People who study how and why universities do what they do have been talking for awhile now about the ‘hidden curriculum‘: the etiquette, values, and expectations that underlie academic culture but which are not explicitly discussed. The hidden curriculum can create a barrier for members of the university community who are first-generation, working class, or disabled. By this point on the pandemic, one might assume that everyone knows how to attend a Zoom conference, right? Online conference attendance and participation in online classrooms has entered the hidden curriculum.
Students seem to have noticed. A few months ago, a group of PhD students approached the an administrator of our university’s PhD student training programme asking whether I knew of any workshops on how to navigate online meetings. I couldn’t find anything so I offered to create one. In developing the workshop, I read, watched, and reflected on the advice that is out there about attending, participating and presenting in online conferences. I’ve collected some articles and videos (and even the opportunity to register for an online conference on online conferences) which were particularly helpful. Here’s a list.