Well, if it’s like many school districts in the U.S., when they went to online learning towards the end of a semester (before summer break), every student passed. No one failed.
As your principals/chancellors of your school if everyone will pass with same grade if online continues into end of semester.
The university entrance exam is on May 1. The MOE is not going to budge until the exam is over. Getting that done is paramount to the system of students getting their scores, choosing a school, getting on wait lists, etc. For the first time my uni is moving to hybrid class/online teaching but the meeting for explaining how it works isn’t even until mid-week this week. They are in no rush.
After the entrance exam there could be a complete switch to online (dreading).
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Well done! Always easier to get forgiveness than permission.
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Not sure where to post this question so posting here. Please feel free to move if necessary.
I teach at a private elementary school. I’m in quarantine at the moment due to one of my students catching the virus and will be back at work on Tuesday.
I was told by the government guy who called that I am supposed to observe one week of self-health management when I finish my quarantine.
How does self-health management fit in with teaching kids in a classroom? Are there any rules about this?
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I don’t get the joy of online teaching. I crawl out of bed at 6 a.m. and lecture to a bunch of kids lying in bed and playing with their phones? Sorry, not my style.
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I know your secret identity. You retired rock star, you.
The only teachers who prefer online teaching are the ones who hate their jobs so much they don’t even want to show up at their workplace. They can go on autopilot just like their students who all switch off their cameras and go back to sleep.
(I should clarify I don’t mean that about anyone in this thread. I do have a colleague who said he wants to go online basically so he doesn’t have to commute. None of my colleagues at my workplace are really worried about COVID… or if they are, they’re not saying anything in the group LINE chats)
That is not accurate. I’ve yet to meet a teacher who can survive, let alone thrive, during online teaching who did not demonstrate passion, dedication, creativity, and a willingness to learn in order to create an interactive and effective learning environment. Heck, I have published research in this area.
I spend MORE time prepping for, hosting, and assessing online lessons. I do so from my office. Managing and facilitating students’ onIine learning takes much greater effort. The only profs I’ve seen who (admittedly) hate their jobs have been pushing for face-to-face teaching, not the opposite.
You might be exposed to a limited sample of educators. To be frank, I don’t know many teachers that hate their jobs. I train and supervise teachers from K to post-graduate levels. I’ve seen some win awards for their management of online teaching during the pandemic.
Again, this kind of autopilot is just as easy in the traditional classroom. Moreover, for those who hate their jobs (and by extension their students), forcing everyone back to the lecture hall (based on the few such teachers with whom I’ve been acquainted) is part of the sadistic joy they take in having power over their students. These are the same teachers, by the way, who force every student to turn on their webcam.
Personally, I’m happy to teach online or face to face. My only concern is that students and their families are not given the choice. I pulled all of my classes last week asking about their preference for online or face-to-face teaching. Over 70% either strongly agreed or agreed with online teaching. The rest, about 25%, were neutral on the topic. If you pay attention to what parents and students themselves are asking for, at the tertiary level, it is for at least some level of choice in online, face to face, or hybrid teaching.
Exactly. Anyone that strives to be good knows that online classes take much more preparation than in-person classes. In fact, I’d say that teaching online is the best way to separate a mediocre teacher from an excellent one. If you can capture the total attention of a class and see constant improvement online, you have a passion and a talent. My wife, who is also a teacher, has a genuine gift. She teaches high school, and during online lessons the parents of her students can’t help but sit in on the lessons and even participate, much to the chagrin of their offspring no doubt. It’s a giant freaking ego check for anyone witnessing it, myself included.
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As someone who has done research in this area, you are aware of all the studies that have come out from the states about the detrimental effect online teaching has had on academic development, social development and test scores for students, right? It’s a disaster that exacerbates socioeconomic differences between students as not everyone has the capability to engage with whatever tech they have at home. It also doesn’t provide proper assistance or structure for those with learning disabilities, special needs, or a problematic home life. Do you think the educators who wrote the pieces below hate teaching or are lazy? Do you think the parents complaining about remote teaching don’t understand what an evolutionary step it is for their children?
I’m not against integrating technology into the classroom. At the University I teach, we have an online portal where resources are uploaded, announcements are made, and bonus discussions are held to supplement understanding of that week’s material. But that’s in tandem with the normal lessons. It’s not the same as going fully remote, which I am deadset against. There’s some indescrible quality, as the French would say je ne sais quoi , some necessary connection or mode of interaction between students and the teacher that’s severed when classes are held online as opposed to in-person inside a classroom.
As for your informal polling of your students… everyone in academia knows that students, especially sleep-deprived teenagers, see online classes as an excuse to tune out of their lessons and go to sleep or play on their phones. That’s why they’re not turning on their cameras for you. They’re not there. Fun for them in the short term. Disastrous for their development in the long term.
Finally, regarding autopilot in the classroom. A terrible teacher in the classroom will still be a terrible teacher when forced to go online. A great teacher in the classroom will also do their best to give their students the best experience possible within the limits of remote teaching. There’s no correlation. Educators have been teaching face-to-face with students for thousands of years, going back to Socrates explaining philosophy to his students. Remote teaching is new, buggy, unequal and detached. I know what my preference is and I’m a damn good teacher as well.
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No camera, no eye contact = fail
A little expected responsibility goes a long way.
I do agree it’s a shit show for kids living in poverty or in bad homes, but for most kids it can be an acceptable substitute.
