Online learning! What an incredible experience! Covid-19 has pushed us into a new learning area in the shortest amount of time, with all the ensuing consequences.
It is generally intriguing to communicate with students in online environments. It is getting better, easier, more normalized, and a more serious learning environment than it was a year ago.
As a teacher accustomed to delivering lectures, standing in front of learners, and observing their facial expressions for nonverbal cues as to how my delivery is being received, the online environment has flipped my so-called position of authority on its head.
I like talking with students and asking them random questions. I also appreciated it when students disagreed with me and challenged me.
Nonetheless, the learning interaction I had in class has vanished overnight. Here comes online learning.
The first teacher is the instructor. Using online classrooms has not been a walk in the park.
Thankfully, university administrations have been proactive in teaching learners like myself how to navigate the online environment.
It took a few jittery attempts before I finally felt comfortable in a “lecture hall.” I was literally teleported into this virtual world.
As a dwarf in IT, I have had to suffer additional hardships. Fortunately, I do not have to think about what shoes to wear to class. My computer determines when I must exit my own class.
I’m unable to keep up with the latest versions of apps and other technological advancements. Several times during my presentation, the damned machine logged me out, leaving students without a guide.
There is a narrative to be told from the pupils’ perspective. Clearly, like with in-person learning, students come in a variety of hues.
Even online, the most respectful, attentive, devoted, and thirsty for knowledge individuals are apparent.
It is the other classmate that drives me crazy, yet whose tragedies serve to relieve our everyday worries.
Classes in the morning are a show. There is always a guy who logs in to class and then likely returns to bed. Calling on the student to reply yields little fruit. Some are dressed in pajamas.
Some individuals simply switch me on as if I were a radio and continue with their domestic duties. God bless us, we all forget to switch off the videos or, more frequently, the audio when teaching an absent student.
Evening classes are spread out the most. You find a student stuck in traffic, preventing them from participating in class discussion.
Others would be in bars or places where “… I am unable to turn on my video” is written. Some would be performing housework at home while “following” the class.
A student once neglected to turn off her video camera. The student was present with parents and siblings on the balcony.
She “abandoned” me in my class, only sometimes checking to see whether I was still alive. I must have been dull! In addition, parents enroll their adorable children in my class. I am aware that multitasking is a special talent possessed by mothers. However, I am amazed at how they interact with children in the class.
Some instructors are happier without videos playing. I need a policy to ensure that my students are present in class. Managing cell phone use in the class was stressful enough.