Current National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI) board members Kara Dillard and Verdis Robinson along with former NIFI Board members Kara Lindaman and John Theis spoke with Campus Compact about their different experiences innovating with Common Ground for Action (CGA) and videoconferencing tools during the pandemic.  The webinar was held and recorded on January 21, 2021.

In opening the session, Lindaman, a professor of political science, talked about the importance of the moment for college students – that learning to deliberate and moderate even during the pandemic is vital to civic life and civic education.  Theis, a professor of political science at Lonestar College – Kingwood discussed the series of CGA + Zoom forums he held for students across his campus during the spring and fall. Robinson and fellow Kettering associate Lisa Strahley worked this fall with the State University of New York system to convene NIF forums using Zoom. Dillard, a assistant professor of communication studies at James Madison University offered lessons learned from scaling up the online deliberative experience to connect college students across the nation during the biannual week of cross-campus forums.  

All four panelists mentioned how positively students responded to opportunities to deliberate online and agreed that even when campuses return to normal, they intend to continue these campus, statewide, and nationwide projects.

For more information, contact Kara Dillard at kdillard@nifi.org.