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Day 2 of virtual learning showed me how important being able to have short f2f conversations more frequently can be with videoconferencing.
Our schedule each class period is:
-30 mins synchronous w/whole class
-50 mins asynchronous
Both days, after I explained asynch activities, I stayed âliveâ to help anyone who needed it
-30 mins synchronous w/whole class
-50 mins asynchronous
Both days, after I explained asynch activities, I stayed âliveâ to help anyone who needed it
In one class, my ESL co-teacher and I ended up playing several rounds of a color scavenger hunt game with about 9 Ss who stayed with us. The game was by student requestânot our idea.
This led to a fun pet parade of seeing everyoneâs crittersâwhich led to a student feeling comfortable enough to tell us about something really sad that just happened to his family couched in a comment about his pet.
When it was finally lunch time, we still had a couple students hanging out, and when we gently said, âhey! Itâs time for yâall to go eat,â one studentâs response was, âIâm good. I had breakfast.â 
My last two Ss on that call laughed when I finally said I had to go get coffee to make it through the afternoon, so I was booting them both out.
Iâm struck by how every single class has had a handful of students who really seem to want an opportunity to speak and be seen in a smaller group.
Most of my âlingerersâ didnât unmute during whole class, and a few never shared their cameras until most Ss were gone.
Most of my âlingerersâ didnât unmute during whole class, and a few never shared their cameras until most Ss were gone.
At the end of the day, I was able to speak one-on-one with a parent once all the other Ss left. Sheâd taken the first days of school off to help her child, who is new to middle school and mainstream classes.
Having this time on the first day of class to try to reassure a concerned parent and to offer some tech tools and support that might make her child feel more confident felt so much better than trying to have the same conversation at Open House or on the phone or in an ARD meeting
I canât wrap my head around the ways we could still use videoconferencing in the future when weâre back to something more normal yet. But there are definitely positive things weâll be able to learn here if we keep paying attention.
If I could ask anything of teachers right now, itâs to not let the stress of trying to plan and police the students overwhelm them. Be present for them when you can and listen to what THEY need.
This is nowhere near like being in the classroom. But what is better in this format is the opportunity for these moments of connection & conversation where you can give your full attention to someone else without worrying about all the other things going on in the room.
