I have a rule; if I talk to people more than four or five times about something having to do with Technology, I try to make it into a blog post. I’ve been thinking about over the past couple of years how starkly different the experience of our children has been (schooling-wise) versus what it would have been had I gone through this when I was a child. COVID has defiantly brought to light some fascinating technological gaps that had to be filled in.
1) The way we “was” – When I was a kid, you went to school, attended class, came home and did homework (Mostly). Assignments and essays, and group Exams happened all the time. The reason everything was in person was that there really wasn’t any other option. We didn’t have the technological infrastructure to allow for at-home schooling. Had the Pandemic that we just went through happened when I was a kid, I honestly can’t tell you what would have happened. I’m sure that my parents would have been able to do most of their work from home, but I would be lost entirely as far as school was concerned. My mother would likely become my teacher, and there would be no classes. In the worst-case scenario, I would be held behind a couple of grades because there would have been no way for me to “be at school.”
2) Thank goodness for Zoom-Teams – I was both stunned and thrilled with how quickly both my kids were able to swap over from in-class learning to at-home learning (one of my kids using Zoom to be in class, the other using Teams). There was (pun intended…) virtually no downtime. The teachers were great for being available when they needed them, handing in assignments, doing their homework, and being “in class” on time. Indeed, there were times when the Internet was a little slower than we wanted, so having both kids and me on a conference call simultaneously became a little tricky, but we were able to work it out. Having the Technology that they do made it so that not only did they not miss a beat as far as their schooling is concerned, but they were able to learn and keep up with their respective classes.
3) For the future – When I was in University, some classes were taped so that people who couldn’t make the class would be able to rent the video and watch the class that way. Now that the concept has been proved for distance learning, it will be interesting to see what Universities do as far as distance learning is concerned. I can absolutely see a time when universities and colleges would offer classes all online; This could translate to where “going” to post-secondary school may no longer require leaving home. On the other side of this, of course, there is the value of having in-class learning at all levels. There is something about being around other people that I know both my kids have missed, and now that they are back in school are enjoying it even more.
There is a lot of noise about the workplace being changed forever; people don’t need to go to an office anymore to work for a company. Honestly, I’m less sure of that. I have found that working from home was valuable for keeping people safe during the height of the Pandemic, but there is so much that happens with in-person interactions that simply cannot occur over zoom. Having worked both in the office and at home, I prefer working around others. I’m glad office workers are able to be back in the office, and our kids are actually in school. I do not doubt that there will be some companies that choose to keep their people at home, but I fully believe that working around others and the act of interacting with others isn’t going anywhere.
Where do you like to work?
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