Who says
Who says life stops when a pandemic hits? Who says only teachers face difficulties when they can’t teach face-to-face? Who says that levels of productivity should remain the same (or worse, better because you’re “working from home” #HRsays)? In the background, cue Selena Gomez’s “who sayssss, who saysss”
As I am writing this, my lecturer is droning on about psychological assessments via Google Meet to a class of students that she hopes are hanging on to her every word. When she stops for breath or decides to ask a question, things get funny (funny ha-ha, not funny weird). An enormous chunk of silence greets her innocent questions.
Cue for: “silence so thick you can….?”
…well I hope you didn’t ask that out loud in your online class, because that sentence is just going to keep on hanging there until a meteorite hits Earth. Malaysians aren’t vocal, yo. (Something I had to learn the hard way myself after wondering why people are inactive in group chats)
Occasionally, someone forgets to mute/switch off the video for him/herself. This is when class gets active. Not openly, mind you — just via WhatsApp and PMs.
“Ehh you’re not muted”
“XX we can hear you!” (singing, nothing funky)
“OMG did you see me naked just now???!”
Or a malady of sounds that the rest of class just hopes are pure and harmless.
Platforms
Go for Zoom. WebEx is not very stable, Google Hangouts has really poor audio, and Google Meet does not do screenshare or play videos well. On the other hand, Zoom has plenty of facilities such as break-out rooms, plenty of icons for participants to be virtually present (“need a break”, “go faster”, “away”, “yes/no”) — plenty of bonus points if you’re a student required to conduct a seminar or presentation.
While the ability to hop in and out of breakout rooms is not strictly necessary, it is helpful if you want to portray an image of a “competent and involved seminar facilitator/presenter” to whoever’s grading you *fingers crossed.
Participation
Malaysians are notorious for not being on time. Presentations or classes that are meant to start at 9AM usually takes another 20 minutes or so to ensure that all students are logged in (whether they are present is another matter). Don’t get me started on my self-righteous theory about negative reinforcement for people who are punctual while late-comers are rewarded because this happens very freque — and I should stop here before this gets out of hand…
My advice? Give rewards for early birds (minor things such as a “get-out-of-answering-questions-card”, a meaningful card, links to a funny video, anything works!), and send out teasers for your class/seminar a few days earlier to bait your audience or students. Include an attractive prize for quizzes and suddenly the gloves come off to reveal shiny, competitive claws. Class activities are fun but I have a feeling that the novelty is wearing off after being subjected to group discussions and presentations for each class?
Be creative, and everyone will thank you for it (quietly and in their hearts though).
Time
So far, the best online classes or seminars that I’ve attended are those that ended on time. Impressive lecturers or presenters keep track of the time required for activities and ensure that the whole session ends within the agreed upon timeframe. Don’t get me started on my principle about time being gold and its relation to respect and therefo — I think that’s a topic for another day too!
My lecturer sounds tired. Her voice grows smaller and weaker as she says “well I guess I’m done…I’m really done” (with class! Not with life I hope…) With this, I take my leave. Who says you gotta produce a long article each time?
