For the first time in several months, classes at my boys' school are online. This is a short-term measure because of the high number of cases in Korea and also because some 2nd-grade middle schoolers were exposed to the COVID-19. So far there are 10 confirmed cases at the school.
When I reported to the boys' school on Monday morning, the 1st grade English teacher, who I usually teach with on Mondays, was absent. I was told that 'her condition is not good.' She had a COVID-19 test on the weekend and received her negative result this morning but she still had a fever. She stayed home from school that day.
So, arrangements were made for me to sign in and conduct the class while she signed in from her home to assist with the lesson. Usually we would sit side by side for online classes at the school. I was given her login credentials and a key to the classroom. Several problems occurred when I was setting up for the class. First, the internet was not working. I plugged in the ethernet cable but received a message of 'no internet'. I quickly called my main co-teacher to come help. She fiddled with things for a while and then brought in another teacher to help. The class had already started, so I'm sure the students (and co-teacher) were sitting at home wondering what was going on. The teacher was finally able to sign me into the WIFI.
That's when the next problem occurred. I was unable to log into the co-teachers Zoom account. I tried several times and it didn't work. My main co-teacher frantically scrolled through her phone. She soon realized that the password she had given me was wrong. It contained an extra digit, so that's why I couldn't log in. Here's the kicker, by the time we figured out the password was wrong, I had already attempted to log in too many times and the account was locked.
There was nothing else to do at that point but give up. I was instructed just to go wait in the staff office. My first period class would go without their lesson that day. This was the first time in two years that technical difficulties had prevented us from teaching an entire lesson. Many times before, technical difficulties had cost me 5, 10, even 20 minutes of a 45-minute class, but we eventually sort out the problem and teach in what time we have remaining.
By the time second period started, the teacher had recovered and unlocked her Zoom account. I was able to teach the remaining four classes that day. Things went relatively smoothly from there, except for the usual inefficiencies of online teaching.
The teacher takes roll call in every online class, and that eats up at least 5 minutes and sometimes 10 minutes of my class time. Anytime you call on a student, it always takes a long time for them to respond. They are usually not paying attention to the class. They may be playing games or doing something else when they suddenly hear the teacher, who has been calling their name for the past minute or so. With so much time wasted, I can only cover few things in class. Learning is truly ineffeicient, but the students seem to love it. They get to stay at home. They don't have to wear their school uniforms. There is amble opportunity to play games or do other things, which would easily be spotted and stopped by the teacher if class were held in a classroom.
Things rapidly change because of the COVID-19 outbreak. Last week I was told that I wouldn't have classes on Tuesday because of a field trip. Then a few days later, I was told the field trip was cancelled and that I would have in-person lessons. Then on Monday, I was told all of my classes would be online. It's not easy to make the transition since a lot of lesson activities are designed either for online classes or in-person classes. The uncertainty adds a lot of work to my schedule.
Online classes come with online problems, every time.
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