People Are Reminding Students To Stay Away From Snide Remarks About Older Teachers Struggling With Technology In This Wholesome Thread
It’s now obvious that the Covid-19-induced school closures have made the education system shift towards new and technologically advanced methods to teach kids. And this shift likely won’t be temporary, as teachers are left with little choice but to catch up with modern tech-savvy society.
However, a recent survey showed that out of 1,200 K-12 teachers, 56.7% said they are “not prepared to facilitate remote learning.” And it’s just one side of the coin. In reality, many teachers of the older generation are struggling to switch to new technologies.
But people on Twitter are urging kids to be empathetic and patient. After one woman who goes by the Twitter handle @nyla_danae told her followers about her 53-year-old teacher dad who’s been practicing every day, the thread blew up with 272.6K retweets and comments and 1.3M likes. After all, teachers are trying their best, and the pressure can be truly nerve-wracking. Especially when all you want is what’s best for your students.
This woman asked students to be nice to their teachers who are struggling to learn new technologies and her tweet went viral
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Many others joined the thread to express their support and tell just how hard teachers work to learn the technology
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A recent survey done by ClassTag also asked teachers what things they are doing and sharing with students online, or plan to. 68.8% said they were “sharing documents in their instruction mix,” 34.1% said they “planned to use video recordings,” and only 12.7% said they “would use a live video lesson or streaming.”
The results reflect a bigger picture, which is that many teachers are likely not prepared for the challenges of advanced digital teaching. Transitioning so rapidly to remote classrooms has definitely caused great stress for many older teachers who are not accustomed to the basics of digital tech.
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Experts warn that ideally, teachers should receive several days, weeks, or—better—months of in-depth preparation before launching an online learning program.
But with nationwide school closures during the peak of the pandemic, many educators have had to count on the patience of parents and kids and improvise with what they can do to make their virtual classrooms work.
This person has also shared a wholesome message of apology he sent to his former teacher
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Lisa Dawley, the executive director of the Jacobs Institute for Innovation in Education at the University of San Diego, said that “We learn by doing. You have to train in the way you want them to teach. It has to be modeled.”
As for the teachers, learning to teach online is a whole new kind of skill to obtain, and they should receive at least some of their training, if possible, through an online course so they experience firsthand what it’s like to be a distance-learning student.
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The thread has also attracted some hard critics
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But others shut them down immediately
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It is not about adapting to using or learning technology, people. I just finished the first semester of online teaching and learning how to do power point, record classes, and all the other technological stuff was the easy part. The hard part was to think about and adopt a completely different method of teaching that would ensure that the students COULD learn with as little stress as possible, COULD concentrate upon the topics taught, COULD have fun learning even in these conditions, while having a constant feedback on their progress. That meant, for me, the teacher, working non-stop - I did NOTHING else but preparing and doing my clases these past months. I am lucky because I have a husband who taught me what I needed to do with computers and we are empty nesters (also we have been sheltering in place) but, really, it has been tough. And now I am already thinking about the possibility of a second online semester...
I might mention that I am fifty and I teach grad school - and while my students might be young adults and some people would not be very worried about their stress levels and so on, well, I am. This should be their best age for learning, communicating, meeting people, dating, making friends for life. It should not be spent online. And I see it as my duty to at least make the best of the situation, improve my teaching, offer extra support, compassion and humor and make this experience a good one for them.
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Schools should have been implementing virtual classes long before the pandemic. They didn't because they are a government entity with bloated bureaucracy and policies that belong in the 1950's, if not the 1850's. I pity the teachers for being thrown into the fray, but a large part of this is the inability of said entity to grow and adapt to modern tech.
Considering each school district in the US has its own funding/tax base, the federal government changes funding and initiatives every couple years, and tech costs more than most schools can afford in ideal circumstances. .... It's not like you've got *one* entity, in the US. Many areas in the US don't even have reliable internet or cell phone, so how th eheck WOULD they implement virtual classes?!?! ....
Load More Replies... My dad is 30 years older than me but he kept up with technology so well. He can teach me stuff sometimes, he’s pretty great at that stuff. Although sometimes I am showing him things. I love him. Anyone can be good at whatever they apply themselves to! I hope the best for everyone.
