Page 24 - Brave New World

THE ENGLISH SCHOOL MA GA ZINE 2021

Brave New World;

POSITIVE TAKE-AWAYS

FOR TEACHERS

AND STUDENTS FROM

ONLINE TEACHING Assistant Head
Popi Grouta

& LEARNING

THESE PAST FEW MONTHS HAVE FELT LIKE Studying online requires certain skills like self-discipline,
YEARS AS WE HAVE STRUGGLED TO ADAPT TO self-motivation, communication and a skilful use of technology.
Despite the frustrations of online learning, most of you have made
THE NEW REALITY OF ONLINE TEACHING AND the unplanned transition to this new setting successfully. As you
LEARNING INTO WHICH WE HAVE BEEN adapted to the new setting, you have had to establish your own pace
CATAPULTED BY COVID-19. and control of learning as often you had to go back and re-read, skip
For many of us, it has meant adapting to new ways of teaching, or accelerate through concepts as you chose. Many educational
learning, and communicating. As a teacher myself, I have had to learn researchers claim that you learn better and faster and can retain
more information when you work independently than when you are
how to use more technology in the past few months than I probably learning in a classroom.
have ever done in the past twenty years of classroom teaching. Online learning has positively impacted the development of critical
Necessity is the mother of invention. thinking skills and adaptability, which are perhaps more important for
While I think of myself as an educator who is open to new ideas and
settings in teaching, I have been surprised by how time-consuming success in the future than the traditional academic skills and rote
learning.
online teaching can be. A simple check for understanding that takes Without the commitment of attending lessons in the physical
seconds in the classroom can now take hours. To my frustration, classroom, you had to learn self-discipline by managing your time and
pedagogical decisions about how to teach were being constrained by tasks. This is a life-long skill that will help you beyond your graduation
physical barriers. Even in the classroom, there were restrictions from The English School. And of course, learning online can help you
imposed on teachers moving around and concerns about whether hone your technical skills such as the ability to use new software,
they could, or should, take in and look at work. It suddenly felt like we perform online research and communicate effectively online in
were flying blind. different formats. These are the skills that employers often demand
There are, however, bright spots in this brave new world of online
education. I have never been so grateful for my colleagues and team as more positions require people to work remotely.
The rapid spread of COVID-19 has demonstrated the importance
members; collegiality and working together, collaborating and sharing of building resilience to face various threats, from pandemics to
teaching & learning Online learning has been difficult for those of you that struggled with such as informed decision- making, creative problem solving, and
our newly-discovered uses of technology have enabled us to improve
extremist violence to climate insecurity, and even, some may argue,
our practice as we were tasked with online teaching. Many of the new
rapid technological change. The pandemic is also an opportunity to
skills that we have learnt, will benefit our classroom in the long-run.
remind ourselves of the skills you need in this unpredictable world
For you, the students, online learning has proven a challenge.
perhaps above all, adaptability.
issues related to isolation, technical frustrations and a deterioration in
To ensure those skills remain a priority for all of you, resilience
mental health. Nevertheless, from discussions I have had with several
must be built into our educational systems as well.
students, it seems that there are a number of positive takeaways
from online learning.

22

Maria Elena Economidou 6W