Claire Aitchison
Can you see me? She’s muted, she can’t hear you. Turn up your volume. Write it into the chat function. Hello – can you hear me? That background is amazing. I still can’t see you. Down on the bottom, on the left, the picture of a microphone: press it. And, so it goes – even still, even 100s of zoom meetings later…
Before Corona, whether in the laboratory or the office, by chance or scheduled, most supervisors met with their students face to face on campus. With students readily on hand, the expectation was for synchronous, physically co-present meetings – and for most, there was simply no need to consider alternatives. However, virtual supervision had been increasing with the growth in transnational doctoral study options and to meet the need for student and supervisor flexibility more generally. With the Covid-19 pandemic, what was a trend, now seems quite routine.
So, how do we best operate in this new environment? What are the etiquettes, traps and advantages of virtual meetings and of giving and receiving feedback on virtual platforms such as zoom? Continue reading
