Page 8 - Kinneret Academic College Amid Covid-19

dedicated the breaks between semesters to teaching development.
Focus and balance are keywords that guide me in life. I believe these
are necessary guidelines for a successful and healthy life. Here too
at Kinneret, I thought. It makes no sense to work on all fronts all at
once, I ought to divide my attention thoughtfully, in a constructive
approach. So I thought.

Reality of course thought otherwise. In late February, we held our first
teaching conference for the faculty, and before we knew it, Covid-19
broke out. It was necessary to act immediately and simultaneously
on all fronts. In both the Instructional Development Center and the
Communication Department. I had to prepare training materials for
faculty, coordinate training workshops for remote learning in Moodle
and Zoom, and of course I had to master new online tools for my
own teaching. To learn, to teach and to apply. To guide and plan for
my department and from the College perspective. More importantly,

I needed to deepen my understanding about what pedagogical
implications were impacted while we transitioned to remote learning.
What were the challenges this transition posed for faculty, students
and the administration, and what would be our role as an instructional
development center during this new reality? What kind of support and
knowledge would we need to provide for the college community, and
how it would work effectively, remotely, while we were all working

under endless time constraints.

Some brief insights I gathered during the initial stage of Covid-19
epidemic.

Teaching as a Continuous Process of Learning
Just as we could not predict Covid-19, we cannot predict where our
new reality will lead us in academia, and in general. Yet one thing is
certain—we live in a dynamic world and the key to our success is our

ability to continuously adapt and learn. Its challenging, it takes time,
and it is not always convenient. Rather, it’s hard to change habits, and
even harder to break free from old habits, especially those that have
“worked well” and proven themselves in the past. It is also difficult,

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