Reflections on lockdown tutoring
When schools shut in March 2020 due to the fall of this curse on humanity, I wasn’t so much worried about the disturbance to daily life and work, but worried about the health of the nation. Like many others, I thought lockdown would be a temporary disturbance to daily life. How wrong was I?!
When Yipiyap initiated their online learning capability, I found it tough in the beginning. So many technical failures on both sides (my leaners and me!) - robotic voices screeching in all directions; “my camera doesn’t work!”, “my internet’s slow!”, “I can’t hear you!”, “I can’t see you!”, “I don’t have a pen!”, “I need more paper!”, “I need to let the dog out!”, and “my mic doesn’t work!” etc. With our regular learners now being the unnatural two-dimensional forms on screens, it was hard.
On the positive side though, it was good to interact with people outside of my own household. Optimism during this once in a century event was key. Tutoring, even through laptops and the like, provided the optimism we all needed. With the rise in mental health issues and the lack of socialising with those outside of one’s household, remote working/tutoring was one way for students, teachers and tutors to stay connected and for this we were grateful. We remained optimistic even though the norms of in school learning had, for a while, become a thing of the past.
It was all about getting used to the technology, the different platforms different schools used, and navigating your way around how best to deliver an online lesson. It was difficult not being able to physically see what my learners were writing, and not being able to correct their mistakes and mark their answers as I usually did. Other issues encountered were student’s mics and cameras not working and then having to deliver the whole lesson through the chat box!
The third lockdown (and the second time the majority of pupils were learning from home) was slightly easier. I was already familiar with the technology, confident about dealing with certain behaviours from the students, knowing what was expected of me, and just being able to get on with the job at hand! Students also seemed to be able to hop onto Teams, Zoom etc with minimum trouble too.
Comparing the beginning of April 2020 to the beginning of January 2021 is like comparing night with day; gone was all the buffering and glitching! Though remote learning cannot override the benefits of traditional learning, it has been beneficial and educational for all involved but can never abrogate the traditional methods!