Virtual Teaching in a Hybrid Model

I’m teaching from home this week due to close contact with a positive COVID-19 case outside of the school district (a haircut, if you must know). Thankfully, we were both wearing masks at the time (and wearing them correctly--over the nose and mouth), so my test came back negative. I really thought I'd enjoy teaching from home since I enjoyed it last spring, but there are several reasons why I don’t.

Last spring, when everyone was at home for two months, I came up with a schedule to do some classes synchronously and some asynchronously during the week. Students always had work to do, but I wasn’t always “lecturing”. However, I was always available to answer questions if needed.

With our current hybrid model, I still do that. There are some days that I "lecture" everyone in the room and in the Zoom, and there are some days that students have independent work to do, so I dismiss the Zoomers, and if they have questions, they can chat with me on GoGuardian (where I can also see their screens and see whether they are working or not--this is where participation points come in handy).

This has been working well while I’ve been in my room. However, since I’m Zooming into my own classroom, and since I have a para throughout the day, I am the licensed teacher in the room, so I can’t dismiss myself from the Zoom. Nor should I. However, due to this, I am feeling Zoom fatigue. This is why I believe it’s so important to give students Zoom breaks. If I can feel Zoom fatigue after two days of “always-on” from 9:15 to 2:50 (I have prep first hour), I can only imagine what they are feeling.

To clarify, it’s not about screen time. I would still be working on my computer even if I wasn't Zooming. What is it, then? To be honest, I’m not sure what to call it. It honestly shouldn't be any different than being "always-on" (in teacher mode) when I'm sitting in my classroom, but it is. It's way different.

Because I'm home, and my mom and daughter are in the next room, and if I have to go to the bathroom or get a drink, Ellie gets excited when she sees me, but she gets upset when I have to go back into the office. (It's really incredible what a difference five months make because this wasn't an issue in the spring.)

Don't get me wrong: I much prefer being home right now. It's certainly a huge relief knowing that I'm not bringing the virus home to my family (my mom, especially, who is in her sixties, and my wife, especially, who is pregnant). While many in my area are prioritizing "keeping things as normal as possible" for the sake of students' mental health (which I understand is important), there comes a point where I believe we are prioritizing the wrong things.

Education is important. I wouldn't be a teacher if I didn't believe that. I also understand that students are better educated when they're in the classroom. Even if they aren't actively participating in the discussion, at least I can guarantee that they are hearing what others (and what I) have to say.

However, I would prioritize health over education. Yes, students likely won't have any adverse effects to this virus, but the older teachers, paras, subs, or other staff, or those who are immunocompromised in some way, or those who live with people of that description, they are all put at risk every time they enter the building. With that said, masks work (I can attest to that), and social distancing works. But only when those things are enforced everywhere all the time.

When I went on the second date with my wife, we played board games for about seven hours on a Sunday afternoon. One of those games that she introduced me to is a cooperative game called "Pandemic". Firstly, I think it's really important to emphasize that this game is cooperative; we cannot overcome a pandemic unless we work together. Secondly, it's a testament to how much I liked this girl even then that I stayed for seven hours and played that game with her because I have a very real phobia of pandemics.

And now, we're living in one. And I'm trying very hard to keep a brave face for my students for my family, but last week, when I was notified that I was in close contact with this positive case, I went out to my car (after someone came to relieve me from my classroom), called my wife, and started hyperventilating. Thankfully, my wife, who is a trained counselor, helped me calm down before it became a full-blown panic attack, but this fear is very real for me. And I understand that I'm a teacher because I want to help students. I understand that I wouldn't do what I do if not for them.

But what about my mental health?

Before I close, there is one thing that I want to share that has been extremely helpful while I Zoom into my classroom to teach from home. That thing is called "Chrome Remote Desktop".

I have installed it on my desktop computer in my classroom and on my MacBook at home, and I use it to control my school computer from home. I use it to start and stop my own Zooms meetings, display content on my Clevertouch for students in my classroom to see (which I also share through Zoom so my students at home can also see it), whatever I need to do. Teaching virtually from home in a hybrid model would be much more difficult without it.

That being said, it takes a lot of brain space to have tabs and windows open on my MacBook as well as tabs and windows open on my desktop and remembering where each of them is so I can take attendance and monitor students in the Zoom and on GoGuardian and show students what I need to show them, etc. It's kind of overwhelming.

But, I suppose I'm really doing that to myself.

Go to remotedesktop.google.com to get started.

And now, my prep is over, and it's time for class!