One thing people forget is that, back in 1995, a laptop cost almost $3500, which is early $5500 on 2020 dollars. You could buy a used car, only a couple years old, for that price then. All the components of a PC would cost $1500, which is over $2500 in 2020. You could still buy an older, functional used car for that. So when people say that home computers and laptops have been around since 1995—-actually before then, but the cost was astronomical and there was no public internet to speak of anyway—-so older people have no excuse for not being extremely tech savvy, they forget that most people just couldn’t afford to buy them back then. We were only using them, with limited programming (most were just on an intranet, not the internet) at work or school, if at all. Like anything else, once the price came down, more people could afford them—-PCs first, then laptops/tablets. Don’t even get me started on cellphones, and the high cost of maintaining one 25 years ago!
Are the admins providing any training for teachers? I used to teach newbies how to use computers. When I had a class of seniors, they were so nervous about even touching the darn things, afraid they would break them. I found teaching them how to play solitaire made a HUGE difference. They'd get so lost in the game that they'd get over their fears. From there, we'd go to writing emails and uploading pictures and composing a document. However, that is not the same as managing an online platform, some of which are not intuitive, offer complicated instructions and have glitches due to faulty code or issues handling large loads. Also, are the schools providing computers to the teachers? I would imagine infrequent users are not running out buying the latest and greatest state of the art equipment (on a teacher's salary), and they might not even grasp the concepts of ram and processing speed. There's more to this whole 'let's get technical' process than meets the eye.
Step mother´s mind, at 76 bless her cotton socks, is still living in the 1980ties since my father died in 1989. She knows that computers and smart phones exist but for her they could well be magic. Everything else is strictly matchbox technology and I am pretty grateful that she has no desire to get anything from this millenium. She would be every Nigerian princes wet dream. Other mother, also bless her cotton socks at 85 has a computer and can use it and Skype and send mails and take care of Photo´s, she is happy as a clam with the tech.
Oh my god, those people saying you shouldn't be a teacher if you struggle with technology. Cars have been around forever, but people drive even when they can't change a tire. People manage a business when they can't keep their own books. There are dozens of examples that are MORE related than teaching/computers. Just... get off your high horse, please. I'm a computer programmer and can make a computer do pretty much anything I want it to, but I've seen how other non-tech professionals struggle with certain "basic" things and I totally understand why and how they're having trouble. You just have to be patient with people, when they don't use a skill very often they simply will not remember how it works and THAT'S OKAY.
I'm 50 and I've probably forgotten more different kinds of technology than someone half my age will ever learn. The change in our lives in the past 50 years has been insane. And it's sometimes hard to decide what to adapt to, because it'll be relevant and stay or what to ignore because it's really just youth culture that should be reserved for the youth.
It bothers me so much when the younger people get angry or upset with the elder generations that dont understand things like tech. Hell, my husband is only 40 and doesn't understand his own smart phone very well. I wish people were more patient with our elders.
I am 50 and have worked as a Graphic Designer for the last 30 years. I use computers all day long.
For the love of God. I am 50, not an ancient age out of touch with society. Computers and modern technology is not some incomprehensible advancement that only the young understands This bulls#@t is just that, the younger generation believing they need to teach the teachers and inventors of apparatuses, tech, software and apps that they seem not able to function without.
That comment from RyHopp (about teachers with 29 kids being expected to provide tech support for everyone) really hit home for me. I run a biweekly RPG for some friends, and we've moved online during the pandemic. The first session I set aside a bunch of time ahead of time to help everyone set up the tools they would need (Steam, Tabletop Simulator, and Discord). Most of the people in the game are 25-35 and figured it out fairly easily. One of the players is much older and he knows how to do email and the internet and some applications he uses often, but he had a lot of trouble learning all of these new things at once, and I knew he would, no big deal. But we just had our fourth session and he's still struggling. I kind of figured by this time we could all just meet on Discord at 7 and I'd share the server name and password and we'd chat and get everything sorted and we'd be playing by 7:30. (1/2)
Well, we got most people sorted by 7:30 but the older player was having a lot of trouble connecting and I had to be on Discord with everyone else plus on the phone with him (so I could tell if he had gotten his mic online or not) and it was well over an hour before we were all in Discord. That's not so terrible, but that's 5 players and 1 hour of tech support. Now how much if you had 30 people? As a teacher you can't spend an hour or two each day ignoring the vast majority of your students. That just ain't right. (2/2)
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Serious question: old people have been around longer, and have been part of the changes in technology. Why are they struggling to adapt to it after the fact? Surely they should be *more* equipped to understand and utilize technology, having been around the entire time it's been developing?
