Items

• 
  2020-03-24

  Sample Virtual Learning Schedule for Middle Schoolers

  When we returned from spring break in 2020, we were sent a PDF of a sample schedule. Online school was mostly asynchronous (async) for a few weeks before we switched to a live virtual format. We would usually have one or two synchronous advisories per day and the rest of the day would be independent work. I had just returned early from a family vacation and we had only just begun quarantining. When we received this schedule, we still thought that the shutdown would only last a few weeks before life would return to normal and this schedule marks the very beginning of my pandemic experience.
• 
  2021-10-11

  HIST30060: A Secondary Teacher's Chronicle

  This is an image of a week from my mother's chronicle. She is a secondary teacher in regional Victoria who primarily teaches Theatre Studies, Drama and English. During the time that the photograph was taken (October 2021), the school she is working at decided to stagger teaching different year levels to reduce the threat of a Covid-19 outbreak in the lead up to VCE exams. As highlighted in the chronicle in different colours, some classes would be taught in-person and others online in one day. As my family does not live in the same town that my mother teaches in, she would often have to stay at school the entire day regardless. Due to the nature of rapid changes in health information and additional directions from the school itself, every week in the chronicle looks very different to the next. The image shows an element of the chaos that is present in the everyday lives of individuals during covid and the ability for plans to rapidly change from day to day.
• 2020-03-15

  The Pandemic Student

  Being a student during the COVID-19 pandemic seemed easy at first since we were all going to be at home for the rest of the Spring semester of 2020. I thought of it as a time to finally relax and slow down on classes now that we were going to be home. But I didn't expect the amount of change the pandemic actually brought to my life. I didn't realize how much I relied on my everyday school schedule to organize my daily routines. When in-person classes stopped, the first week of classes at home seemed easy. I thought I could do it. But as time passed, I realized how difficult it was to keep up with class demands as well as home demands now that both were in the same environment. Some of my classes became asynchronous, while others became live. Waking up on time became difficult when I was able to stay in the comfort of my bed the whole day. And being on my laptop for all of my classes made it easy to be distracted by other things on the internet. Being at home meant I could fall asleep in class without anyone directly seeing me. With no school schedule, such as common hours, walking to and from classes, meeting up with friends during gaps, the routine in my life seemed non-existent. I was at home all day, and my sense of order seemed to fade as the semester went on. The type of student I used to be was usually a lot more punctual, submitting assignments on time, taking notes during class, finishing homework early. But the type of student the pandemic changed me into was lazy, sleepy, tired, late in submitting assignments, more careless about classwork and homework, skipping a lot of note-taking in class, and delaying work. My orderly life, my daily routine, was now out of order and out of routine. It became very hard to be a good student during the pandemic because my lack of motivation swooped low. By Fall semester of 2020, I was already falling off track within the first two to three weeks. By the end of the semester, I even failed to submit an important final on time. Although I was becoming such a terrible student, many of my professors remained understanding, kind, and caring, giving me extended time on late assignments, and providing support when I needed it. I don't think I would have passed all of my classes if it weren't for the kindness of many of my professors. My worst semester was Spring of 2021. I had to take a writing intensive course. Although I was only taking 4 classes, that one class felt so heavy that it was the main course I was focusing on. The course also had a lab section, which would've been better done in-person. Doing in-person classes online was not the best experience. While in an in-person lab students would be working together and classwork would be done together, online we were just given directions and told to submit the classwork after working on it ourselves. It became so difficult that I ended up dropping the class and taking it again in the summer. Though it was my worst semester ever, my professors were still so kind and understanding, supporting my decision and wishing me well. Although it seemed being a student during the pandemic would be easy at the beginning, I quickly realized how far that was from the truth. The pandemic teared apart my routine, which I didn't realize how heavily I relied on. The order in my life felt close to chaotic at some point and affected so many aspects of my life: as a student, a daughter, a sister, my religion, and my social life. Right now, during the Fall 2021 semester, I'm still working on building up my routine and trying to stick to it, despite being at home. I've regained some of my motivation and try to submit assignments on time, but I don't always succeed. Balance is hard when two different parts of one's life—in my case, my school and home life—become one and the same. I had a hard time allocating appropriate time for school and appropriate time for family, chores, and self-care. Perhaps by now I've gotten a bit used to the pandemic, but still prefer in-person as it would bring back that order in my life: waking up, getting ready, going to class, finishing class, doing work during schedule gaps, going to another class, etc. Now my schedule is more like: wake up, class, eat breakfast during class, be unproductive during class gaps, go to another class, etc. And through all this, I'm also on my phone or watching something else, or talking to a family member, or doing something else distracting. However, since I've been trying to build up my routine and increase my motivation, it's been easier to pay attention and work harder in class. As a senior, I obviously want to graduate on time so that is definitely a motivational factor for me to do well this semester. Because in-person class options are now available, I look forward to bringing back order to my life next Spring semester.
• 
  2020-04-23

