For the last month, my school has been engaged in distance learning. Rather I should say that our middle school and high school students have remained at home. Teachers have had to report to school every day, regardless. Elementary has proceeded in hybrid – a story for another time.
In distance learning, we continue to employ Google Classroom as our digital learning platform and class meetings are held on Webex. Though I can’t share screenshots which include my students’ faces and names, the Brady Bunch intro below is pretty apropos.
In general, I prefer distance learning at this current time because it keeps kids home safe, it prevents COVID transmission between students and teachers and it means the whole class can stay on the same curriculum (that’s right folks, only one set of lessons to plan).
Distance learning has its drawbacks, of course. My students generally don’t enjoy it and this makes them less engaged. They understand the need to stay safe but school is so social for them. They’d rather see some classmates than be stuck at home alone, many of them spread out all over this large city. Another downfall – being glued to my screen(s). Before each lesson, I definitely feel like I’m gearing up for a space launch rather than an art lesson.
I’ve learned a few things along the way. Shared documents/folders/screens help me monitor student progress. Keeping my Webex room locked and waiting to accept students in the digital lobby all at once keeps everyone at ease (’cause no one wants to be solo in a Webex room with their teacher). Webex’s new breakout rooms have improved distance learning for me tenfold, letting me differentiate kids by progress and needs without them knowing it.
And thank god for the great students who make it work AND make you laugh 🙂
On Monday we will once again return to hybrid learning. For those keeping track we’ve rotated from distance to hybrid to distance to hybrid since August. A number of my students have still not returned to Moscow. Others have left since the COVID numbers have risen. Therefore hybrid will once again require me to plan 2-3 sets of lessons for every class. Although I’m not excited to be heading back to hybrid, I am of course looking forward to seeing my students in person (albeit behind masks). The benefits of in-person teaching cannot be matched digitally, there is no dispute. And distance learning fatigue is real. Both teachers and students are exhausted. It’s hard to fathom that we have three more quarters left in our school year.
A good friend pointed out to me recently that both teachers and students are incredibly resilient. When I think of how far education has to come in such a short time, I’m proud, impressed, and also bewildered. Teaching has evolved in both good and bad ways thanks to COVID-19.
As always, the Arts to help us to express what we’re feeling, to put things in perspective. This past week, I discovered that Stephen Colbert and I share a favorite song, This Year, by The Mountain Goats. How innocent this performance looks back in 2019! But as the song says: I am gonna make it through this year. If it kills me 🙂
Meg in Moscow 