I wanted to dive back in as it has become more important.
We are week 8 of lockdown. It is important to establish that remote working has been the 'norm' for 8 weeks. I got a panicked text from a friend of my parents asking for help getting into a team meeting of theirs. After an hour of multiple emails and texts we finally connected on a Google Meet. She could see me and at this point she told me that I was the first person apart from her family that she had seen for 8 weeks. I asked what was the problem in getting into her team meetings and she said that it was this part the Google Meet. So for 8 weeks her team hadn't heard from her. For 8 weeks no one at work had seen her face. Yes emails and texts had come from her but no one from work had seen her.
When sharing the Staying Connected ebook on Twitter Ebook linkwe came across a parent who asked if they could send it to their child's school. For 8 weeks their child had been dutifully submitting work but they hadn't heard from any of their teachers other than a Google Classroom post. I have a problem with both these examples on a very basic human level. How can it be that for 8 weeks no one has checked in? How can an under 16 be uncontacted for 8 weeks? If we were in an traditional school environment if we hadn't heard from a child in 8 days possibly even 8 hours we would be beginning safeguarding procedures. Why is it ok to forget these now? Is it harder to check in on students virtually?
My parents friend was fortunate to have family that had checked in on her. This situation could have been a whole lot worse. I think there is a legitimate concern about an impending mental health crisis as we emerge from lockdown as people will have been totally isolated for so long. We know loneliness is an awful thing, yet we don't seem to be taking it seriously. Yes there are other priorities but we need to be pushing this further. Imagine had my parents friend not had any family and I was literally the first person she saw in 8 weeks? Imagine what could have happened in those 8 weeks and no one would have known, it doesn't bear thinking about.
The student who hasn't seen or heard from a teacher in 8 weeks probably isn't alone in their experience. Staff are probably trying their best pushing out work as is required and are busy ranking year 11s and year 13s. Yet I cannot forgive a lack of contact for 8 weeks. I cannot think about what could have happened in those 8 weeks. But on a different level what effort has their been from the teacher to increase motivation and engagement for 8 weeks. I am amazed this child is still handing in work. I'm not sure after 8 weeks I would be. I may have lost interest.
There are 2 parts to staying connected at this time. One is the importance of safeguarding and checking in. The other is staying connected to motivate and engage. The safeguarding part is obviously important and as we connect with learners virtually we need to still be observing surroundings. If we are now present in the learners home we need to be aware that people we weren't concerned for previously might display issues now we are in their homes. The students that leave everything at their front door and put a brave face on for college don't have that separation now and we need to be mindful more than ever of observing surroundings and cues.
Aside from all of this we need to stay connected as human beings. If a virtual classroom is a no go with your group why not do a virtual check in? Create a flipgrid asking everyone how they are? Flipgrid is great at making it easy for everyone to contribute short videos. If you're not in education or don't have flipgrid a Slides presentation can do something similar. Create a slides presentation with a slide for everyone to add their own video. A black slide with each team member or students name at the top. Ask them a question and ask them to video their reply. Each person inserts their video on their slide and then everyone is staying connected.
Staying connected to motivate and engage is important too. For 8 weeks sitting at the kitchen table doing work independently means that enthusiasm may have waned. Firstly are the tasks that are being sent engaging in their own right? Are they paper based? Could they be done via video? Do we need a written reflection on the text they have read or could they narrate their thoughts? Paper is not the virtual learners friend. Printers are no longer in every home. Shops are not easily accessible, paper may be hard to find for some. Yet video, voice and colourful Slides presentations are more enjoyable to create anyway, so who would choose paper over these activities? Lack of technology may still be a barrier but the government has vowed to step in. Likewise video and audio files can be made on a mobile phone so huge kit isn't needed.
Once the work has been submitted giving feedback is crucial but it is also crucial that it is understood. How often have you read a text and thought there was a tone or an agenda? Giving feedback digitally can have the same effect. We need to make sure our comments are taken on board. So why are we typing them and running the risk of them being misinterpreted? Why are we not videoing our feedback to give it a more personal touch? Ok I don't like videoing myself either but it is an option! Why don't we leave a voice not on a file rather than a track changes comment? Surely that makes it more personal and means it is more likely to be understood? You are you, the way you communicate is your way. Whoever you are trying to connect with is seeking out that part of you. In using your own words and making it personal you will be staying connected. SJ
