This story about the impact of virtual learning was first broadcast during the Ohlone Tri-City News program on December 14, 2022.
Alyanna Pasta, Reporter
Richard Kim, Photographer
REPORTER (V/O):
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it was an unforgettable moment in the world. Local high school teachers still remember their reaction to it almost 3 years ago.
Michael Foster, English Teacher at James Logan:
We’d heard a lot about it in the news and I was following the graphs showing the increase in the number of cases and it seems that at some point we were going to have to shut down. We weren’t expecting a shutdown when we did. I think it was March 13th.
Simon Harris, Resource Specialist at James Logan:
Back in March, I remember very clearly I had just done a field trip to Chabot with my seniors. We came back from that and we were told we’d be out for a couple of weeks and that turned into a couple of years.
Reporter (V/O):
Getting accustomed to virtual learning was difficult for teachers.
Simon Harris, Resource Specialist at James Logan:
It felt like being a first year teacher again. It felt like having to relearn how to do everything because we kind of did. We had to figure out how to teach, but in a totally different way, different format.
Sean Jones, PE Teacher at Irvington
I’m just a very active individual, and for me, it became a desk job so I would sit on my computer and even though my students were moving, I wasn’t moving.
Michael Foster, English Teacher at James Logan:
Even something very simple, like turn to your neighbor and talk about something that happened to you last weekend. How do you do that in Zoom. You’re going to make 35 breakout rooms.
Reporter (V/O):
Teachers saw changes in students’ habits and behavior while being virtual.
Michael Foster, English Teacher at James Logan:
The culture here at Logan was that almost everyone’s camera was off and I would have maybe two or three students with their cameras on in any period.
Simon Harris, Resource Specialist at James Logan:
It was clear that this just wasn’t a good way to teach because like my daughter, she really needed that social interaction.
Reporter (V/O):
Teaching styles had to be adjusted to make learning at home effective.
Michael Foster, English Teacher at James Logan:
I had to rethink everything, actually, in addition to digitizing everything and delivering everything online.
Sean Jones, PE Teacher at Irvington
Instead of being like playing sports and interacting as a team, obviously we couldn’t do that, I turned it into a individual fitness class. So really utilizing fitness information on the internet, using Youtube, I created some of my own content and really just made it a fitness based class for individuals.
Michael Foster, English Teacher at James Logan:
We tried to translate the in-person experience into a Zoom experience.
Reporter (V/O):
Upon returning to in-person learning after a while, teachers noticed a difference in student life and atmosphere.
Michael Foster, English Teacher at James Logan:
I think that the experience of being at home and not having a lot of interaction with other adults made my students anyway, my current students, I think more insular, isolated perhaps.
Simon Harris, Resource Specialist at James Logan:
I think they were glad to be here again. But kind of almost like they forgot how to function at school.
Michael Foster, English Teacher at James Logan:
I feel sometimes when I’m in the classroom today, as if I’m still on Zoom and their cameras are still off, it feels like that sometimes. Occasionally I’ve had to say hello and they kind of look up at me like with surprise, like, oh, yeah, you’re still there.
Mr. Jones, PE Teacher at Irvington
Being around structure has really kind of, this year seems way more normal of a year compared to last year. So I think just being here and you know having classroom management and structure, it’ll get better as we go.
Reporter (V/O):
Despite the difficulties and challenges teachers faced while being virtual, they overcame them and got something out of it.
Simon Harris, Resource Specialist at James Logan:
I think it’s better than not having done anything for sure because, you know, we got we got to keep trying and we, you know, if nothing else, it’s a learning experience of how to face that adversity, how to deal with new new situations like that.
Michael Foster, English Teacher at James Logan:
Probably the biggest advantage potentially from virtual learning is that it can be asynchronous. So it doesn’t have to be everyone doesn’t have to be in class at the same time.
Reporter (V/O):
Teachers shared that they are glad to be back in the classroom again. This is Alyanna Pasta for Ohlone Tri-City News.
