Distance learning

Text by SASHA POOR Additional reporting by NAOMI BONEH and ANTONIA MOU

Distance learning CONTINUED EDUCATION DURING A PANDEMIC A S WE JOIN a Zoom meeting, increased stress during this uncertain time. Since this occurrence, PAUSD has we can see our classmates who Palo Alto High School senior Ashley changed security measures on Zoom calls, have logged in, only about half Xu said that she is no longer in contact recommending waiting rooms and passof the actual class. Instead of using projectors and whiteboards, teachers share their screens or post scanned images of problem solutions.

This is the new learning style that students in the Palo Alto Unified School Diswith about half of her teachers. She said many are not giving feedback on submitted assignments, while the more engaged teachers are as“ I hope students realize they’re fully capable of at least getting some words, and restricting calls to PAUSD members.

The Palo Alto Uniinformation own.” on their like visual and performing arts courses and Early Childare finishing coursework online, meeting fied School District has — DANIEL NGUYEN, Paly math teacher hood Development, with teachers through Zoom and potentialalso had to adapt to have been hit particly missing out on some of the content from new technology with improved online seularly hard by the switch to distance learntheir classes because of rearranged Advance curity measures. Junior Hyunah Roh’s U.S. ing. Sophie Pardehpoosh, a sophomore in Placement tests or issues with technology. History class was Zoom-bombed, a trend Early Childhood Development, has found where an outsider inputs a random Zoom that the style of the class has changed sigStudent opinions Meeting ID and enters the meeting. nificantly. They are no longer able to inter

Some of Paly’s classes that involve hands-on learning, trict, and around the world, have had to adjust to due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the year coming to an end, students signing overwhelming amounts of work.

Teachers have arranged optional syn“I felt insecure about joining Zooms act with preschoolers, which had previouschronous learning through Zoom lessons, afterward because I realized that anyone ly been a major part of the class. office hours and Schoology discussion can join and see me and other students on Zander Leong, a junior taking Adboards. However, some teachers are providtheir screens if there is no entrance passvanced Painting and Drawing at Paly, said ing minimal support for students, causing word to the meeting,” Roh said. that the class had to switch units to make sure students could complete the assignments from home.

“We were in the middle of oil painting and we had to stop that,” Leong said. “Now we’re doing [Adobe] Photoshop stuff. It’s like a different experience, but it’s still just as valuable.”

Although many students have not had the same positive experiences with their online classes, they understand that this is a difficult time for everyone.

“I think my teachers are great and they try so hard to maintain the level of education during the school year despite not being able to congregate,” Xu said.

Teacher approaches

Teachers who instruct AP classes have had to rearrange their curricula, while others are taking advantage of this time to assign special projects or to allow students to have more choice over how they learn.

FROM PAINTING TO PHOTOSHOP — Junior Zander Leong works on his art assignment in Photoshop. Leong is in Advanced Painting and Drawing, and was working on oil paintings before the school closure. “Some [classes] are more an in-person experience,” Leong said. “You kind of lose out on that experience.” Photo by Alyssa Leong

Daniel Nguyen, a Paly math teacher, students be less stressed.” ter equipped with Zoom and Schoology, had incorporated technology into his lecThe sudden change has not only been problems such as missing lectures and givtures before the shelter-in-place order, but hard on students, but on teachers as well. ing assignments on a reasonable basis could many others did not have this advantage. “I did not become a high school teachbe resolved,” Xu said.

“I was able to generally do a good, er so I could spend my day in front of a Teachers have also said that this time smooth transition but technology can be computer,” Paly Social Studies teacher Eric has taught the district the significance of hard to adapt,” Nguyen said. “Especially to Bloom said. communication between all members of the adapt when we don’t have a collegial envischool community. ronment where teachers can just run into Future takeaways “The takeaway is the importance of each other and say ‘How do you do this?’ During the school closure, both teachthat one-on-one communication, or the or ‘How do you do that?’ That lack of, like, ers and students have been forced to come face-to-face communication,” Bloom said. organic help makes it hard to develop.” up with innovative ways to learn. Though One thing that Nguyen says one thing

Nguyen has designed his online lesthese new ideas are the result of a global students can gain from this period is the sons and assignments to focus on particitragedy, the Paly community may incorpoknowledge that they can take charge of their pation and completion rather than correctrate them into future courses. own learning. ness, to reduce students’ stress. As PAUSD considers the possibility “It’s hard when you don’t have to come

“I think it’s just worth the understandof mandatory or optional distance learning in to still have a motivation to learn, but I ing that students aren’t absolutely required in the fall, Xu said that increased teacher hope students realize they’re fully capable of to learn the material this year …” Nguytraining in technology would provide betat least getting some information on their en said. “So making sure that that fact is ter footing for the uncertainty of the school own,” Nguyen said. “And the more of an factored into the determination of what’s format in the future. independent learner can be, the more sucrequired and not required, I think, helps “I think that if our teachers were betcessful they can be.” v