Yesterday I tried virtual teaching for the second time.
Last week I had a fairly successful one-to-one lesson with a child online. That prompted me to try again.
Yesterday, however, it did not work as well. For some reason, some of my virtual tools with Google Meet didn't work. Then the student's tools didn't work. Then my WIFI died. It took quite some time to get back online and because I had other meetings planned, I could not resume the lesson.
After that I tried a lesson with a larger group. Many of the children were seeing each other for the first time so they wanted to socialize rather than learn in a structured way. Since I had not tried teaching a large group online before, I didn't have a good structure in place. Also both students and I had difficulty accessing the tools And teachers were jumping in with different ideas about the lesson which complicated the lesson even more. The lesson was more like a virtual recess than a virtual lesson.
I must say that I was humbled. I didn't expect to face such challenge. Also, I could hear some family members' voices in the background and some of those people were clearly frustrated too.
So what is a teacher to do?
Today I will have a class meeting with my homeroom. As suggested to me last night via social media, I will think of this meeting as a way to say hi to each other, see each other, and practice using virtual tools.
The meeting will start with one student taking roll call, and each child responding with one fun thing they've done while at home. After that I'll tell students that it is nice to see them and that we are practicing learning online. Then I'll introduce many of the at-home learning options and take questions. I would be willing to do this each day, but first I'll see how today's meeting goes.
My sister, who is a teacher, will practice using the tools with me this morning--that will help me to be prepared.
Teachers are jumping into virtual education support during this time. Everyone is doing a bit differently. Families are also jumping into home schooling and they are all doing it a bit differently too. I want to have that growth mindset we promote so often to students, so I'm ready to tackle this learning with positivity today.
Onward.
Last week I had a fairly successful one-to-one lesson with a child online. That prompted me to try again.
Yesterday, however, it did not work as well. For some reason, some of my virtual tools with Google Meet didn't work. Then the student's tools didn't work. Then my WIFI died. It took quite some time to get back online and because I had other meetings planned, I could not resume the lesson.
After that I tried a lesson with a larger group. Many of the children were seeing each other for the first time so they wanted to socialize rather than learn in a structured way. Since I had not tried teaching a large group online before, I didn't have a good structure in place. Also both students and I had difficulty accessing the tools And teachers were jumping in with different ideas about the lesson which complicated the lesson even more. The lesson was more like a virtual recess than a virtual lesson.
I must say that I was humbled. I didn't expect to face such challenge. Also, I could hear some family members' voices in the background and some of those people were clearly frustrated too.
So what is a teacher to do?
Today I will have a class meeting with my homeroom. As suggested to me last night via social media, I will think of this meeting as a way to say hi to each other, see each other, and practice using virtual tools.
The meeting will start with one student taking roll call, and each child responding with one fun thing they've done while at home. After that I'll tell students that it is nice to see them and that we are practicing learning online. Then I'll introduce many of the at-home learning options and take questions. I would be willing to do this each day, but first I'll see how today's meeting goes.
My sister, who is a teacher, will practice using the tools with me this morning--that will help me to be prepared.
Teachers are jumping into virtual education support during this time. Everyone is doing a bit differently. Families are also jumping into home schooling and they are all doing it a bit differently too. I want to have that growth mindset we promote so often to students, so I'm ready to tackle this learning with positivity today.
Onward.