Lessons learned - Teaching in New Zealand COVID 19 Lockdown 2020
Lessons learned - look before you leap
Term 2- Week 5
I have reviewed a number of other teaching blogs recording the experience of teaching remotely. I have accessed these through facebook - I follow a couple of Educational pages and its timely now to talk through the lessons learned while teaching by distance remotely and off a the learning platform Google classroom.
People are recording some similar ideas about the experience, all reporting similar joys and failures. I have now however started to reflect on the real shifts in my understanding of what it really means to deliver lesson online. The change in my pedagogy, that i have made.
I will refer to the comfort zone chart below as it exemplifies the growth in my practice
Firstly _In the COMFORT Zone; I wasn't so much afraid to deliver lessons remotely and use a digital platform,though having taught in a traditional classroom for a long time,
I felt the need to assemble an arsenal of tasks. The result of this primal reaction was that ...I did just drop and drag a lot of 'meaningless tasks' into a folder - I felt that i was 'doing my job' when these were uploaded for the students to do, It was a kind of 'safety net' for me.
The FEAR Zone, I recognise was around week 2-3. I reached when I questioned whether the level and quality of work was okay. I wondered whether the tasks were meaningful, and probably compensated by adding added too much
It was a couple of knock backs, that propelled me into the in the LEARNING ZONE. Students experienced problems completing some of the tasks as they were converted from Original old word DOCs and the formatting was up the shoot. I had students messaging me saying they couldn't open the docs and I recognised that some of the tasks were awkward to interact with. When checking and grading these tasks they were very ordinary activities, nothing exciting to hook the students in.
A Lot of these initial task just required the student to drop and drag info.
The final straw was that, I had a bad time in a google meet - an intruder was dropping in and out - making a nuisance in the meeting. This occurred in a Friday meet and it was fortunate that, I then had a couple of days of the weekend to reflect. I felt wild that i had learned so much and was trying so hard- and that someone could belittle and ruin my class so easily and anonymously. I also felt concerned about the lack of control and ability to hold someone accountable.
I wondered about the relational aspects of teaching in this online domain, and wondered exactly how to recover my trust in the processes.
REAL GROWTH occurred for when i came out fighting; I realised that, on any day, any kid can ruin a lesson- its no different being in an online setting.
So ...I learned exactly how to control a google meet, I got out of the funk that I was in..and remembered the old adage; In teaching "the more that you put into it ... the more you get out'
I got on with creating good activities, better screencast videos with instructions about how to do the tasks.
The upgraded tasks, instructions and delivery made me feel satisfied.
I based all the tasks on system that I started initially with only the Y11 classes. I had it set up to have a weekly "SLIDE DECK' with learning information, and then tasks that link to this. I was also made aware that the students couldn't be expected to complete to much. So I refined the tasks. I did though do some work with Y13 students concerning the processing of information. I made a screen cast outlining how to research and record the information, without copy and pasting large tracts of information.
The students responded well, and those that engaged stated that they were happy with the tasks, level of difficulty and learning.
Throughout the entire period - I made it my business to respond with positive comments - to EVERY piece of work completed, be it poor, marginal or excellent. No matter what i gave gushing positive feedback.I used a lot of emojis and was always upbeat 😎💐😜😀🍝
My giving or feedback was further revolutionized by the discovery of MOTE -a way to make a voice recording of comments dirrect to docs and to give marking feedback -Wow this is so easy and it really speeds things up!
I was able to join a facebook page with tips for educators using google - this has so many tips. The google suite has been excellent and the and possible uses are always improving.
I am not sure how it will work, once i return to school as so many students have not done any of the work set. How will we cover the work again? I suppose that the poor engagement by some students, will be due to a plethora of reasons though it is actually hard to believe that some have not been able to do anything!
People are recording some similar ideas about the experience, all reporting similar joys and failures. I have now however started to reflect on the real shifts in my understanding of what it really means to deliver lesson online. The change in my pedagogy, that i have made.
