Day 2 Slice of My Life Dwindling Away at this Dining Table

OK, when they said we would have school cancelled for two weeks, I thought, “we can do this.” It will be boring, but it will be a time to catch up.

Instead, my first online lesson was so complicated, creative, fun, etc.–I thought at the time–that it was almost impossibly difficult for some of my students to navigate. Students had two days to complete.

All morning, we are to stand by for emails and answer within 15 minutes. OK. I can do this. I set my timer for 15 minutes and each time it would ring in my ears, I would check my emails, religiously from 8 am to noon. I had a few emails, and it was easy to keep up with them. I’ve done that for two mornings.

After 2:00 p.m. I am free to not answer the emails until morning, like a regular working day. However, it’s not my style. Plus, the working parents needed answers this evening, not during my office hours this morning. So, read and answer emails, download videos and photos, read worksheets, add marks to the assignments coming in, give verbal and written feedback on Google Docs, Instagram, email and anything else? (I forget). I never moved from my chair for at least five hours. I don’t even remember the time I first sat down this evening. It may have been before 4:oo p.m.

Now, I’m going to bed, vowing never to make such a complicated online lesson again as long as I live. Yes, it was all my fault. I know. I’m the one that made the assignment.

My hind end is sore, my legs are asleep, I’m hungry, but I won’t take time to eat any more today. I may not even brush my teeth. (No, not really.) Good night, all.

Online Learning When Coronavirus Threatens

Larry Ferlazzo has created several posts with ideas for online learning when schools have to be closed because of the Coronavirus outbreak. Visit his latest post:  “ONLINE LEARNING TOOLS IF SCHOOLS ARE CLOSED BECAUSE OF THE CORONAVIRUS – PART FOUR” I’m working through the links today.

Our school is closed because of the Coronavirus scare, and I’m learning to teach online on the fly. Today I sent out my first lesson to grade 5 ELL students. I sent way too much and the instructions were too complicated! What was I thinking? I only get to send two lessons a week. Normally I have seven lessons with each group of scholars each week. I’m sure subconsciously I tried to pack three-and-a-half periods into one at-home lesson.

Basically we have been instructed to give something to read or view, and then have them produce something. That sounds wise and simple. Comprehensible input and comprehensible output–these make sense. They are what I’ve been working through with Nation’s books Teaching ESL/EFL Listening and Speaking and Teaching ESL/EFL Reading and Writing.

I have been trying to do all four strands mentioned in these books in my weekly lessons:

  1. Meaning-focused Input
  2. Meaning-focused Output
  3. Language-focused Learning
  4. Building Fluency

I think today’s lesson was OK. They had a picture book to read with a simple message. It was an audiobook, which helped the ones who needed that support. There was language learning on pronunciation and usage of the new vocabulary. My favorite part was the real-life application where I asked students to go on a vocabulary hunt for these words around their homes–smidgen, glinting, scuttle, intricate, delicate, wilted, and clog.

I had a definite fail in the long and detailed list of instructions I sent. With a world made up of people who prefer to learn orally, I overloaded them on text. For a 98% ELL crowd, I failed to provide comprehensible directions for them. Yikes! Here’s what my email looked like:

I should have known. Now I have learned a lesson. When I send work online, I am not able to rely on the obvious and subtle cues of being in a room full of questioning children. I didn’t hear anyone say, “Huh?” or “What do you mean?” I couldn’t see the faces of those not with me. I hated being unavailable personally as they worked through those instructions. If I was there, I might have even needed to say, “OK, let’s not do this part. We’ll save that for tomorrow.”

There are some definite downsides to teaching from a distance. We are attempting it in K-12 too. It will be a challenge. I will have to work on the instructions–meaningful brevity–cut every unneeded word and phrase. And then cut the word count some more. That’s my goal for my second lesson.

However, there have been some rewarding and rich experiences even in just one day. I’ve given more feedback and individualized instruction today than I am able to do in the classroom when I have 25 students at a time. I was able to explain to individuals about the mistakes they made–in writing or with a voice message when needed.

Here is an example of a item from the vocab hunt. (Check out the hashtag #arsvocab to see more of their sweet vocabulary hunt.)

A delicate glass dish that is glinting in the light.