Technology has constantly been changing and is not always consistent, think about Xbox controls vs Nintendo controls, Android vs iPhone. Also, consider music: vinyl; tape; CDs; MiniDiscs; mp3; streaming. By the time you've mastered one method, it's defunct. So you have to learn a whole new method of playing music. Yet, music has always been available on the radio, so why bother keeping up with technology? If it ain't broke, don't fix it. (These aren't my views, just the gist of the answers from family/friends when I've asked them them a similar question.)
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I can relate with elderly people of 75+ years old to be technologically challenged but to be a 50 year old and having a profession of educating others this seems to be poor exuse. 50 year old been in early twenties when AOL launced their online Service and internet connections started to become common, early thirties when dotcom bubble bursted and so on so there have been plenty of time to keep up with the world and practise lifetime learning.
Sorry Jyri, but I have to disagree. I know a lot of intelligent people who struggle with some of the new technologies. Being good at one thing doesn't mean you have to be good at everything else, too. My uncle is a really smart man. He's only 51 years old. But he's never been a genius when it comes to technology. And he always tried. I don't know how often I explained some simple features of his mobile phone to him. He just can't keep it in mind and it frustrates him really badly he has to call me twice a week for instructions.
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I only partly agree. There are many hard-working, well-trying, good-willed individuals, every day seeking to provide the best for their students. But then there are those who do not life themselves the life-long learning they should motivate, the liberalism towards change that is inevitable, the embracing of what can be better combined with the will to preserve what is good. Additionally, both the good and the bad tend to be left alone by the education systems.
One example: most would consider Germany a high-tech country with engineering proficiency. Germany utterly fails when it comes to digitalisation in school and to virtual teaching. Compared the Nordic countries, the conclusion is just sad. In such a setting, any individual attempt to overcome the defficies is poised to be not more than a breeze where a storm would be needed.
Load More Replies...
Personal computers have been commonplace and affordable for the past 20 years. Their basic use also hasn't changed much. So your teacher is 50, why didn't they learn this stuff back then when they were 30? You're saying in 20 years as a teacher or in any office setting they've *never* had to use a computer? B******t. They just refused to learn. Great teachers there. What's the lesson, when you're 30 stop learning and let the world pass you by for two decades? And you know at least half of them are capable of using a smartphone, email, and Facebook, but they're the same ones saying they can't use a computer. The concert of typing a question into Google eludes them I guess.
However, of course, unwarranted bullying is still a cruel thing to do and should be discouraged
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How do you know they didn't ask? Or that they had time to prepare? My mom's school board literally gave all teachers 2 days notice that they were switching from in-person to online only classes and left everyone scrambling to sort things out. They didn't even roll out the technology that high school teachers were supposed to use for assignments until three weeks after closing schools.
Load More Replies... It is not about adapting to using or learning technology, people. I just finished the first semester of online teaching and learning how to do power point, record classes, and all the other technological stuff was the easy part. The hard part was to think about and adopt a completely different method of teaching that would ensure that the students COULD learn with as little stress as possible, COULD concentrate upon the topics taught, COULD have fun learning even in these conditions, while having a constant feedback on their progress. That meant, for me, the teacher, working non-stop - I did NOTHING else but preparing and doing my clases these past months. I am lucky because I have a husband who taught me what I needed to do with computers and we are empty nesters (also we have been sheltering in place) but, really, it has been tough. And now I am already thinking about the possibility of a second online semester...
I might mention that I am fifty and I teach grad school - and while my students might be young adults and some people would not be very worried about their stress levels and so on, well, I am. This should be their best age for learning, communicating, meeting people, dating, making friends for life. It should not be spent online. And I see it as my duty to at least make the best of the situation, improve my teaching, offer extra support, compassion and humor and make this experience a good one for them.
