Learning all about remote learning
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/02/2021 (839 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
It was my great pleasure to be invited to participate in the online celebration of I Love to Read month in the River East Transcona School Division, where I had the opportunity to talk to students about the challenges of remote learning.
While speaking to students about my job as a community correspondent with The Herald, I asked if they would help me write my next article, since I had no idea about remote learning.
There were two things that I heard most from students: that technology is a challenge; and they miss their friends.
Clare (Grade 4) said of technology that “people get ‘frozen’ or I can’t hear,” and Kennedy (Grade 3) says that she “doesn’t like looking at a screen all day.”
Brady (Grade 4) added that “sometimes work goes missing, things disappear and you can’t find it.”
Tia (Grade 4) said she “misses her friends and getting together in after-school programs,” while Shae (Grade 8) “doesn’t know what some of her classmates look like.”
Wynter (Grade 4) “enjoys the time at home with family and her dog, but misses seeing her friends”.
RETSD Grade 3 and 4 remote learning teacher Ashley Officer said that “teaching and learning is difficult because no one has ever learned online before.”
Grade 7 and 8 remote learning teacher Kyle Warnica said that his “challenge with online learning is not being able to help a student with the aid of a visual clue, such as a facial expression (if their camera isn’t on).
“In a classroom, a student may give a visual clue like slumped shoulders, for example, and helps me determine if they may need extra assistance.”
Warnica said that parent support is crucial and that “families are asked to make sure support is given to students when needed; it is a team effort with home support.”
Carter (Grade 3) says that “some of his assignments are hard and (his) family doesn’t understand”; and Cayden (Grade 4) added that “learning at home is kind of hard because sometimes I don’t get it.”
Officer added that there is time each day where students can schedule one-on-one time with their teacher for extra help and that there is also an online chat for help.
There are some things the kids really liked about learning at home. I heard talk of going to school in one’s pyjamas (not naming names on that one).
Jeychel (Grade 4) “likes that you don’t have to walk to school outside on the cold days,” and Ryan-Lynne (Grade 3) “loves that you can go to school anywhere in the house, and you are not confined to a chair in the school.”
Melanie (Grade 4) “likes that you don’t have to get up early to get ready for school, you can just stay on the couch all day.”
Noel (Grade 7), however, is “upset that his parents won’t let him use a band saw” at home; I took his parents’ side on this one.
Jaidynn (Grade 4) complimented her teaching team by saying that she “feels lucky to have great teachers, that this would be harder if we didn’t.”
The most important thing I heard came from Axl (Grade 3), who said that “the best thing about remote learning is that we are safe from getting COVID.”
Thank you to these teachers and students for allowing me to spend time with their classes, We all learned something.
Wendy Hrynkiw is a community correspondent for East Kildonan. Email her at wendyhrynkiw@shaw.ca
Wendy Hrynkiw
East Kildonan community correspondent
Wendy Hrynkiw is a community correspondent for East Kildonan. Email her at wendyhrynkiw@shaw.ca