Online Teaching
My spouse and I began teaching in Myanmar in August of 2019. We were just beginning to settle in and start to make our marks when the COVID-19 pandemic began. Our school switched to fully online instruction in March of 2020 and continued online until the end of that school year. In August of 2020, with local COVID rates spiking, our school decided to begin the year online. By January of 2021, it looked like we would finally get our kids back into the classroom.
But, on February 1st, the local political situation underwent a sudden and profound transformation and our school leadership decided, for safety reasons, to continue with online instruction until the end of the school year.
​
Teaching online for a solid 14 months was not ideal. But, it was an amazing opportunity for growth. I Apollo-13ed my instructional practices: I collaborated more closely with my peers. I watched YouTube tutorials. I followed discussion threads on Twitter. I read articles. Most importantly, I tried new ideas and carefully and deliberately chose those tools that best met my needs and objectives.
​
I can't wait to bring what I learned in Zoom into the classroom!
Building Connections
One of the biggest challenges of teaching online was student engagement. I revamped my instructional practices, putting relationship building and making connections at the top of my priority list. I used dad jokes, visual cues, backchannel communication, and consistency to build an online environment where students felt safe and could succeed.
Connecting With Families
Since students were not with me in the classroom, I realized that my biggest allies in reaching and engaging students in learning were parents. I included parent discussions in my lessons and even asked parents to manage fun activities in their own homes (like my Geography treasure hunt!).