Load More Replies... Schools should have been implementing virtual classes long before the pandemic. They didn't because they are a government entity with bloated bureaucracy and policies that belong in the 1950's, if not the 1850's. I pity the teachers for being thrown into the fray, but a large part of this is the inability of said entity to grow and adapt to modern tech.
Considering each school district in the US has its own funding/tax base, the federal government changes funding and initiatives every couple years, and tech costs more than most schools can afford in ideal circumstances. .... It's not like you've got *one* entity, in the US. Many areas in the US don't even have reliable internet or cell phone, so how th eheck WOULD they implement virtual classes?!?! ....
Load More Replies... My dad is 30 years older than me but he kept up with technology so well. He can teach me stuff sometimes, he’s pretty great at that stuff. Although sometimes I am showing him things. I love him. Anyone can be good at whatever they apply themselves to! I hope the best for everyone.
One thing people forget is that, back in 1995, a laptop cost almost $3500, which is early $5500 on 2020 dollars. You could buy a used car, only a couple years old, for that price then. All the components of a PC would cost $1500, which is over $2500 in 2020. You could still buy an older, functional used car for that. So when people say that home computers and laptops have been around since 1995—-actually before then, but the cost was astronomical and there was no public internet to speak of anyway—-so older people have no excuse for not being extremely tech savvy, they forget that most people just couldn’t afford to buy them back then. We were only using them, with limited programming (most were just on an intranet, not the internet) at work or school, if at all. Like anything else, once the price came down, more people could afford them—-PCs first, then laptops/tablets. Don’t even get me started on cellphones, and the high cost of maintaining one 25 years ago!
Are the admins providing any training for teachers? I used to teach newbies how to use computers. When I had a class of seniors, they were so nervous about even touching the darn things, afraid they would break them. I found teaching them how to play solitaire made a HUGE difference. They'd get so lost in the game that they'd get over their fears. From there, we'd go to writing emails and uploading pictures and composing a document. However, that is not the same as managing an online platform, some of which are not intuitive, offer complicated instructions and have glitches due to faulty code or issues handling large loads. Also, are the schools providing computers to the teachers? I would imagine infrequent users are not running out buying the latest and greatest state of the art equipment (on a teacher's salary), and they might not even grasp the concepts of ram and processing speed. There's more to this whole 'let's get technical' process than meets the eye.
Step mother´s mind, at 76 bless her cotton socks, is still living in the 1980ties since my father died in 1989. She knows that computers and smart phones exist but for her they could well be magic. Everything else is strictly matchbox technology and I am pretty grateful that she has no desire to get anything from this millenium. She would be every Nigerian princes wet dream. Other mother, also bless her cotton socks at 85 has a computer and can use it and Skype and send mails and take care of Photo´s, she is happy as a clam with the tech.
Oh my god, those people saying you shouldn't be a teacher if you struggle with technology. Cars have been around forever, but people drive even when they can't change a tire. People manage a business when they can't keep their own books. There are dozens of examples that are MORE related than teaching/computers. Just... get off your high horse, please. I'm a computer programmer and can make a computer do pretty much anything I want it to, but I've seen how other non-tech professionals struggle with certain "basic" things and I totally understand why and how they're having trouble. You just have to be patient with people, when they don't use a skill very often they simply will not remember how it works and THAT'S OKAY.
I'm 50 and I've probably forgotten more different kinds of technology than someone half my age will ever learn. The change in our lives in the past 50 years has been insane. And it's sometimes hard to decide what to adapt to, because it'll be relevant and stay or what to ignore because it's really just youth culture that should be reserved for the youth.
It bothers me so much when the younger people get angry or upset with the elder generations that dont understand things like tech. Hell, my husband is only 40 and doesn't understand his own smart phone very well. I wish people were more patient with our elders.
I am 50 and have worked as a Graphic Designer for the last 30 years. I use computers all day long.
For the love of God. I am 50, not an ancient age out of touch with society. Computers and modern technology is not some incomprehensible advancement that only the young understands This bulls#@t is just that, the younger generation believing they need to teach the teachers and inventors of apparatuses, tech, software and apps that they seem not able to function without.
