News

• March 30, 2020

  Paul Farber on How the Coronavirus Has Impacted Philly’s Arts Community

  The Philadelphia Inquirer published an Opinion piece by Weitzman School of Design Senior Research Scholar Paul Farber. Farber discusses the significant impact the pandemic has had on Philly's arts sector and the various ways in which elected officials, regional philanthropic organizations, and residents can make a difference in the weeks and months to come. As Farber notes, "recovery cannot wait."

• March 27, 2020

  Penn Nursing Shares COVID-19 Design Challenges, Including Code Life Ventilator Challenge

  With potentially 70% of the population on the brink of being infected by COVID-19, our worldwide health care systems will be strained beyond their limits. Even now, there aren't enough ventilators to save everyone who needs respiratory support, and doctors are having to make agonizing decisions about who to save. Our modern world provides the means to produce these life-saving ventilators thanks to widespread rapid manufacturing tools—3D printers, CNC machines— combined with low-cost computers (i.e. smartphones, Arduinos, etc.), but what we're missing is a design. We need YOU to design a simple, maintainable, easy-to-manufacture ventilator to provide life support to COVID patients anywhere in the world.

• March 27, 2020

  COVID-19 Resources for our Community

  This week, we decided to focus our newsletter on assistance: many ways that you can both seek and provide assistance during the COVID-19 crisis. We will feature more online arts content in future issues. But, for right now, we think that the focus should be on help and how we can individually and collectively maintain health and hope.

• March 23, 2020

  A Daily Report on How COVID-19 Is Impacting the Art World

  As international governments take increased precautions to limit the spread of the coronavirus, museums, fairs, and festivals are facing closures and delays. From museums and galleries to theaters and concert venues, it’s an unavoidable fact that some of the most moving experiences of art often involve being in crowded spaces. COVID-19, labeled a pandemic by the World Health Organization, has thus posed a special challenge to art institutions around the world, and their efforts to contain its spread are impressive. Here’s our latest on the coronavirus’ effect on the arts, updated daily.

• March 23, 2020

  Guidelines for Moving College Courses Online

  In response to the coronavirus, college instructors are shifting their in-person courses online. Zachary Herrmann and Penn GSE’s Center for Professional Learning have some experience making this work. For the last two years, Herrmann’s Project-Based Learning certificate program has started with an in-person summer workshop, followed by online sessions throughout the year. When teaching transitioned from in-person to online, Herrmann and his team had to modify how they plan lessons, communicate with students, and lead discussions. In doing so, they found new methods to establish meaningful and lasting connections with their class.