On Distance Learning

With the “new normal in education” being forced down to the throats of those who are involved, turbulence in the transition is often met with hesitance. Heads and brains from higher officials have divided takes as to whether the school year must be pushed through or not. Regardless of what we deem as right and proper, we are to take the job and follow what is stipulated on the Department of Education’s memoranda and provisions. Thus, we brace ourselves to this new battlefield.

From the series of videos I have watched today, my takeaways are categorized in to three: pros, cons and realizations. 

PROS

Distance learning and the usage of different apps and softwares for blended learning are beneficial to the situation. We can battle the pandemic without sacrificing the school year. I was most delighted to find out some cool and techie apps that I envisioned to use someday in my class. I marvelled at how these applications can make learning both meaningful and engaging. Right after the videos, I tried Screencastify. I find the app really cool but not user-friendly at all. I can only record  a 5-Minute video of myself. Still, if you are just cautious about the content of your lesson. That 5 minutes is more than enough to capsulize the topic at hand. 

CONS

Though I find these cool apps engaging and noteworthy, one thing that I can think of that discourages me to try is the internet connection. Our connection is considered as one of the slowest on Earth. As per experience, my connection at home is not reliable thought I have already upgraded my monthly subscription. My phone on the other hand, is very picky with links and apps. Personally, there are some documents that I cannot save. It saddens me that some of these apps needed the Internet to be functional. Second, some apps are expensive. We can only manipulate a part of it’s usage. Third, as mentioned in one of the video, it cannot be for all.

Realizations

In doing distance learning, we educators should consider equity. Do all of the students have fair and equal opportunity to access these applications? Are we leaving behind someone? Are we being considerate of those who can’t catch up? I feel bad to those who are baffled as to this day about how this works. Still, as part of our commitment to this work, we learn, unlearn and relearn. We learn as one👍