Synchronous or Asynchronous Ceramics Instruction

[scottiebie]

Which of the two methods is most effective teaching online?  Why?

My focus in teaching online was to bring and continue the opportunity of experiencing touching clay, manipulating and fabricating a 3D form.  I currently  teach synchronously where  my students and I meet at scheduled day and time and during the 2 hours and 50 minutes of class time I present clay projects using air dry clay.  During the shutdown, most students do not have a kiln, they don't have glazes and a potters wheel. The first hour I will show You Tube videos I created of me demonstrating a clay project but without audio.  We meet in a zoom meeting and I'll show the videos and narrate what I'm doing in the video.  Next, the next hour would of teaching consist of lecture and/or discussion of the project challenge.  Then the remainder of time is dedicated to the students working on the project with my being online, available for questions or comments of what they are creating.

Since the March shutdown, I've been teaching in the synchronous method.   Now the upcoming summer session is around the corner and the director of our program wants to change and have the faculty to teach using the asynchronous method.  I like meeting with my students so we can share our concepts and approaches on our zoom meeting.  I'll encourage my students to post their project images on a Discussions board where students and I can visit and reply to the projects shown, and often I will share screen with my and go to Discussions and exchange thoughts of the posted work.

What about you? Are you teaching online and what method of instruction is most effective for you?

Thank you for your time.

Stay safe

 

[Benzine]

My District has been teaching mostly in person since September.  Families did have the option to do virtual/ online learning as well.  Each Quarter I have had several students opt for the latter option.  We were forced to go completely virtual back in November due to a spike in cases. 

In both instances the learning was asynchronous.  We used virtual meeting times, specific for each period.  While we could offer extra help and such during those times as an incentive for showing up, we could not require students to attend the meetings due to; connectivity issues/ no access to internet, busy watching siblings,  etc.  I probably had about a 50% attendance rate.

Luckily we can require students to pick up materials, which is what I have been having the online students do all year.  Back in November, I made clay kits to send home.  After communicating home, I made sure that would be OK, and every single one of them was picked up. 

Overall the students did well, but those online days aren't the same as being in person.  So, we didn't get as far as I would have liked. 

I was able to use some  of the meeting time for project demos, but each class only got 20 mins, so that did limit what I could show.  So I ended up making a lot of demo videos and uploading them. (I'm more tired of hearing my own voice than usual...)

Luckily, I had a lot of my presentations and project examples already set up to be distributed digitally, so I just had to share links a bit differently (Especially since we just got a new LMS this year too.)

The thing that I'm still not great at is keeping track of the online students daily progress.  When they are in person, I can monitor progress, but I've not found a good way to do it online, especially considering that we have to take into account the issues students might have while at home. 

I do keep telling myself (and others) that we are all kind of just "punting" this year.  We will NEVER *I say optimistically* have to do something like this again.  While we may use virtual days for bad weather in the future (we have also done that this year), it won't be the same as doing what we've had to this year.

[Pres]

Just a curious question here @Benzine. . . do you think days of the snow day will be over after the experience gained from the Covid situation?

 

 

best,

Pres

[Syvanis]

Snow Days aren't over. The reality is there is at least a small amount of information that needs to go out to students and effort put into creating lessons that differs significantly from in person. For a Snow School day to happen that would mean we would already have to have a system of connection in place. Though it is possible after COVID I think a lot of people are going to happily abandon this type of connectedness once school is over.

Let's assume that we have the connectivity. Now we need to ensure every student has equal access to that. They reality is that does not happen. I teach in poorer school district and at least a few of my students don't have Internet at home. Right there shuts down running online classes. This year they have set up stations and places internetless folks can go. That would not be possible in a snow storm. 

Lastly, they would put the impetus on teachers at the last minute to come up with a different or modify a lesson to teach online when in SO many situations especially in clay that just isn't possible. 

Let's hope this idea that snow days are gone never gains any traction at all. 

[Pres]

Maybe snow days will not be treated the same from place to place, but in some circumstances the connectiveness of the area may allow for and alternative to snow days. My question is philosophical in many ways, but I do remember driving into school through snow storms, getting there, and then having the district cancel because of rural communities being unable to get students to school. The alternative to snow day problems, and possible endangerment to students and staff because administration is reluctant to cancel school in March when they have already used up their allotment of school make up days or even rescheduled inservice days to end of school year may be needed especially if the weather gets more dramatic.  Just thoughts.

 

 

best,

Pres

[Benzine]

On 3/8/2021 at 8:23 AM, Pres said:

Just a curious question here @Benzine. . . do you think days of the snow day will be over after the experience gained from the Covid situation?

 

 

best,

Pres

I believe we will continue the "Virtual Snow Days" next year.  It's a nice alternative to adding days.  The 2018-2019 School Year had us missing 8 days in a row, with a total of 12 missed all together.  So a virtual option back then would have been welcomed. 

On 3/10/2021 at 2:06 PM, Syvanis said:

Snow Days aren't over. The reality is there is at least a small amount of information that needs to go out to students and effort put into creating lessons that differs significantly from in person. For a Snow School day to happen that would mean we would already have to have a system of connection in place. Though it is possible after COVID I think a lot of people are going to happily abandon this type of connectedness once school is over.

Let's assume that we have the connectivity. Now we need to ensure every student has equal access to that. They reality is that does not happen. I teach in poorer school district and at least a few of my students don't have Internet at home. Right there shuts down running online classes. This year they have set up stations and places internetless folks can go. That would not be possible in a snow storm. 

Lastly, they would put the impetus on teachers at the last minute to come up with a different or modify a lesson to teach online when in SO many situations especially in clay that just isn't possible. 

Let's hope this idea that snow days are gone never gains any traction at all. 

My District just spent money on a new LMS, partially because it will make online/ virtual learning easier.  We had almost *nothing* ready last Spring, when we shut down.  There were a couple different LMS systems we were using, but nothing required or consistent.  So I imagine to justify its purchase, we will continue to use it on at least some days, where weather makes travel a concern.

We actually had a good test of the online system, before the bad weather started, with those couple weeks were were all online in the late Fall.  So we knew the system worked pretty well.  There are the issues with student access to WIFI, which we do have the means to address with hotspots we can loan out.  All students have access to a 1 to 1 device.

I will note that we cannot require students to attend the meetings, but they do have to do the assigned work.  They also have a bit of a grace period with said work.  They have a couple days, once we are back in person to turn in the work, before they can be counted as absent from those virtual days. 

In regards to the whole setting up new lesson plans thing... Yep!  That has been my whole year.  I have had at least one online student in each of my classes all year.  So I am constantly getting materials ready to send home, alternate material ready, etc.  Today I just put together a couple sets of paints, canvas boards, etc, for some online Painting students.  And the worst thing is, I am the one doing the most work, because I barely hear from them until they are doing poorly from not turning things in. 

It doesn't bother me getting everything set up a second time, since I have to anyway with our new LMS.  So it's work I'd be doing anyway even if we weren't in a Pandemic. 

But, every time I get stressed by it, I just assure myself that we are not doing this again.  Kids will all likely be in person next year, and things will be normal-ish. 

[Pres]

Thank you for your reply @Benzine. I had thought that the option of being able to teach remotely as compared to adding on days would have favorable votes by students and staff. As much as it is looked as a vacation by many, the drudge when the weather gets nice is often something no one likes. I imagine that as you deal with this situation because of the covid that creating on line lessons becomes easier. 

I have sincere regards and the greatest of respect for those of you still teaching, as this has been a very trying time for teachers, students, and parents. 

 

My best,

Pres

[Benzine]

On 3/11/2021 at 4:06 PM, Pres said:

Thank you for your reply @Benzine. I had thought that the option of being able to teach remotely as compared to adding on days would have favorable votes by students and staff. As much as it is looked as a vacation by many, the drudge when the weather gets nice is often something no one likes. I imagine that as you deal with this situation because of the covid that creating on line lessons becomes easier. 

I have sincere regards and the greatest of respect for those of you still teaching, as this has been a very trying time for teachers, students, and parents. 

 

My best,

Pres

This year is definitely... unique. 

As I sit here and type this I think back to a year ago, where I was dealing with our annual Art Show, and thinking how I had to go take it all down the next day.  That actually did happen.  Myself and my Art Club went into the school and did just that (No masks or any other suck precaution!)   As far as we knew, we were right aback at school the next day.  Some even asked what I thought was going to happen, as Nationally everything was closing, and States around us started following suit.  I told them I thought we'd at least go a couple days, as we had Spring Break the latter half of the week.  I was indeed wrong, and all that artwork sat in piles on the Art Room tables for several more months.  It was a time capsule, and a snapshot of a somewhat more normal time.