I usually work out in the field, so to speak. I am in up to 6 different places a day, with lots of walking in between. I show go through different receptions, I walk miles to different offices and meeting rooms. I take in many impressions in a day – colours, places, faces, voices, layouts. I catch public transport frequently and have long days.
At the moment I have shorter days because I have less teaching. And when I do teach, I do not have to travel to different premises. I do try to take a walk every day to get some fresh air and exercise. But at the end of each day I am utterly exhausted.
I thought it was stress and worry about COVID-19, or being tired from sitting in the same place for so long. But I recently found some interesting information.
Our minds find it easier to process context and information in face-to-face encounters. Trying to do it via video means that our senses are blindfolded in a sense and it takes so much more effort to process things when we cannot fully sense them. Added to that the grief and stress that we are experiencing because our lives are upended for we don’t know how long.
If you find this discussion as interesting as I did, read the rest of the thread here
I’m finding online teaching absolutely knackering! I’m doing workshops and tutorials on a mix of Zoom, Skype and Microsoft Teams. Thing is, you’re ‘on’ all the time – there are no dips and lulls like you get in face-to-face teaching.
I also use a lot of pairwork in my groups. It gives more student talking time and takes the onus off me keep everything going. I am not sure how long I can do the distance thing. If I am going to be sitting at a desk all day I may as well be translating!
Yes, I use lots of pairing people off or setting up break-out groups. I think they’re vital for breaking up a block of teaching. At least we’re now almost at the end of the teaching year – there is just an avalanche of online marking to come. Please let us be back to face-to-face by September …