Dec 14 2022
Virtual Learning Impact
This story about the impact of virtual learning was first broadcast during the Ohlone Tri-City News program on December 14, 2022.
Alyanna Pasta, Reporter
Richard Kim, Photographer
REPORTER (V/O):
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it was an unforgettable moment in the world. Local high school teachers still remember their reaction to it almost 3 years ago.
Michael Foster, English Teacher at James Logan:
We’d heard a lot about it in the news and I was following the graphs showing the increase in the number of cases and it seems that at some point we were going to have to shut down. We weren’t expecting a shutdown when we did. I think it was March 13th.
Simon Harris, Resource Specialist at James Logan:
Back in March, I remember very clearly I had just done a field trip to Chabot with my seniors. We came back from that and we were told we’d be out for a couple of weeks and that turned into a couple of years.
Reporter (V/O):
Getting accustomed to virtual learning was difficult for teachers.
Simon Harris, Resource Specialist at James Logan:
It felt like being a first year teacher again. It felt like having to relearn how to do everything because we kind of did. We had to figure out how to teach, but in a totally different way, different format.
Sean Jones, PE Teacher at Irvington
I’m just a very active individual, and for me, it became a desk job so I would sit on my computer and even though my students were moving, I wasn’t moving.
Michael Foster, English Teacher at James Logan:
Even something very simple, like turn to your neighbor and talk about something that happened to you last weekend. How do you do that in Zoom. You’re going to make 35 breakout rooms.
Reporter (V/O):
Teachers saw changes in students’ habits and behavior while being virtual.
Michael Foster, English Teacher at James Logan:
The culture here at Logan was that almost everyone’s camera was off and I would have maybe two or three students with their cameras on in any period.
Simon Harris, Resource Specialist at James Logan:
It was clear that this just wasn’t a good way to teach because like my daughter, she really needed that social interaction.
Reporter (V/O):
Teaching styles had to be adjusted to make learning at home effective.
Michael Foster, English Teacher at James Logan:
I had to rethink everything, actually, in addition to digitizing everything and delivering everything online.
Sean Jones, PE Teacher at Irvington
Instead of being like playing sports and interacting as a team, obviously we couldn’t do that, I turned it into a individual fitness class. So really utilizing fitness information on the internet, using Youtube, I created some of my own content and really just made it a fitness based class for individuals.
Michael Foster, English Teacher at James Logan:
We tried to translate the in-person experience into a Zoom experience.
Reporter (V/O):
Upon returning to in-person learning after a while, teachers noticed a difference in student life and atmosphere.
Michael Foster, English Teacher at James Logan:
I think that the experience of being at home and not having a lot of interaction with other adults made my students anyway, my current students, I think more insular, isolated perhaps.
Simon Harris, Resource Specialist at James Logan:
I think they were glad to be here again. But kind of almost like they forgot how to function at school.
Michael Foster, English Teacher at James Logan:
I feel sometimes when I’m in the classroom today, as if I’m still on Zoom and their cameras are still off, it feels like that sometimes. Occasionally I’ve had to say hello and they kind of look up at me like with surprise, like, oh, yeah, you’re still there.
Mr. Jones, PE Teacher at Irvington
Being around structure has really kind of, this year seems way more normal of a year compared to last year. So I think just being here and you know having classroom management and structure, it’ll get better as we go.
Reporter (V/O):
Despite the difficulties and challenges teachers faced while being virtual, they overcame them and got something out of it.
Simon Harris, Resource Specialist at James Logan:
I think it’s better than not having done anything for sure because, you know, we got we got to keep trying and we, you know, if nothing else, it’s a learning experience of how to face that adversity, how to deal with new new situations like that.
Michael Foster, English Teacher at James Logan:
Probably the biggest advantage potentially from virtual learning is that it can be asynchronous. So it doesn’t have to be everyone doesn’t have to be in class at the same time.
Reporter (V/O):
Teachers shared that they are glad to be back in the classroom again. This is Alyanna Pasta for Ohlone Tri-City News.
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