April 30, 2020 / by jdamerow /

DigInG in Times of the Pandemic

It’s been over a month now that ASU has moved to remote work whenever possible and online classes for the rest of the semester. This of course includes the Digital Innovation Group. We are all working remotely from home as the Spring semester draws to a close. Zoom and Slack, which have been important tools before COVID-19, have become even more essential to our daily work. Our social interactions with colleagues have been mainly replaced by our roommates, partners, and pets.

While this is a difficult situation for all of us, there are also some positive aspects. As far as we know, no member of DigInG has been sick with COVID-19! Our standup meetings have new participants that put some smiles on our faces: Max (a 2.5 year old toddler), Perry (a big black puppy), and since recently a so far nameless little black kitty. Lastly, but maybe most importantly, we don’t have to share a bathroom (except maybe with our roommates) and our commute takes now as long as it takes to get from our breakfast table to our desk or couch or patio.

Of course, there have also been challenges. Slow internet connections can make it almost impossible to work. We have regular issues with people’s microphones not working. And we had DigInG members starting their shifts late because their laptops were needed by their roommates. All in all though, Taylor and I are proud of all our student workers of how professionally they are handling the situation and although we are looking forward to the time when we can all meet in person again, DigInG is alive and well, and our projects make great progress. As Prashant, one of our student workers, likes to stay: stay safe, stay healthy!