That comment from RyHopp (about teachers with 29 kids being expected to provide tech support for everyone) really hit home for me. I run a biweekly RPG for some friends, and we've moved online during the pandemic. The first session I set aside a bunch of time ahead of time to help everyone set up the tools they would need (Steam, Tabletop Simulator, and Discord). Most of the people in the game are 25-35 and figured it out fairly easily. One of the players is much older and he knows how to do email and the internet and some applications he uses often, but he had a lot of trouble learning all of these new things at once, and I knew he would, no big deal. But we just had our fourth session and he's still struggling. I kind of figured by this time we could all just meet on Discord at 7 and I'd share the server name and password and we'd chat and get everything sorted and we'd be playing by 7:30. (1/2)
Well, we got most people sorted by 7:30 but the older player was having a lot of trouble connecting and I had to be on Discord with everyone else plus on the phone with him (so I could tell if he had gotten his mic online or not) and it was well over an hour before we were all in Discord. That's not so terrible, but that's 5 players and 1 hour of tech support. Now how much if you had 30 people? As a teacher you can't spend an hour or two each day ignoring the vast majority of your students. That just ain't right. (2/2)
Load More Replies... Serious question: old people have been around longer, and have been part of the changes in technology. Why are they struggling to adapt to it after the fact? Surely they should be *more* equipped to understand and utilize technology, having been around the entire time it's been developing?
Technology has constantly been changing and is not always consistent, think about Xbox controls vs Nintendo controls, Android vs iPhone. Also, consider music: vinyl; tape; CDs; MiniDiscs; mp3; streaming. By the time you've mastered one method, it's defunct. So you have to learn a whole new method of playing music. Yet, music has always been available on the radio, so why bother keeping up with technology? If it ain't broke, don't fix it. (These aren't my views, just the gist of the answers from family/friends when I've asked them them a similar question.)
Load More Replies... I can relate with elderly people of 75+ years old to be technologically challenged but to be a 50 year old and having a profession of educating others this seems to be poor exuse. 50 year old been in early twenties when AOL launced their online Service and internet connections started to become common, early thirties when dotcom bubble bursted and so on so there have been plenty of time to keep up with the world and practise lifetime learning.
Sorry Jyri, but I have to disagree. I know a lot of intelligent people who struggle with some of the new technologies. Being good at one thing doesn't mean you have to be good at everything else, too. My uncle is a really smart man. He's only 51 years old. But he's never been a genius when it comes to technology. And he always tried. I don't know how often I explained some simple features of his mobile phone to him. He just can't keep it in mind and it frustrates him really badly he has to call me twice a week for instructions.
Load More Replies... I only partly agree. There are many hard-working, well-trying, good-willed individuals, every day seeking to provide the best for their students. But then there are those who do not life themselves the life-long learning they should motivate, the liberalism towards change that is inevitable, the embracing of what can be better combined with the will to preserve what is good. Additionally, both the good and the bad tend to be left alone by the education systems.
One example: most would consider Germany a high-tech country with engineering proficiency. Germany utterly fails when it comes to digitalisation in school and to virtual teaching. Compared the Nordic countries, the conclusion is just sad. In such a setting, any individual attempt to overcome the defficies is poised to be not more than a breeze where a storm would be needed.
Load More Replies... Personal computers have been commonplace and affordable for the past 20 years. Their basic use also hasn't changed much. So your teacher is 50, why didn't they learn this stuff back then when they were 30? You're saying in 20 years as a teacher or in any office setting they've *never* had to use a computer? B******t. They just refused to learn. Great teachers there. What's the lesson, when you're 30 stop learning and let the world pass you by for two decades? And you know at least half of them are capable of using a smartphone, email, and Facebook, but they're the same ones saying they can't use a computer. The concert of typing a question into Google eludes them I guess.
However, of course, unwarranted bullying is still a cruel thing to do and should be discouraged
Load More Replies... How do you know they didn't ask? Or that they had time to prepare? My mom's school board literally gave all teachers 2 days notice that they were switching from in-person to online only classes and left everyone scrambling to sort things out. They didn't even roll out the technology that high school teachers were supposed to use for assignments until three weeks after closing schools.
Load More Replies...
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