Teachers Abroad : Ms . Mayela
Due to strict travel restrictions , a few teachers from
SLAS are stuck overseas , and are forced to teach students online through video calls . Ms . Mayela , the Spanish teacher , is stuck in Mexico City after traveling there during the Winter Break to escape COVID-19 .
The following interview is with Ms . Mayela about her experience online using MS Teams to teach students abroad .
Times : ¡ Hola ! Ms . Mayela . ( Hi Ms . Mayela ) Ms . Mayela : ¡ Hola ! Maggie . ¿ Cómo estás ? ( Hi Maggie . How are you ?) Times : ¡ Bien ! ¿ Y tú ? ( Good . And you ?) Ms . Mayela : ¡ Bien ! ( Good ) Times : Where are you at the moment ? Ms . Mayela : Mexico City [ the capitol of Mexico ] Times : How is quarantine in Mexico City ? Ms . Mayela : Quarantine is boring . I only get to go out to buy some groceries . Times : What are the Covid-19 numbers like in Mexico City ? Ms . Mayela : Numbers in Mexico are unfortunately very high . At the moment we have 668,000 cases and 922 deaths . Times : Are there any safety measures ? Ms . Mayela : Stay home as much as possible . When going out , don ’ t touch your face , and be sure to wash your hands often . Times : Do you feel safe ? Ms . Mayela : I feel safe because I ’ m at home most of the time . Times : How is your family ? Ms . Mayela : My closest family is healthy . by Margaret Xue
Times : How is teaching through video calls different from teaching in person ? Ms . Mayela : Internet and technology get in the way of our learning experience . I prefer to be on campus . It is more personal . Times : Are there any struggles or difficulties that come with teaching online ? Ms . Mayela : Technology sometimes does not cooperate . Some students find it hard to follow as well . It ’ s easier to be there and see everything the students are doing than being far away and only being able to see their faces . Times : Are there any benefits teaching online ? Ms . Mayela : The benefits of teaching online are that I skip the commute to work . It ’ s really helpful to see each student so close on the camera . I can notice if they are following or not . The students like it more because they love technology , and the online activities are appealing to them . Times : Has using MS Teams helped with teaching the students online ? Or has it become more of a complication not using WeChat and Zoom , as we did before ? Ms . Mayela : I like MS Teams a lot . It ’ s more organized and it has more features than WeChat . Times : Why did you originally go to Mexico City ? Winter vacation ? New Year ’ s holiday ? Ms . Mayela : I came to Mexico running away from Covid-19 … It followed me … Times : Do you plan on coming back to teach on campus ? Ms . Mayela : I plan on coming back . I can ’ t wait .
13 | SLAS TIMES