Technology and I

            March 2020 - the beginnings of global panic due to Covid-19, so many unanswered questions, and no one knows what to expect... I was working as a Learning Assistant at International School when our school's SLT informed us that we had to prepare two weeks of handouts for online teaching and provide all relevant resources to the students in one day. After reading the daily headlines, my gut tells me that two weeks of materials will be insufficient, and that we will most likely be stuck at home until the end of the academic year. So, the main teacher I've been working with and I cleared out all of our shelves and sent boxes of resources to each of our Year 1 students. The next step was to figure out the given platforms: Zoom for the lessons, Manga high and Myimaths for Maths, as well as Reading Eggs, Active Learn, Quizizz, Kahoot, and all other applications that were becoming more popular than previously. Because the main teacher was not very tech-savvy, I was in charge of the lessons as the primary teacher. 

        We were all learning together: the teachers, the students, and the parents, and everyone needed each other's support not only for academics but also for emotional well-being. 

          What was the most difficult aspect of teaching online and using technology for me? First, I was continuously using my computer / iPad / phone - and I began to have a headache, my eyes hurt, and I had difficulty falling asleep. My daily routine needed to be changed, so I thought that the parents and our students must be experiencing the similar issue, hence I created a timetable around our online lessons, as well as short videos on how to open and use the platforms from home.           

                   

          

        Students became more interested after settling into their new online schooling schedule. The same was true for teachers: it became easier for me to plan my online lessons. However, there were certain disadvantages to teaching online. On the days when we did not have electricity at home or when our internet connection was extremely poor, none of my preparation mattered. All I could do was ask my students to continue passing the mini levels on above mentioned learning platforms. 

     What was the most challenging component of online education and technology usage for you? Leave a comment! I will eagerly await your feedback!