What I Learned As A Remote Student
On Friday 1000s of Manitoba teachers took part in #MTSPDDay which was primarily hosted via distance and online methods. It is my hope that we all use this opportunity to not only take back new content understanding to our practice but to also reflect on what it is like to be a distance student.
I have personally been a distance student since September of 2013 when I started by M.Ed program through Brandon University. While this stage of my learning journey concluded with my graduation in 2018, I have continued to spend time as a distance student as I completed online certification in the areas of: Google Level 1 Certified Educator, Microsoft Certified Trainer, ISTE Summer Learning Academy, and the Blended Learning Practice MOOC.
These experiences have included:
- telephone call-in classes
- synchronous video classes (all students online)
- synchronous blended classes (some students online and some in person)
- asynchronous lessons
- blended models mixing face-to-face and online experiences
and have used platforms such as:
- Moodle
- Edmodo
- Schoology
- Brightspace
- Canvas
- Zoom
and incorporated numerous tech tools that were embedded into these platforms. Given the time-span of this learning journey this means that I have also been a distance student while:
- being a full-time teacher
- access to a divisional device and can utilize school connectivity
- being a new mom (starting a M.Ed class with a 4-day old infant)
- interrupted schedule
- no divisional device; had to purchase
- had to upgrade our home connectivity
- being a full-time teacher and parent to one
- interrupted schedule
- had divisional device back
- being on bed-rest (I completed my Graduate Summative Seminar while on medical bedrest during my second pregnancy)
- more time to focus on school
- no divisional device
- dependent on public connectivity
- being on maternity leave with two children
- being a full-time Coordinator and parent to two
MVSD cohort teleconference with Dr Skinner tonight! @BU_Faculty_Ed #mbedchat pic.twitter.com/eaEOl5WtjO
— Kirsten Thompson (@MissLwbt) September 11, 2014
@BU_Faculty_Ed tuning in with Dr. Enns via teleconference to learn about curriculum grids ft. his youngest student! pic.twitter.com/FlJ4Wq5zny
— Kirsten Thompson (@MissLwbt) October 8, 2015
Putting together my grad portfolio for my LAST masters class before graduation. Totally thinking that Jaxson needs an honorary degree after all the classes & presentations he has sat through! @BU_Faculty_Ed @BrandonUni pic.twitter.com/csOzttu6mB
— Kirsten Thompson (@MissLwbt) January 12, 2018
Tuning in with @miken_bu in Dauphin for #ICT4BU pic.twitter.com/EZ62tkw1An
— Kirsten Thompson (@MissLwbt) September 16, 2017
Very proud to have walked across the stage for a third time as a @BrandonUni student; Master of Education! 👩🏼🎓 #trsd32 #mbteach #BeYouatBU #I4Ed #BU755 pic.twitter.com/1ggwjrSMHk
— Kirsten Thompson (@MissLwbt) June 2, 2018
While this journey has been full of ups and downs I wouldn’t change it for anything. I strongly feel that this spectrum of experiences has emphasized the importance of reflection, flexibility, and strong pedagogy when it comes to distance and online instruction. And, while I understand what it is like to be a distance student, this year’s #MTSPDDay may have been the first time many of us have been in this position. However, whether this was your first distance learning experience or not, I strongly encourage you to use this as an opportunity to reflect on what this learning experience was like for you; and make comparisons to what your distance learning tasks may be like for your students. Please, consider the following:
Learning Environment
What did your home learning environment look like for you?
Did you find it easier or harder to concentrate if you were working away from your office/classroom?
What could have been done to make your enivornment more condusive to learning?
Supplies
What supplies did you have on hand to support you in your learning? This includes everything from paper and pens/pencils, to art supplies, devices, etc.
Who provided you with these supplies? Yourself, your school, or the organizer of the PD?
What do you wish you had during your session to make it easier?
I know for myself, if I am learning online I NEED my wireless mouse, blue light glasses, and a place to serve as a standing desk (I use our kitchen island if at home). While not essential, I also prefer to have a spare monitor and stylus.
@thompsonclassroom Random things in my tech office that just make sense. Should this become a series? ##mvsd_mb ##edtech ##randomthings ##positivevibes
♬ 아무노래(Any song) - kozico0914
Technology/Connectivity
For online sessions, did you have sufficient internet to watch your session and complete you activities?
Could accessories like headphones, a wireless mouse, a stylus, etc have made it easier?
How much data were you required to use through the day to access all of the educational experiences that were offered?
Pedagogy
Was the format of the session condusive to online/distance learning?
Were there opportunities to:
- ask questions?
- apply your knowledge?
- to get feedback on your understanding?
- to collaborate with other learners?
- to have choice in your learning?
- take breaks and move?
Were there accessibility features you could access if needed?
Sustainability
If this exact model of learning was repeated multiple times a week, or every day, do you feel you could continue to participate and be an effective learner?
What would need to change to support you?
All of the factors listed above, and more, are the reality of our students (or could be at any time). Let’s use our recent #MTSPDDay experience to develop practices that support effective and sustainable distande/online instruction; our students deserve it!
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