Virtual school, virtuous school!

When going virtual suddenly became THE principal means of delivering a lesson, teachers moved from their comfort zone to a place of fear and then to one of learning, where the magic can happen!

Every cloud has a silver lining!

With the announcement of school closures on March 13, teachers have seen their benchmarks shaken. Armed with courage and determination to do their best, they stepped out of the safe confines of their classrooms and into the unknown, for the better!

What have they learned?

The virtue of discomfort:

Dedramatize, take the bull by the horns, explore new software, realize their ease of use, diversify resources, exercises, support materials, exciting, attractive activities, games, filmed challenges, prepare, again and again...there was no shortage of work to overcome fears, turn anxiety into a motivator and gain self-confidence.

Distance learning can bring people closer together:

Involved in this unprecedented experience with their students and their parents, the teachers staked everything on the connection, via the Internet (which was obviously part of the success) and on the human connection.

As the students no longer came to school, it was the teacher who had to come to them.

More attentive to their needs, they emphasized individual contact, paying even more attention to the well-being, emotional expression and specific needs of each pupil. With them, they forged new and more authentic links, got to know each other better and sometimes became closer partners. With patience, they have redoubled their efforts to ensure that no one "drops out".

Solidarity:

Not only did some of them rely on their colleagues, experts in ICTE (Information and Communication Technologies for Education), ready to share their skills, but also on their students, so happy to be in a position to help their teachers solve the daily "bugs". Convinced that all together they would grow stronger, they also counted on the goodwill of the parents.

"Letting go”:

Lacking the ability to control, check, test everything, teachers trusted, empowered, gave freedom and got in return from their students more autonomy, spontaneity, creativity.

Baffled by the vagaries of technology, they let their guard down. They dared to admit that they didn't know (while retaining a good dose of humour) and they learned.

They saw their role evolve from one of transmitting knowledge and enforcing discipline to one of "coaching" and inspiration.

By demonstrating “live” their flexibility, boldness, open-mindedness, curiosity, inventiveness and resilience to their students, they have given them wings.

The virtual school has helped to re-establish priorities: It is neither easy to learn nor to teach! In a crisis situation we are all 'learners'. The teachers put themselves in their students' shoes and the parents in the teachers' shoes. Let us hope that these reciprocal awareness and newly acquired skills will lay the groundwork for teaching in the coming decades.