Teaching during a Pandemic

I believe everyone across the globe has been impacted in some way, shape, or form by the unexpected reality of COVID-19. That being said, schools across the country have closed down and switched to remote learning for the remainder of the school semester. This unprecedented time has called teachers across all grade levels to change the way they interact and teach their students. Across all social media platforms, educators have been demonstrating their creative ploys to enhance students’ educational experience through online learning. Teachers are also,  guiding one another depicting what is effective and what is not. Throughout my blog Post, I will be discussing how professional educators are perceiving their online teaching during the pandemic.

After doing research, teachers in some parts of the country are saying that they were not prepared for online learning whatsoever (I mean come on, no one was prepared for this). Teachers across the country are not only worried about creating an efficient learning experience, but they worry that a variety of students are not going to have access to the internet or technology. As a result, this directly affects the students that depend on these essential school resources. To take action, teachers have been making weekly packets of material. Parents or guardians are asked to pick up the learning packets every week so students can stay on top of the work. 

Furthermore, the pandemic has brought a lot of panic amongst educators all over the world, which is clearly understandable. For example, according to an article on Edutopia, “over 500 teachers joined two Facebook conversations about teaching during the coronavirus pandemic, spilling out their concerns and anxieties: What will we do if schools close for months? How can I switch to online learning if we are closing tomorrow, or even in a few hours? How will special education students be cared for, and IEP administered? ….” (Merrill). Although panics tend to be bad, I’d like to think of this being a “good” panic. As the panic arose, teachers began to have all sorts of questions and concerns causing them to reach out to one another, helping each other through times of uncertainty. 

Additionally, teachers have done a phenomenal job of demonstrating their creative tactics on social media platforms to deliver a successful educational experience for all their students. For example, there were many highly creative teachers providing strategies as fast the obstacles appeared on their social media platforms. Twitter is a great social media platform that allows teachers to share their teaching strategies. For example, Zoom is a tool used to help teachers interact with their entire class face to face. This tool gives students the ability to still learn and communicate virtually with their peers.  Another common tool used by teachers right now is Nearpod. Nearpod is a great tool to engage students and teach them new material while also gaining a better understanding of what they know. Furthermore, Flipgrid is another great way to teach students remotely. Flipgrid provides a unique way to communicate and engage with them through video. For instance, Flipgrid provides a unique way for teachers to monitor the progress of students’ projects and give them immediate feedback. 

Moreover, on Twitter, other things professional educators use to enhance their student’s educational experience consist of Google Classroom and Microsoft Teams. Google Classroom is a great way to help teachers virtually take over their classrooms. Teachers can benefit from Google classroom by assessing homework assignments and even quizzes. Similarly, Microsoft Teams is another highly talked about a tool that helps teachers virtually interact with their students. Twitter, is also a great tool for teachers because they can encourage and motivate others to keep thriving in times of uncertainty. Overall, Twitter is an amazing way to stay up to date with the latest teaching trends. 

Technology has been a key factor in allowing teachers to continue to teach and most importantly, continue to grow good healthy relationships with their students. Once again, tools like Zoom and Microsoft Teams have allowed teachers to motivate and encourage their students to keep learning. Through times likes this, students need positive reinforcement from their teachers more than ever.  A lot of students might be in an environment where there is not a lot of positive things going on. As a future teacher, that is something I would want to provide my students with, especially in unusual times like these.  

This current situation will impact K-12 teachers all over the country in the sense that it will make them be more prepared if something like this ever occurs again. That being said, the use of technology and the tools it brings are really essential in making students’ educational experience successful. With the rapid advancement in technology, I think it is safe to say that technology will be a crucial part of the education system in the years to come. However, nothing can ever replace the face to face interaction that you have with your fellow classmates and teachers. With hope, everything will return back to normal and we will soon be able to go back and learn effectively. 

Despite this unprecedented time, teachers all over the world are working extremely hard to provide the best educational experience they possibly can. Exploring Twitter has made me realize how creative teachers can really get, and it has allowed me to attain profound information that can be helpful in my future career as a physical education teacher. It is truly amazing seeing the abundance of strategies teachers use to ensure that students are receiving an effective learning experience. In my personal opinion, continually growing your relationship with students is the best thing to do during this pandemic. Showing sympathy through a time like this can really come a long way and I am sure that students will appreciate it very much.