By Kim Perez
Students who are required to stay at home either with a positive Covid test result or close contact with someone who has tested positive find themselves relying on online learning yet again. However, it is different this time around as there is not always live instruction in addition to assignments on Google Classroom. Students have to be more proactive about keeping on top of their studies.
In order to help students in this situation, the school has encouraged teachers to broadcast their lessons from Google Meet when students quarantine. This way, students do not have to contact teachers or rely solely on Classroom to catch up on what they missed. Rather, they can do their work in real time.
“If a student was staying current with the lessons via broadcasting as we went through them, they have proven to be more successful in completing their projects efficiently when they return,” ceramics teacher Julie Neumann said.
Especially for hands-on type classes, not having to catch up on one to two weeks of work while simultaneously completing current assignments is a big help.
This is often a challenge for teachers as they have to focus on two different groups of students at the same time, those in-person and those joining from home. Managing discussions and group work is therefore more difficult. Despite the challenge, many teachers are happy to know they are helping students to keep learning.
In September, 78 teachers broadcast over 2000 hours of content.
“I want to be there in a Google Meet so they can still feel connected to me and to the class,” Neumann said.
Parents have called in to say that when teachers broadcast lessons while teaching, it is helpful academically and emotionally for their kids at home, according to Director of Instruction Dr. Robert Walker.
However, the amount of teachers broadcasting is still limited with most relying solely on Google Classroom and email to keep students up to date. Many students at home find online learning without live meetings a challenge.
“Since I was so out of the loop, that impacted my performance on assignments as well, ultimately having a negative impact on my grade,” senior Serine Hassan said.
While we look forward to a future where students are no longer required to stay at home quarantining, for now the piloting of teachers broadcasting their lessons offers many students the chance to make the best of their situation.
“We want every student at Granada to feel supported and able to be successful. We are truly living through the most unprecedented event in our lifetime. We know that we cannot do everything the way we would normally but we can do everything possible to ensure that students have access to as much learning as possible, in a manner that is as normal as possible. Teachers broadcasting their lessons provides one way to do that for students who cannot be physically in class,” Walker said.
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