People all across the world are adjusting to the new normal that is life under quarantine due to the Coronavirus.

School systems were forced to make new plans for teaching students with little notice, and this has greatly affected students and teachers alike.

Lessons take a lot more planning on the teachers’ ends to make sure students understand what they are being taught and that they know what assignments they need to complete.

“It requires a lot more preparation for me to ensure that my lessons are meaningful and are engaging students as much as possible,” instructor Lynn Zimmerman said. “I have to provide a lot more directions on my Canvas page so that students who are not able to Zoom with me daily are able to figure out my expectations.”

Zoom is an online application that allows teachers to communicate with students in real time and share their screen so students can follow along with them. Many teachers have taken advantage of Zoom since switching to online learning.

“It gives me an opportunity to connect with my students,” Zimmerman said. “I am able to go over difficult content with them, and they can ask me questions, although I have also set up a discussion board in Canvas where they can post questions as well.”

Zimmerman has found that Zoom sessions are most helpful when they only last around 15 to 20 minutes; that way, the students stay engaged and do not lose focus.

“I really enjoy attending classes on Zoom,” junior Hope Schumacher said. “It is fun to see everyone. Right now, Zoom is really they only way I get to see any of my classmates, so I enjoy it.”

For Schumacher, online learning was a lot to take in at first, but she now feels confident in her ability to handle of her schoolwork. Her main struggle is not being able to have that face-to-face interaction that school normally provides.

“It’s not hard to stay on top of my schoolwork; I just procrastinate a lot and wait until the last minute, but so far everything has been working out,” Schumacher said.

One concern with online learning is the fact that students have many resources available to them to help them during tests or quizzes. Many teachers have adjusted to this by making their tests or quizzes open note.

“We have to do things differently online, since no one is proctoring tests,” Zimmerman said. “I do daily quizzes, and I encourage students to use my PowerPoint notes, video links and review activities online. I tell them to Google questions to find the answers. Students need to develop skills to know what information out there on the web is totally bogus. Hopefully, we are teaching that with these online classes. In real life, there is no boss telling their employees to not look up information.”

Instruct Abby Gillan said she believes that not only is teaching students important, but also being there to support them while they make their way through this new time in their lives.

“I think it’s incredibly important to remember this is an extraordinary time we find ourselves in, and it’s stressful to experience such drastic change so quickly,” Gillan said. “To me, this isn’t ‘distance learning’ so much as it is crisis learning. We need to give students opportunities to learn, but more importantly, we need to be social and emotional supports for kids and families.”

 21abrooks@usd489.com