There have been some firsts during this pandemic, which has taken over the world. Birthday celebrations online, Lives on social media, talking to your doctor via web call, not being able to exercise outdoors are just a few to mention. However, teaching online or remote teaching has been a whole experience within itself. Teachers are spending hours trying to make their classes different for the students and for themselves, too.
Going
to bed late planning activities; attending webinars on how to make classes more
interesting ; attending online workshops on how to use the tools available to
you; fighting for the students to turn on their cameras during class; trying to
make sure the students stay online without interacting on their cell phones;
making sure that they are participating in class and not watching another video
while you are teaching; making sure that they are in the room while the
computer is on and not just having turned it on and gone off somewhere else are
just a few of the new experiences. The list is endless. Bet you are tired of
just reading what needs to be done to do this task successfully. (I am not even
going into the wi-fi stability or connection, which is a whole separate text.)
A
true first that has sprung up is giving a test. Lots of questions pop up in
your mind. Are they going to cheat? Are they going to consult their materials
and or friends? Should I ask them to
keep the cameras on or not? Can I ask them to keep their cameras on or not?
Shall I record the session? Am I allowed to record the session? Apparently, you sit and talk to other teachers
who have had the experience before you have, but the truth is, your experience
is yours alone. What other colleagues have told you can help somewhat, but it
doesn´t mean that it will happen to you or help you out. Each test is a test.
Each class is a class. Each student is a student.
The
tests you choose to use can vary into writing, speaking or listening. Speaking
and listening are ok to control because you can control the audio (you play it
the amount of times allowed) and you need to see them when they are speaking.
Even if they tend to read the text of their oral presentations, you can tell
because it is not natural, and they tend to sound like robots. The big issue is
when it comes to writing. Questions start popping in your head just like
fireworks. Can they use the editing component in the word program? Can they use
the online dictionaries? Of course, a
teacher knows how much his or her pupil can produce; whether or not the control
+ C and control + V keys have been used; whether the dictionary was used even
if they are having problems with their computers at this specific moment. So,
it is common sense that if a student (or any person) does cheat on a test, the only ones they are
fooling are themselves.
First
time giving a test online can cause the butterflies in the stomach to stir and
fly , however, at the end of the test, it is good to know that your student has
made a great effort to be true to himself or herself and do their very best;
making you proud of them. On the other hand, a feeling of stupidity also takes
over because you waste so much energy thinking, or better yet, overthinking
about the event.
Written: September 10, 2020
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