eLearning

eLearning, say what??

We survived a week of eLearning here in South Carolina. We never get snow that sticks in the winter. But this year, we got an whooping 6-8 inches. I know, all you Northerners just spit coffee all over your keyboard. But remember, this is the South. We don’t do snow.

So, eLearning swooped in to save the educational lives of our students. And for 4 days, we conducted Google Meets, we had class discussions and had numerous rounds of “Show & Tell” featuring dogs and cats.

People like to complain and say that eLearning is hard on parents. And I can only imagine it its. But listen, teachers aren’t exactly living our best lives either. Do you know how hard it is to conduct a Google Meet with a tired, hungry and over-it two year old? Try typing an email with wrangling said two-year away from your keyboard, coffee and mouse. It’s like the Hunger Games.

Thankfully my children’s school went back to in-person on Wednesday. And the rest of the week flowed MUCH smoother for me.

If we have an eLearning days in the future, I would love to try new things like:

— Have students work in groups then come back and “teach” the rest of the class

— Create more guidelines about having everyone turn on their camera. I think that would help increase student participation.

I would love to hear what other teachers have done with virtual or eLearning!! I don’t see this going away, and so let’s do what teachers have always done, take something and make it GREAT!

One thought on “eLearning, say what??

  1. Good Morning Ruth,

    LOLOL… hilarious; I can visualize the “two-year old round up” 🙂 I wish I had read this awhile ago before I shredded ( I retired last August :0] my notes. Montgomery County Public Schools ( MCPS, MD) had been virtual since May/June 2020. We didn’t go back into the building until April, 2021 and I was a “Nervous Nellie” then. Believe me, it was not smooth sailing for us also; a lot of knee jerk reactions and daily changes made it even more challenging for virtual learning.
    However, the basic rules were: 1. Students and teachers had to have their cameras on at all times ( unless, of course, there was some other problems at home or venue). 2. You were not to be in the bedroom if at all possible. 3. Teachers had to post Google Classroom or Canvas lessons by Sunday Midnight . 4. Mon, Tues, Thurs & Fri were instructional days; Weds. was a Health & Wellness day and students could check in with us if they wanted to from 9-Noon; the rest of the day was teacher PD and the expectation that students did HW. 5. We received a revised grading and reporting policy doc. that clearly expected us to be lenient, compassionate and err on the side of caution and grace when grading, taking attendance or writing emails to parents about students missing from class.
    I taught Science to 7th graders so there were a few virtual labs and some I could encourage students to do; even when we got back to school since sharing was not possible , I did most of the demos . Very few students came back to the building.
    Our website is if you want to see our guidelines go to https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/.
    My personal opinion is that a pandemic should not have been the jolt to use virtual learning. Look at what we are doing online? My last three certifications were all online with a one time trip to campus for our orientation or graduation ceremony.
    I know thousands of our colleagues ( bus drivers, food service workers, delivery people) had lost jobs because of the shutdown, but for those who cannot attend an on-campus site, this is perfect for them.
    Thank you for your blog :]

    Harriett

    our guidelines

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