Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has increased virtual interconnectivity in all aspects of livelihood. In relation to educative spaces, this has forced academics to alter their pedagogical approach to reflect the need for online teaching and learning. This has saw educators producing an array of virtual spaces, and alternative means to teaching materials, to facilitate high quality spaces for learning. And, to portray the use of virtual teaching tools as positive, accessible platforms that promote inclusivity and diversity. As well as encouraging students to remain active in communicating with staff, colleagues, and peers to avoid further feelings of isolation during a nationally enforced lockdown. Throughout the 21st Century, there has emerged an increasing assumption, inside [and outside] of the academic arena that heightened engagement with the digital world, in particular social media, can negatively impact a person’s mental wellbeing. In education this extends out to the deliberation as to whether increased virtual communication can affect a student’s abilities to produce formal written accounts and engage in professional email exchanges with peers and staff. Thereby struggling to distinguish appropriate online communication skills, in different forums within the digital world. Despite such concerns, the notion of agile working, and agile access to education has continued to be advocated for, as the UK move into a somewhat post-Covid world where students and educators can once again come together for face-to-face teaching. This speculative workshop aims to encourage discussion around the discrepant assumptions held towards the digital world – for example, social media communication vs. online platforms for educative purposes. An interesting strand of conversation will broach the concept of safeguarding and responsibility in virtual education as a pedagogical approach to learning. This workshop is interested in carrying views of those involved into a research project to explore these concerns and potential discrepancies in further detail.