  A Succulent Story

  This is a succulent that I received as a gift during September of 2019. I didn’t pay that much attention to it, though, because I was always busy with school, sports, and work. Then, when school shut down, I started taking better care of it, and it grew this interesting little sprout with yellow flowers on it. I took this picture to send to my grandpa, who loves plants, and asked him what it was. I think this succulent really illustrates life for me personally during the pandemic. Before the pandemic, I filled every single day up with activities from the moment I woke up to the moment I went to bed. And that was ok, I did well with that schedule, and I was able to grow in that environment. This succulent received little care and attention from me, and was still able to grow in that environment. Then, the pandemic came. It was an adjustment to not have to do anything, with the exception of online school. It was definitely not a schedule I was used to. But with time, I found the positive in spending time alone and doing things that I didn’t normally have time to do. I was still growing, but in a different way than what I was used to. I had to learn to spend time alone, and to occupy myself without school or work or sports. This succulent received more attention from me after the pandemic, and was able to grow with this new environment, but it resulted in a different kind of growth. Plus, it allowed me to have an opportunity to talk to my grandpa. We weren’t allowed to see them during quarantine, and I knew he would appreciate talking about something that he loved so sending him this picture allowed me to still keep in touch with him and talk about something that we both enjoyed.
• 
  2020-08-24

  Adventures in Virtual learning

  I’m in grad school now for the second time. I got my B.A. in 2009, and since it was right after the recession and collapse of the loan market, I panicked about jobs and went straight to an M.A. program. It wasn’t the best fit for me professionally or academically, but I didn’t have the life experience to identify that at the time. However, it was still valuable, and I met some of my best friends and professional connections I maintain to this day. Starting in 2012, I left academia and worked in a variety of jobs and fields before realizing I wanted to engage with archives and public history academically again. I found out I got into my dream grad program in late January 2020, and I was elated! Almost a decade after leaving my first graduate program, I was ready to start the next step of my educational and professional career. The excitement of a new city, new colleagues and friends, and fresh intellectual challenges awaited. More than anything, I was thrilled that my program wasn’t online, as that is not my preferred mode of learning. I don’t remember the precise dates, but COVID-19 came onto my radar around then. I know I tracked its progression through Washington state and then its spread to the rest of the country. Finally, it came to my town, and everything shut down. I ended up moving cross-country during the pandemic (another story entirely). Then, horror of horrors, classes began—online. The classes I’d been so excited for were moved to Zoom, my new classmates and colleagues nothing more than little squares. Some of them had pets, which was exciting, but in many ways, it felt like a waste of a year in terms of networking and developing camaraderie. Shifting to what is essentially a virtual, full-time job was a unique challenge. I wore pajamas most days, which was fun. I read all the advice telling me to put on clothes that I’d wear to the office or to campus, but I struggled to summon the motivation to do so when I knew I wouldn’t be going outside. My schedule was interesting, at least until I got a teaching assistantship gig that required more set hours. (The sleep inversion that occurs when the only things you’re required to be at are evening classes is incredible.) However, the lack of oversight meant some really great things! For the first time in my life, I was able to develop a reading/writing schedule that worked well for me. I had to, so I did. I was also able to put Netflix on in the background or play podcasts while I worked. Most importantly, I conquered my unease with online education. While asynchronous courses are still not my preference, over a year of remote learning means that Zoom is old hat. I, an introvert, also have a much easier time reaching out to strangers or new acquaintances. As we’ve met in person over the last month, some of those people have become great friends! While virtual learning and teleworking still aren’t my ideal, I love the new possibilities they offer for more accessible work and educational opportunities. [cat pictures] My coworkers were pretty great, and they miss me a lot now that I’m back working and studying in person. I still see them, but it’s just not the same.
• 
  2020-03-20

