E-learning is only possible because of the dedication of our committed teachers as well as our passionate learners. It is not easy but as Vince Lombardi puts it, “The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.” Indeed, the PYP teachers went above and beyond to demonstrate their dedication to teaching despite the challenges and setbacks. Here, Ms Caryle brings us on her journey of e-learning.
Mapping ourselves with Ms Caryle, Grade 1 Homeroom teacher
Everyone is excited for their first Zoom class and Group Learning.
We are currently in our 4th week of home learning and teaching as we are unable to have on-site classes. Thankfully, our first graders took on the challenge with a lot of enthusiasm and have already gotten used to their daily tasks and schedules to this date. Of course, things haven’t always been smooth sailing as most teachers and students are quite new to the idea that we would be conducting our lessons without ever setting foot in our classrooms. There were so many issues to consider like teaching resources, class expectations, and tech support. Teachers were in a rush to find the best teaching platforms and website to use and navigate the world of online teaching and learning in a short span of time.
Jade is listening to his teacher’s recorded lesson at the comfort of his home in South Korea
Books assigned to read on weekly basis
At the beginning, I experimented with a lot of methods to deliver my lessons. I started with making home videos of me teaching my lessons. I guess I am lucky for having an easy access to a classroom set-up at home complete with a whiteboard, markers, and magnets. Selfie sticks and tripods became a welcome sight at my home because I was able to record videos for my students using my son’s camera and my phone. However, I soon realized that the videos I was taking were too big to be sent on the group wechat so I had to find a software that would resize these videos for me. As luck would put it, I was given a software that solved this problem. Soon after, I decided to use Zoom to conduct a daily class meeting with my students. This has given us a chance to see each other online, listen to each others’ laughs, share stories, and go over our daily tasks and homework. We have been using zoom to conduct our weekly spelling tests, too. Through Zoom, we are also able to play educational games online. For my lesson resources, I have been using different websites to give my students enough opportunities to continually improve their reading and math skills online. Youtube videos and Brainpop offer a wealth of information to complement our unit of inquiry on How We Organize Ourselves, focusing on maps. The students have been exploring maps and maps features. They have inquired about the 4 cardinal directions and grid coordinates which were incorporated into our language learning and math lessons. The students made maps of their bedrooms, barefoot island maps, treasure maps, and even attempted to make their own D.I.Y. compass.
Barefoot island map by Harper
Maahi’s compass rose
Students apply what they are learning about cardinal directions, mapping, and house vocabulary to complete a Royal Floor Plan
Collaborative map done together online
Parents have also played a big part in making sure the students do their tasks and engage in their learning. For sure, my students still need to work on how they manage their time and balance their tasks but overall, I think that this has been and still is a learning journey for all of us.”
Here are some preassessments of their understanding of how we organise ourselves and maps.:
Here are some samples of how the students took turns answering on Zoom:
