INSTRUCTION: LEARNING WHILE TEACHING
When the Safer at Home order came, instructors
found ways to continue teaching remotely, even
in hands-on programs.
“I’m used to interacting with the students face
to face,” said Kevin Weigman as he prepared to
teach second- and third-year construction electricity
apprentices. He was organizing materials at a multimedia
command center in an empty classroom. He said some
students have poor internet service at
home, so they turn off the video
during class and just listen to
him talk. So when Weigman
is about to share visuals,
he reminds them to
turn on their cameras.
“I have to stretch
myself a little bit,”
he said, even with
years of teaching
experience. “I use
the document
cam and I invert
it so they can see
me talking, so they
can see me, but I find
myself looking at the
screen rather than the
camera, because I want to
see their faces.”
Instructors adopted technology to send programs
like automotive (pictured) to distant students. Staff
provide admissions, academic coaching and other services
from their homes. On-campus employees offer laptop
checkouts, security and other critical in-person services.
He said distance learning is working better than he
expected, but it’s not easy for instructors or students.
“It takes more prep, and it’s a lot harder to keep students
engaged because there are external things going on.
You’ve got the kids in there, they’ve got the dog, the cat,
something catches their eye out the window…. It’s just
human nature.”
As he got used to the technology, he found he could
move around the room while teaching again. “I write
stuff on the board, then I come over here and write for
the document camera, then I flip it down, so I’ve learned
to be a little bit better with the technology. I’m not
perfect yet, but…I’m not afraid of it. Like anything, you
practice, you use it and you get better.”
SPRING 2020 / 5