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Hunter Gosse
Alternative Practicum Reflection
For the purpose of this assignment I decided to spare you a recounting of how Covid
affected my practicum considering you were there with me and know all too well. Instead, I
have chosen to focus on the second prompt concerning the advent of online learning in all our
lives. In terms of accessibility, I think we’ve all noticed that all wifi connections are not
created equally and this can pose really frustrating problems when trying to fully participate
in online learning classes. Personally, I have been able to participate in online classes without
a hitch, however when it comes to downloading and uploading resources and video files the
process has been a nightmare. My internet download speed is so slow that it literally takes 24
hours to upload larger video files, as such assignments that have these components built in
have not been fun. These issues also make me think about the types of problems secondary
students must be having with the online process. It seems really unfair that many students
will not be able to participate in lessons because of a lack of access to internet devices, and I
wonder about how this will affect their academic careers in the long run. It’s clear that equity
is a huge issue when it comes to online learning and I feel as though the students who need
the most support to begin with face the most glaring barriers to it. I wonder how our
relationship to the internet will change in response to this crisis. If online learning is here to
stay, will internet access become a basic human right? If so how will we go about doing this?
In terms of the actual software being used to host online learning, I have actually been
pretty satisfied with Zoom. I think the app works well for hosting lectures and I like how
tools like breakout rooms can be used to keep group work and group discussion alive and
well in classrooms. I do however, have some concerns about the security of the app as several
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online forums have questioned Zoom’s ability to protect user information. It seems to me that
a lot more thought will have to be taken into consideration when it comes to online student
safety if this trend is to persist into the future. In terms of improving the online learning
experience, I would love to see software that provides a wider variety of tools for engagement
being used, as it would be nice to have the entire course on one site. This would allow
students to participate in lectures, communicate with peers, create and post content, and
explore topics all in one secure location. I would also appreciate a more flexible schedule
when it comes to online classes, as I don’t see any benefit to holding 8:30 lectures during a
quarantine event (I know that we have to do this currently because it was a sudden switch, but
going forward it seems unnecessary). This being said, I have been impressed with the
university's (and faculty’s) ability to adapt quickly to unprecedented events and still provide
us with a high quality education experience. I can only hope that the process has been equally
as smooth for high schools and primary schools who are dealing much less self reliant
learners. I think that this event has above all taught us that we need to be prepared to work
online and adapt our practice as educators. In the future, I hope this lesson translates into
further crisis training for teachers, so that everyone can be equipped to teach to their best
ability under less than favourable circumstances. I feel like an elevated level of preparedness
would not only provide students with better online learning experiences, it would also
alleviate a lot of the duress teachers are under as a result of the situation. It has also prompted
me to want to become more technologically literate, so that I can personally provide my
students with quality instruction should something like this ever happen again. Overall, this
experience has illuminated both the adaptability of education as a field and the difficulty of
implementing a new system on the fly.
