Accessing Digitally

I spent a week without my computer. Originally, it was supposed to be a digital disconnect for at least part of the time, but with the Covid-19 outbreak developing, we spent a fair amount of time reading articles online, which meant I kept a close eye on all emails, Twitter, and my Feedly articles. Therefore, I also tried to do what I could on the limited bandwidth available to continue being part of our online course. I did not expect the frustration level I experienced!

Yes, there are iPhone versions of Google Drive, Docs and Sheets, but they are difficult to manipulate through a tiny phone screen. A slow and intermittent wifi access made it even more irritating. I did get through to the notes Heidi took as well as the link to what was dealt with in class, but I was still unclear about assignment requirements and the details of what was discussed. Would a recording of the class have helped? Would everyone have contributed knowing they were being recorded? Or would a summary made by the instructor have helped? As I was writing this last thought, Dr. Verena Roberts, our instructor, uploaded a short summary — exactly what I was thinking about. (For our second class, she recorded the whole class and I expect that will make the experience better for those that missed. )

These experiences are similar to what our students may have accessing online courses — something that is becoming very real with the Covid-19 school closures and move to online learning. Not all students have access to a computer or even a good wifi signal. Even I, with my techie background knowledge, resilience and confidence wound up having difficulties with self motivation and regulation! By the time I accessed the Powerpoint and it refused to load properly, I just gave up and left it. Adding to the google sheet was a painful experience and I had to undo a number of times because of inadvertent entries or deletes. How can I expect even the most motivated and strong students to succeed if they do not have the correct tools when I am unable to power through the difficulties accessing?

So what did I learn? I go back to what I had to do in my early design/info pro teaching days: make sure every lesson has a backup lowtech plan. Each class or assignment has to be designed as though technology will not work in the moment and there are assorted possible solutions as well as a lowtech option. Phone calls and snail mail may still be the best option for some teacher/student interactions. It is going to mean a lot of extra time for educators in the regular teaching world to connect adequately to their students in the upcoming weeks. Hopefully they have a good relationship with their students so the communication lines stay open.