Thank you for the thoughtful reply. I have no desire to debate the pros and cons of online teaching under such volatile and uncertain conditions. You have stated your preferences, which I respect. I do believe that we have to move outside of our comfort zone from time to time, which I have managed to do with online teaching for the past couple years. A few points in response to your feedback.
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Naturally, I’m aware of the detrimental and unbalanced effects of long-term distance learning for certain ages and in certain contexts, both on students and our teachers. My research has focused on teachers more than students, but I can completely agree that online teaching is only to be used when needed and, whenever possible, optimally utilized in a blended environment (and by that I mean one in which students and parents are given a choice between face-to-face and online teaching). As I told all of my classes last week, "I’m happy to teach you face to face, taking all the precautions necessary, that’s my job. I’ll be here. However, I do believe that you have the right (along with your parents) about education choices that may have a direct impact on your physical and/or psychological well-being."
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In terms of parent complaints in the context of higher education in Taiwan recently, the trend is towards parents being concerned about their children/teenagers being mingled in dorms with students from all around the country. I know fairly highly placed administrators in universities around the country that are inundated with calls from parents asking them to offer online alternatives.
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As I mentioned in other places, I contend that a hybrid approach, or one that allows for choice on the part of parents and their children, is preferable to one that is in either of the extremes. By the first extreme, I refer to online teaching that is unnecessary or unbeneficial, even detrimental, to students’ short-term and long-term learning outcomes. In terms of the second extreme, I mean those conditions wherein parents and/or their children feel uncomfortable, frightened, or at risk in face-to-face contacts and are begging for blended learning or hybrid learning options. There are true physical and psychological reasons for some students to fear or want to avoid face-to-face contact at this point. I didn’t simply conduct a vote on students preference for learning mode, but asked students to give a rationale. Several mention that they were eligible to receive vaccinations or were in high-risk groups. It is for these students, and myself as an individual in a high-risk group, that I advocate for choice.
- You don’t know me and you don’t know my classes. I have a rigorous and very well developed method for taking into account students’ presence and interaction. If for a moment I believe that a student is not paying attention or was not “there” they would know the consequences. In fact, in the anonymous feedback to my informal questionnaire, students praise the fact that I held all of them accountable for paying attention and being active in the class. Just because you haven’t seen it or done it yourself doesn’t mean that it’s not possible. Please don’t make assumptions about myself or my students.
- I don’t see how this is a point of disagreement. My only observation was that those who couldn’t handle the online teaching aspect we’re also failures in the physical classroom. That is to say, those who did not like their job (I hesitate to say they hate their job) did not want to do I like teaching because it was too much 麻煩. Among teachers who, as you stated are “great teachers” there was a much more positive attitude towards taking advantage of the benefits of online teaching, of which there are several.
- I’m glad to know that you consider yourself an excellent teacher and I have no reason to doubt you, particularly based on many of your posts on the forum. I’m not going to make any claims about my talent, but leave the results speak for themselves. The key word here is preference. If you prefer not to teach online, there’s nothing I can do to persuade you otherwise. Do I prefer to teach online? Hell no! However there’s a time and a place for different modes and delivery systems. Being able to cope and excel under different modes of instruction is a sign of being not only a “damn good” teacher, but also a flexible and adaptable educator that can tailor instruction to the needs of students and to the volatile context in which their learning takes place.
I wish you a safe and fruitful week!
I have classes of 40+ students. Students say their camera isn’t working. What do I do?
If online teaching is effective we should be doing it all the time.
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Sorry if I came in a little hot and heavy in my reply. I think, based on what I’ve seen you post, you’re a good educator as well. I may have misunderstood you as preferring online teaching to in-class teaching (and you have clarified this isn’t the case).
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Give them one class to fix the problem or fail them, or you can call them out immediately if you’re certain they are lying.
There are definitely ways around the need for webcams being turned on. For example, in a class of 60 students or more, using Google Meet or any other platform, you couldn’t even see a fraction of those students anyways. Keeping the class engaged, active, and working to their full potential is my goal. In some cases, having students do recordings of their presentations is optimal, and results in better outcomes for them than a face-to-face class would. Consider the case where a student is asked to make a presentation. They could record that presentation, recording themselves repeatedly until they have recorded the best version of what they want to present. In this case, it is beyond a doubt that they would have practiced far more than they would have for a regular in-class presentation. Moreover, they are able to use skills in using technology and multimedia that are going to be more relevant for the 21st century workplace than standing up in front of a classroom and talking. Times are changing, technology is taking a larger and larger role in our students’ lives. We need them to be competitive in the future. Part of that is being able to be comfortable with technology. Therefore, there is an advantage in having students use technology fruitfully to express themselves optimally. It just takes a bit more effort, but it’s something that I believe is worth that the extra effort.
I know we’re in the same boat and sincerely believe we are trying to row in the same direction. The situation is a bit more nuanced than is possible to explain in text on this forum. I welcome alternative points of view, and you’ve been respectful and considerate, for the most part. I think it’s hard to categorize teachers based on their attitudes towards online teaching. That’s my only qualm, I would say.
There may be a bit of a confusion regarding the fact that I’m the “OP” of this thread. In fact, one of our sage moderators decided to prune this content from a COVID-related developments thread and, by chance, my post just happened to be the first one to be included in this new topic 
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In Zoom with dual monitors you can see at least 49 students on one screen ( and quickly change to the rest of the class instantly) and use your other to present. That and the microphone controls are why I insist on Zoom for online lessons. With three screens you could probably constantly monitor everyone, but I’ve not tried it.
It’s considered an honor.
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