14
BAMOS
Jun 2020
Peter in his home in Warrnambool, Victoria preparing for an early Zoom tutorial. Source: Peter Dexter
How have you been adapting your outreach efforts
to keep reaching your audience with the current
challenges of the COVID19 pandemic?
Obviously the inability to hold face to face activities initially
devastated our U3A programme, which shut down totally.
However, I already had some facility in using Zoom technology,
and knew that this could be used immediately to at least
continue our popular tutorial programme. Other U3A branches
around Victoria are doing the same, and we've had a lot of
help and support from Network Victoria in getting this up
and running. Members were hesitant at first, but have now
warmed to the whole idea and what they personally can get
from it. We've also increased the frequency of our newsletters to
members, distributed mostly by email, to ensure that everyone
remains informed at least. We will also be looking at ways to
use internet technologies for other aspects of our programme.
I'm keen to make continuing use of Zoom tutorials even when
we can go back face to face, so members who might not be
able to attend in person can still participate, and also so we can
have remote tutors talk to the group in our meeting hall. As I
mentioned earlier, school talks have fallen by the wayside for
now, as they have more pressing issues to address, but maybe
in a year or so this can also resume.
What are some challenges you are facing doing science
outreach during the COVID19 pandemic, and do have
any advice for other AMOS members for how they can
continue to engage in outreach right now?
An initial challenge was with our older members, who were often
very reluctant to try new technologies like Zoom, through lack
of understanding and fear that they might inadvertently mess
with their computer/smartphone/tablet or whatever. However,
once over the first hurdles, they become really enthusiastic, so
you just need to persist, gently but firmly. Of course younger
people don't have such issues. Doing field trips or such things
as visits to the local campus of Deakin also present challenges,
but again you need to be a bit innovative and persistent, and in
the end the appreciation of the communities is very evident. I'm
not sure what advice I can offer, except to say that whatever you
do in outreach terms will be hugely appreciated, especially in
times like these and among the older communities.