Friday. September 11, 2020.
The second group of students under my care was attended on the “Google Meet” platform, with a focus on reading and writing. In this group, all students access the platform every day without difficulties and carry out activities, with monitoring and a daily routine of study habits, following the class schedule. It was observed that these students are developing in learning new content, which further reinforces the inequalities of conditions found in the same group. In addition to demonstrating that study habits, systematic monitoring, motivation, and effort of the student and the family, contribute and are essential for school success.
I received a message from a mother who made me very happy saying that her son would start developing activities on the platform. Until then, this student only carried out printed activities, because despite being inserted in the platform, he could not use it.
My routine continued with messages throughout the day with confirmation of times for the next appointments, clarification of doubts, follow-up and insertion of activities on the platform, discussion by video call with other teachers of the same year, of the contents and activities of the week. Then I “upload” to the platform and send by e-mail to the students, the recording of a math and telework lesson so that they can do it at home.
We know that everyday technology is more present in classes, benefiting students’ learning, but I was not prepared to enter this universe “online” so quickly, and in a vulnerable situation of uncertainties, fears, and anxieties about the future, therefore, we cannot forget that teachers are, above all, human beings.
The use of technological tools does not in itself guarantee student learning, but it is true that knowing and exploring these tools, creating attractive content can facilitate our work and help improve the teaching and learning of students.
Even in the face of the challenges, the insecurity, the difficulties in handling technologies, I have learned a lot during this period of social isolation. I had little time at the beginning to familiarize myself with the platform, through a week of pedagogical training, offered by the Secretary of State for Education of the Federal District / Brazil. Then, with the return of classes, the needs and the search for tools and new resources began to appear. I have so many apps on my phone that I sometimes get lost.
Much of our time today is spent learning an app or recording video lessons. Classes “online” or recorded require more planning in the selection of material to use, environment, lighting, audio, etc. Sometimes it is necessary to record a video several times precisely because of these details and lack of experience, as happened to me today. I recorded about four, five times the same video.
They did not offer us resources or a minimum adequate structure to record sessions, I had to improvise in different ways at home, many times using my family members as assistants, without knowing for sure if the quality would be good or not.
In the classes, I try to mix videos created by myself with educational videos from YouTube. Before I did not even like to send audios or appear in photos and videos, but I had to rethink myself, the contacts with parents, schools, and professional colleagues on a daily basis. The pandemic changed reality and now sending audios and recording videos for classes is mandatory.
We are accused and judged every day, from society, from the government, so that everything works well, that students are inserted and access the platform, in fact, without much concern about the efficiency or not of learning. But then I ask: What happens to our mental health during this period? We have a lot of accumulation of emotional charge, many times we feel moved, stressed, exhausted, anxious, frustrated, because, no matter how much we do, we do not perceive the return through the effective participation of all the students. I think that no teacher likes this feeling of leaving a student behind or that, in fact, the student is not making progress in their learning.
For the moment everyone’s safety is a priority, I favor face-to-face feedback only when it is really safe, but I would like equal opportunities for teachers and students.
