Teaching In New Zealand During the COVID 19 Pandemic 2020

Necessity is the mother of Invention

Musings about my experiences while teaching online during the COVID 19  Pandemic 

March 2020

Term 1 Week 8/9

Corona virus sweeps through China, Italy, Spain. WHO Declares a pandemic. Its a nasty bug, and the death tolls rise!

Thankfully Prime minister Ardern acts, decisively, closing NZ boarders. 

Me and my teaching colleagues are so relived as we feel unsafe at work.
I recall our group, the 'elective alley' gals, huddling around our phones during our lunch break listening to the announcement  that schools will close from the 25th March. We weep with relief.
The country  moves swiftly through 
Level 2-3-4. School closes. All but essential 
businesses close - its eerie. 

From Zero to One Hundred...

Term 1 Week 9

I start with my online learning program. Fortunately I had set up Google classrooms and the majority of students had joined prior to school closure. I had also attended a couple of quick PD sessions with staff to get some tips.

Initially I am okay, maybe I have a false scene of security ..I think I am feeling okay due to the time I have invested in learning in the past two years that has prepared me to move to digital learning platforms.
It begins well; Google Classrooms- set up
                      Tasks loaded.
                      Students engaging.

Initially, I am adding tasks that are not adapted, the types of tasks that I would use in the paper  classroom. Students are engaging and I respond felling relived that -its all working!

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HOLIDAY BREAK- Reset recharge

The holidays  are a blessing, they have been rescheduled and its fantastic. I spend time outside with my horses & dog, I walk, I bake, I read and sleep in...and I talk via FB chat with my friends. Actually I ate a fair amount of chocolate too!
During the break - I often stop, I realize that, I feel so shocked that my fast world of busyness has stopped that all normal life has halted. I am still in disbelief that something so serious has happened in our world.
We talk about being In a bubble and we work on our 'bubble kaupapa'.
Trying to have routines, be active, stay off Netflix and have some fun.
Its and exiting & scary adventure -just to go to the supermarket. 

I make videos, I start out doing some of me working my horse. I progress to a making my first 
'tic tok' .. bubble blowing...?

Then I have the fine idea to record some sequences of me baking. Using a editing suite to get them right, i have some material for term two!

Face book chat group -ladies who lunch

Team talks ...

Ideas percolate ...and I start thinking of more ideas, i cant help but verbalize them, bouncing ideas off my girls in my 'Ladies who lunch' chat. 

In reality we see very little of each other during school. In a regular week, we rush out on a Friday. We 'bolt down' some food together during the 35 minutes. Often its a chance to  have a good purge of  'dumb stuff from the week' and a few laughs.  Hatching  plans for future events and fun stuff - we are fortunate to have have longstanding friendships & shared adventures.
Now,  its so exciting,  we are setting up important connections as we learn so much for  each other. These gals are my most amazing learning team ever!



In preparation for real 'remote learning' I prepare by setting up my office space. Its good to make a space that looks both loved & purposeful. I even hang up my framed degree and dip cert- these haven't been out for years! I also add pics of some of the wonderful kids that I have known and taught. It looks great. 
My work-space