Honestly, today went better than I expected. I actually had pretty good turnouts to all of the Zoom classes that I held. In fact, considering how crowded my class lists have become these past couple of days, my class sizes of actual attendees was actually in the manageable numbers (I'm sorry, but every student over twenty in a class-particularly a class where I have to grade a lot of writing-makes it exponentially more difficult for me).
Interestingly, I ran into some of the same first day problems that I always have. For example, I had to keep repeating instructions as students kept trickling into the Zoom meeting--much like they would if we were face to face. In fact, the same excuse--"I couldn't figure out where you were"--was used. I also found myself running out of time even though I significantly trimmed down my opening day talk. I also spent nearly the entire time talking with almost no response from my charges. The difference was that this time I was facing a silent screen of names written in white letters on black backgrounds instead of blank faces. I cannot tell you how much it cheered me to have even one student turn their camera on.
I'm also still exhausted. The difference is that usually the first day hits me physically and mentally. Today, I was less drained on the physical side, but almost completely wiped out of my emotional and mental energy. I also need to remind myself to stand more often, something that was not an issue during a normal first day.
One of my friends did make me an amazing Harry Potter face mask for when I do walk the halls. She lined it with the starry blue to represent my Ravenclaw House affiliation. I find it to be quite stylish (perhaps more than I deserve).
I also thought that I could share with you a picture of the virtual classroom that I set up. The bookshelf will fill as we progress through more units, but nearly all of the other images (including my own Bitmoji) contain links to something. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.
Now, I need to go to bed so I'm more rested for tomorrow.
Interestingly, I ran into some of the same first day problems that I always have. For example, I had to keep repeating instructions as students kept trickling into the Zoom meeting--much like they would if we were face to face. In fact, the same excuse--"I couldn't figure out where you were"--was used. I also found myself running out of time even though I significantly trimmed down my opening day talk. I also spent nearly the entire time talking with almost no response from my charges. The difference was that this time I was facing a silent screen of names written in white letters on black backgrounds instead of blank faces. I cannot tell you how much it cheered me to have even one student turn their camera on.
I'm also still exhausted. The difference is that usually the first day hits me physically and mentally. Today, I was less drained on the physical side, but almost completely wiped out of my emotional and mental energy. I also need to remind myself to stand more often, something that was not an issue during a normal first day.
One of my friends did make me an amazing Harry Potter face mask for when I do walk the halls. She lined it with the starry blue to represent my Ravenclaw House affiliation. I find it to be quite stylish (perhaps more than I deserve).
I also thought that I could share with you a picture of the virtual classroom that I set up. The bookshelf will fill as we progress through more units, but nearly all of the other images (including my own Bitmoji) contain links to something. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.
Now, I need to go to bed so I'm more rested for tomorrow.
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