I will start by saying it has been a rollercoaster of emotions during this COVID 19 pandemic. Not only in my regular life, but in my work life as well. We have been given multiple instructions during these last two months, often contradicting themselves. I feel this has added a large amount of stress on the teachers, students, and parents.
I understand that the government is not doing this on purpose and that the COVID situation was very fluid, but it still does not make this rollercoaster any easier to navigate. I will say that we are given a very difficult task, switching in-class learning to an online platform. The biggest hurdle was also the first hurdle. How do you get kids (and teachers) to buy in and participate in online learning when they did not sign up for it. Some kids do not have the means to access online education. Some kids had to work because the parents couldn’t. How do teachers keep kids accountable? What kids are just wasting the day away and which ones are actually unable to attend for legit reasons.
Do I feel this opened the door for the opportunity for more online learning? Sure. But I feel that it has given everyone a new perspective on what actually happens at school, both in the education and personal realm. I feel like the kids might use technology a little less when we come back, as we have forced so many different apps down their throats. I feel that teachers will be more comfortable with technology, but burnout is a real possibility. I believe you cannot beat the in-person teaching, because we are not just teaching them why A+B=C, we are teaching them when in life they will need to use this knowledge. This is harder to do in an online platform.
Hi Kirk,
Thanks for your thoughts.
I agree with your viewpoint that it is very tough for a teacher to engage students when they have no resources to enjoy the alternating way to education. It depends on the learning age also as elementary students need assistance doing their work and what if their parents are busy and they are not tech-savvy. There are lots of challenges, students and teachers are facing today. Technology gives lots of innovative ways to teach kids but it is not successful without the support of all stakeholders.
Hi Kirk,
I agree with your concerns. One of my friends shared his son’s (Grade 5) online French learning experience. After one hour online learning, when the French teacher gave them assignments to complete, “Do you understand what I mean related to our assignment?” all kids answered “Non”(French means no). I think lack of body language or interactive games like in a real classroom, it would be difficult for kids to understand what the teacher is talking about or they cannot concentrate on their studies in virtual community!
Thank you!