I will refer to the comfort zone chart below as it exemplifies the growth in my practice
Firstly _In the COMFORT Zone; I wasn't so much afraid to deliver lessons remotely and use a digital platform,though having taught in a traditional classroom for a long time,
I felt the need to assemble an arsenal of tasks. The result of this primal reaction was that ...I did just drop and drag a lot of 'meaningless tasks' into a folder - I felt that i was 'doing my job' when these were uploaded for the students to do, It was a kind of 'safety net' for me.
The FEAR Zone, I recognise was around week 2-3. I reached when I questioned whether the level and quality of work was okay. I wondered whether the tasks were meaningful, and probably compensated by adding added too much
It was a couple of knock backs, that propelled me into the in the LEARNING ZONE. Students experienced problems completing some of the tasks as they were converted from Original old word DOCs and the formatting was up the shoot. I had students messaging me saying they couldn't open the docs and I recognised that some of the tasks were awkward to interact with. When checking and grading these tasks they were very ordinary activities, nothing exciting to hook the students in.
A Lot of these initial task just required the student to drop and drag info.
The final straw was that, I had a bad time in a google meet - an intruder was dropping in and out - making a nuisance in the meeting. This occurred in a Friday meet and it was fortunate that, I then had a couple of days of the weekend to reflect. I felt wild that i had learned so much and was trying so hard- and that someone could belittle and ruin my class so easily and anonymously. I also felt concerned about the lack of control and ability to hold someone accountable.
I wondered about the relational aspects of teaching in this online domain, and wondered exactly how to recover my trust in the processes.
REAL GROWTH occurred for when i came out fighting; I realised that, on any day, any kid can ruin a lesson- its no different being in an online setting.
So ...I learned exactly how to control a google meet, I got out of the funk that I was in..and remembered the old adage; In teaching "the more that you put into it ... the more you get out'
I got on with creating good activities, better screencast videos with instructions about how to do the tasks.
The upgraded tasks, instructions and delivery made me feel satisfied.
I based all the tasks on system that I started initially with only the Y11 classes. I had it set up to have a weekly "SLIDE DECK' with learning information, and then tasks that link to this. I was also made aware that the students couldn't be expected to complete to much. So I refined the tasks. I did though do some work with Y13 students concerning the processing of information. I made a screen cast outlining how to research and record the information, without copy and pasting large tracts of information.
The students responded well, and those that engaged stated that they were happy with the tasks, level of difficulty and learning.
Throughout the entire period - I made it my business to respond with positive comments - to EVERY piece of work completed, be it poor, marginal or excellent. No matter what i gave gushing positive feedback.I used a lot of emojis and was always upbeat 😎💐😜😀🍝
My giving or feedback was further revolutionized by the discovery of MOTE -a way to make a voice recording of comments dirrect to docs and to give marking feedback -Wow this is so easy and it really speeds things up!
I was able to join a facebook page with tips for educators using google - this has so many tips. The google suite has been excellent and the and possible uses are always improving.
Reflecting on the week..
Feeling like i am 'nailing it' in the on-line learning world. I have overcome a few issues and developed a pattern of work. Feeling happy with the rewindable resources and the type and variety of tasks that I have created.I am not sure how it will work, once i return to school as so many students have not done any of the work set. How will we cover the work again? I suppose that the poor engagement by some students, will be due to a plethora of reasons though it is actually hard to believe that some have not been able to do anything!
A few Gems...
The cookery at home evidence is being submitting more regularly; The pictures show more wonderful cookery - this is likely to be useful for assessment purposes if it has been evidenced correctly
I have had the right work / life balance during the week - having ducked out for coffee occasionally. Feeling like I am doing the right amount.
Receiving more encouragement and praise by colleagues is good - but also have had some neat comments form students too💐
MOTE discovered the tool for disabling the voice to text - making it so much better, the interpretations were bad!.😜
The cookery at home evidence is being submitting more regularly; The pictures show more wonderful cookery - this is likely to be useful for assessment purposes if it has been evidenced correctly
I have had the right work / life balance during the week - having ducked out for coffee occasionally. Feeling like I am doing the right amount.
Receiving more encouragement and praise by colleagues is good - but also have had some neat comments form students too💐
MOTE discovered the tool for disabling the voice to text - making it so much better, the interpretations were bad!.😜
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