Well, I feel like I can safely say that this past year has not been typical, from the pandemic to completing school online, it really has demonstrated that idea of distributed learning.
Online Classes
Our online classes have all been a mix of asynchronous and synchronous learning, it has given us, the students, the flexibility to complete some school work at a time that works for us. I believe that a blend between the two is very important for running an online class, being able to still give structure and guidance, as well as answer questions if need be. In one course our professor completes short videos, around 15 minutes, that we need to watch by a certain time. It is great because we can watch them in shorter segments if the day has felt long with Zoom and working on the computer. Or if we need to pause the video, it allows for flexibility for our learning.
How to teach when everyone is scattered?
In this class, we looked into different reasons people might not be able to attend a class or meeting, and with technology, we are given the ability to be there without actually being present in the room. Technology, like robots, have allowed us to be mobile in a room, it is a little spooky, but it allows for flexibility.
- Double
- Kubi
- vGo
An example of the Double robot.
This is just a sample of robots, but they make it possible for people to be present from elsewhere. There can be many reasons why someone is unable to attend work, meetings, or school, for example like anxiety or travel commute.
Different online platforms have also changed the ability to learn from afar.
- Desire2Learn
- Discord
- Google Classroom
To just name a few!
These platforms are organized in a way to teach, assess, interact with one another. They give guidance, which I have noticed in these last few months. Technology if used productively can really enhance our future with communication, and how we work. I believe this pandemic has demonstrated that ten folds.
Photo by Yogendra Singh on Unsplash
