue in completing those activities. Finally, mental health consciousness became a huge indicator that online learning and virtual conferences played a part in the downfall of technology during the pandemic (White-Gibson, 2021).

White-Gibson, Z. (2021). 'Zoom fatigue' is real - Here's how to cope (and make it through your next meeting). Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/zoom-fatigue