Today was exhausting.
Today was satisfying.
Today I felt like crying.
Today I smiled a lot.
Today I taught teachers how to make a link on a Google Doc for the first time. Teachers that have never taught with technology before. They also learned how to setup & manage video meetings with their students. And how to share their welcome letter digitally via a robust learning management system.
It’s a lot to learn.
Today I helped a principal manage the sudden absence of a teacher during virtual learning. You can’t just send a sub to their classroom. There is no sub. And you need edit access to a virtual classroom. You need to share another teacher’s meeting link there. You need to know how to get that link. And edit the virtual classroom to let the kindergartners and their families know how to see their alternate teacher for today who is kindly taking on twice the kids on her 4th day of virtual teaching.
It’s a lot to manage.
Today I explored options for virtual communication and assignments with a very tech-savvy teacher. How to leverage different tools for different situations. That was fun! But I had to keep in mind that the teachers she works with are not experienced with technology like she is and they would also need to use these tools.
It’s a lot of options.
Today I figured out how a teacher could add an alternate host to her class meetings and also showed her how to set them up to repeat so she wouldn’t have to keep making new ones every day.
It’s those little details.
Today I explained to a teacher how to setup her virtual classroom and meetings to meet all the individualized needs and schedules of her students with learning disabilities.
It’s a lot to figure out.
Today I helped a lot of people. But I also couldn’t help some people. Some issues remain a mystery to be solved. Some have to be referred to the help desk. I don’t like to do that because the help desk is only 5 amazingly patient people who are working 14-hour days and weekends to provide support for over 70,000 people. Every time I think about that I cry a little.
Every time I have to decline phone calls from desperate parents who are calling my department because the help desk is overloaded, I try not to cry. On the first day of school I answered if I wasn’t on a video meeting answering questions for a teacher or staff. Some I could help. Some I couldn’t. I’m not the I.T. department. My job is to coach teachers. I learned quickly that if I answered these calls I could not respond to my teachers who need support.
It can be frustrating.
Today I learned a lot. I have to learn so I can solve problems and teach others so they can do their jobs. I don’t know all the answers. I desperately want to know all the answers so everybody can have a smooth learning experience: students, teachers, staff, families.
I will never know all the answers.
The questions are constantly changing.
And I think my brain is full.
This is keeping me up tonight. After the most exhausting week of my 27 year teaching career, I cannot turn off my overwrought brain. When I finally sleep, I will work all night in my dreams.
Monday-Friday I wake up from dreams where I’m explaining how to do something on the computer screen. Then I turn on the computer and face the screen for ten hours. Most of the day is spent on video calls with teachers. They share their screen and we walk through whatever they need to do or learn. We troubleshoot. We figure things out. We learn. I get to interact with amazing teachers who are working so hard to meet their students needs during remote learning. They inspire me. They are amazing. Every single person has been kind and patient with me. Even when I can’t respond to their chat or email right away because I’m buried in chats, emails & meetings. Even when I cannot answer their question or fix their problem.They are experiencing the most stressful experience of their teaching careers. We all are. And not one person has taken this out on me. Not one!
In fact, I have heard some wonderful things this week while we are all exhausted and overloaded and learning at 200 miles an hour.
I’ve heard teachers share that they actually love our new learning management system, the new one they had to learn right after they learned a different one in the Spring.
I’ve heard wonderful stories about video teaching experiences. Of classes dancing & singing together. Of young students who want to give their class a tour of their house, to the chagrin of parents & teacher. I’ve heard many teachers share how happy they are with the connections they have made with their students and families. And how they have been able to connect with students wherever they are, even if they are far away in another state. There is a lot to celebrate & I am trying to focus on the positive.
It’s amazing what we can do with this technology.
And it’s overwhelming what we can do with this technology.
I want to sleep. But I don’t want to dream about video calls
