Good thing I had the foresight to bring home my college laptop and textbooks yesterday afternoon, because I won't be able to return to campus until Tuesday. Yes: I've just tested positive for Covid. First time, but I suppose it was inevitable. I'm not coughing much, but last night was a misery of chills and fever that had me first piling on the blankets and then tossing them off. This morning I've done little but nap, but now I need to gather whatever brain cells survived last night's misery and think about what to do with my classes tomorrow and Monday.
Since I have a new wi-fi setup at home, I thought I'd test to see whether I have the bandwidth to Zoom. Our instructional technologist sent me a Zoom link and we tried it out, and the result is: I can Zoom from home if everyone keeps their cameras off, but even so, I'll still freeze up occasionally. So time for Plan B.
Tomorrow's classes are easy: I'll post an online discussion in one class, give students a research workshop challenge in another, and move the third class's readings to Monday. But at some point I'll need to come up with a more robust plan for Monday's classes so we don't fall behind. What did we do before Zoom? A helpful administrator suggested asking a colleague to cover one or more of my classes, but a bunch of my colleagues have Covid too.
The Theatre department was planning to open their Shakespeare in the Park production of Much Ado about Nothing tonight--a musical version set in the 1980s--but they have so many cast members out with Covid that they're instead offering "Scenes and Songs." Maybe they'll be able to perform the full play next weekend.
But I need to perform my teacherly duties before then. Do I trust my fever-addled brain to write an online discussion prompt? Better get to it before I fall asleep again.
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