Despite COVID-19 We Can Still Collaborate
Graduate school has felt different than my previous educational experiences.
Students and teachers alike are hidden behind masks.
Would I recognize someone on the street…?
I’m not entirely sure.
Listening to people speak has become more challenging than I expected. I now recognize and appreciate the power of reading lips. Voices somehow manage to sound quieter when you can’t see someone's mouth. Either that or I’m a bit hard of hearing…
I’ll admit, I was hesitant to join the studio during the new world order of masks and social distancing. I was nervous that I wouldn’t get my money’s worth, wouldn’t have the same opportunities to connect with peers and mentors, and lastly, I was (and still am) nervous that I won’t learn as freely in the event we transition to an online classroom.
I’ve tried my hand at online learning before and it wasn’t my cup of tea. It lacks the ability to connect and the opportunity to learn from others, which is one of the biggest reasons I’m at The Studio.
I still have fears surrounding the program and my experience, but I am here and leaning into the upcoming year.
It’s been difficult to get to know folks. People aren’t hanging around much after class — if we even get to have class in person. There is so much talent in the program, but it’s challenging to gain an understanding of just what everyone can do when getting ‘facetime’ with folks is infrequent.
I’ve been bummed that there hasn’t been more collaboration, although I know that will build along with our projects.
Of course, collaboration looks different during COVID-19 and it takes more effort. Our opportunities for collaboration are less organic and require more planning. Not to mention that it’s hard to have side-conversations during a video call.
Zoom has become our tool for connection. A bit strange to be making new friends virtually but that is what this year is going to take.
Through the shift to virtual, I think that asking for help as become more difficult. You can no longer get a gauge of how everyone is doing, especially when you can’t read facial expressions or engage with other students. You are in a more vulnerable spot reaching out to someone via text or Slack, instead of after an in-person class.
I acknowledge this barrier. However, I’d like for us to move past the awkwardness of asking for help, or even of hanging out via Zoom. Sure, it’s not the same, I get that. But, maybe that’s the point of this year. This year is different in more ways than one, let’s embrace the difference as a learning opportunity instead of a disadvantage.
On Friday a bunch of us met up on Zoom to work through a plethora of coding struggles. Not only did we all leave feeling productive, but I hung up feeling like I knew people better. Whether in-person or virtually we can still work through issues together. Stop, ask questions, and ask for help.
Our experience in The Studio isn’t going to be the same as past cohorts so we shouldn’t be trying to encourage ‘normalness.’ Instead, perhaps we should embrace the Zoom hangouts. Just because we can’t collaborate in person doesn’t mean we shouldn’t collaborate at all.
Planning for a Zoom session takes extra effort, but getting to engage with and learn from other students provides a whole new dimension to this program. It’s easy to unplug from the group when class is over, but none of us are here to do the ‘easy’ thing — at least that’s my assumption.
The past 10 months have been challenging for everyone. Part of why I joined this program was to connect with others. Having a sounding board for ideas is such a valuable aspect of the creative process.
I’m anxious to get into the meat of the collaborative process. I’ve found myself struggling to develop ideas on my own. However, the moment I talk through my ideas with someone else I find a renewed sense of inspiration. Just speaking ideas out loud can become a creative process and lead towards further inspiration and even, eventual innovation.
If we can’t meet in person then I vote we build a virtual community. One where we can meet up and ask questions, get to know one another, and share ideas. I was recently listening to a Hidden Brain podcast episode that addressed the fruitfulness of building new connections. Our best ideas come when we are able to connect with others who are different than us. The more ideas that are thrown into the pot, from different walks of life, the more potential there is for innovation.
I want to collaborate on idea generation. I also want to fail, learn, and try again. We are in such a unique position this year to gain new tools, inspiration, and connections. All of which will be at our fingertips when we walk out of the program in a year from now and engage with the world.
Hopefully, we will be able to engage without masks. But in the event that our current reality remains our future reality, ideally, we will have the tools to collaborate in a creative COVID-19 environment.
I am curious to see how this graduate school experience shakes out over the next year. Will we adapt to virtual connections or will building a virtual community still feel hard? We all recognize that we need a break from our screens, so how do we develop connections when it requires more screen time?
My thought process for this ‘issue’ is by no means fully flushed out. I myself am torn between the want for a community and the need to turn off my computer for a bit. Finding the right balance is never easy and it remains a work in progress. I doubt I’ll find the right balance anytime soon, but understanding what I’m am striving for helps to point me in the right direction.
I feel I am headed in the right direction.
It’s not a linear path, but heading somewhere is better than nowhere at all.
I look forward to developing a new vision and understanding of what collaboration looks like in this age of COVID-19.
May we have patience for this journey we are on.
