Life at the edge of chaos: my experience in these violent times.
In Italy (as in many countries) we are at the end of phase 1 and at the beginning of phase 2 of the COVID-19 crisis. In this suspended time, I’d like to share a few thoughts about the waves of this violent digital transformation we are riding in universities. We are now living wave 3, with wave 4 coming soon…
In a time of sorrow and concern, I feel elated thinking of how much we collectively achieved regarding our digital journey in the past two months. But we must be able to regain control of this worldwide transformation, because “violent delights have violent ends”. This crisis is proving a great opportunity. We must now recover the true meaning of digital evolution which is not to simply change analogue to digital but to change the way we do things…
Thinking of the education context, for example we need to:
- Rethink methodology (e.g. the flipped classroom and blended education) not only technology
- Focus on inclusion for disabled students but also for everyone experiencing a digital divide (maybe simply because they do not have adequate tools)
- Invest not only in digital platforms but in digital culture as well
We are living “at the edge of chaos”, a risky but creative context. I do believe in these hard times people are the key. I am amazed to see the level of cross-teams collaboration and sacrifice I see in my university. But everywhere there are similar experiences. Wonderful people can achieve amazing results. This is something we must retain!
You can read my article on Cattolica International
