Last week I covered a photography class. They were to read an article on still life and respond to it before taking still life pictures. The teacher had set up a kind of comment page (on something called Padlet) for them to list three things they learned as well as comment on fellow students' lists.
(Since they can't have a discussion due to the distance thing, this is the next best way to have students communicate with each other.)
Everything went well first period. At the end of third period, I checked the Padlet page only to find that none of the students had made their comments. Before I dismissed the class, I reminded them that they needed to create posts so that their peers could comment.
Fifth period. Since things went sideways third, I made sure to start with telling period five about the commenting thing.
A few minutes later, a student alerted me to a problem.
For the students to add their comment to the page, they needed to "add a comment" using a plus sign button. The students in period five told me they didn't have that button.
Upon further investigation, I discovered that the same issue happened to period three. In fact, only one class, period one, had the button to add a comment.
Deep sigh.
I won't go into the mess that ensued when I attempted to contact their teacher to let her know. (I'm still rather irked over the incident.) Suffice it to say that the issue never did get fixed.
But period three... *shakes head* Not a one of them piped up to let me know that there was a problem.
Usually, there's someone who will chime in with "there's a problem here". At which point I can troubleshoot, or at the very least, let their teacher know that they couldn't complete something due to a technical issue.
Of course, there are some classes that are just quiet. They keep their heads down and don't comment on anything.
I suppose period three was one of those. If we were in person, they'd probably be the "best" class of the day only to later discover that not a one of them had done any work.
ugh...
ReplyDeleteThe joys of teaching and doing it on the computer and not in the class room.
ReplyDeleteThat lesson would have gone completely differently in a classroom.
DeleteOh man. You must be having so much "fun" with distance learning.
ReplyDeleteIt's always something!
ReplyDeleteIt's advantageous to stay quiet when a glitch means you can't do your work!
ReplyDeleteTrue. But they'd have to do it eventually. Although, they don't really consider that part, do they?
DeleteHi Liz - it must be so frustrating - I hope school gets back sometime soon ... stay safe ... you obviously manage calm! Have a happy weekend - Hilary
ReplyDeleteSounds like a fun class but this is irritating. I find it weird that not one from that one class told you about the inability to leave a comment.
ReplyDeleteThey thought they could figure it out on their own? It could be the age, too. If they had been middle schoolers, I would have heard about it all period.
DeleteUgh... Technology can be such a pain.
ReplyDeleteIt is.
DeleteIt's so frustrating when students don't respond or comment.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be surprised if the student who would say "Hey, problem!" was absent.
ReplyDelete