  Working from Home: Tips for Staying Productive

  A blog postfrom the Banner Health Blog about working from home during the pandemic.
• 
  03/10/2021

  Ellen Galindo Oral History, 2021/03/10

  This is an oral history of Ellen Galindo, a teacher in Orange County, California. The date of this interview was three days shy of the one year anniversary of when her school shut down. She has been teaching online for a year now. She is also expecting her first child. Her oral history is focused on her experience teaching through Distance Learning and her feelings on being pregnant during the pandemic.
• 
  2021-02-02

  The Unexpected Digital Benefits of Distance Learning

  When I first saw our Distance Learning schedule, I was actually relieved. When we were still thinking of re-opening back in August, the Hybrid schedule they proposed was atrocious. I would be able to synchronously (live instruction) teach a student for only 2 hours a week, the other three hours would be asynchronous. The powers that be told us “you have to just deal with the fact that you won’t be able to teach everything you usually do.” Of course, these are the same powers that be who expect the kids to pass their AP tests, and tell us that state testing (which is still happening regardless of the opening status) is “high stakes.” Contradictions, much? So, the Distance Learning schedule, which allows me to see a student three times a week, for 3 hours and 20 minutes of live instruction, was a vast improvement. Still, block scheduling? The very idea of block scheduling sent chills down my spine. Even in college, I opted for M, W, F classes because I do not sit still long enough for the 1.5-hour classes that were on T/Th. And how would I digitize an entire course? I was lucky to have already “flipped” my classroom about five years ago, when I recorded all my lectures and assigned them to watch on YouTube, freeing up class time for discussions and document analysis. But how would I do gallery walks, document analysis, Socratic Seminars, etc. digitally? Could I? Now with a semester of Distance Learning under my belt, there have been some huge advantages to being forced into this completely digitized world. First, digitized documents are amazing. So much of my course is document analysis. With digital documents, the copies aren’t blurry, the kids can zoom in if the font is small, and thanks to Google, they love to highlight and annotate the heck out of them. And Jamboards have been a godsend for collaborative analysis. I am debating whether I will ever go back to paper document analysis. Online tests have also been a game changer. I always steered away from online tests, due to fears over test security. Test days were big affairs in my class. The kids would put all their items, including phones, on the counter. I would go by each table and make them turn out their pockets to ensure no phones. I liked to joke that test days were more serious in my class than going through TSA. Because the students sat in tables of four, there were four forms of the multiple choice test and 20 versions (4 versions per period, for five periods) of the short answer portion of the test. The end of test day left me with 180 Scantrons, 180 short answer questions to grade, all with different forms, plus their notebooks, which they turned in on test day. I had to let that kind of control go this year and jump headfirst into online testing. And I am so glad this happened. It was the push I needed. The world of online testing has improved remarkably since the ten years ago that teachers at my school began to move toward it. It is SO EASY to grade and to make different forms with the click of a button. The multiple choice grades automatically and the short answer, I click the points and it pushes to the gradebook. A task that took me four hours now takes me 30 minutes. I know while the kids are at home, there is nothing to stop them from having notes on the side or on another device, but honestly, with tests that are based on historical reasoning skills, I don’t really care if they are looking up the name of an act, event, or person. I am more interested in if they can effectively use that information to support their argument. When we’re back in person, I can ensure they don’t have their phones and that Go Guardian is on to keep them from opening other windows. Without Distance Learning, I would have never made this change. Writing has also dramatically improved due to technology. I always made my students write essays by hand because the AP exam makes them write them by hand. However, with the AP exam going digital, I can now, too. It is incredible to see how the quality of writing has improved through typing. It is terrible to think that students in previous years may have been less successful on the AP exam simply because they did not formulate ideas as well with pen and pencil as they would on a computer. Block scheduling, too, has been surprisingly smooth. It is so refreshing to have time to analyze documents and follow it up with writing and peer editing - all in one period! Of course, I will be fine to return to our 55 minutes classes someday. I still don’t sit still well. Will I keep the course entirely digital when we are (hopefully) back to a normal year? Probably not everything. I miss the kids having a notebook that we build throughout the year, and will probably return to our traditional notebook for in class activities. BUT I am happy to never run a Scantron again!
• 2021-01-14

  COVID-19: Virtual Learning

  School was one of the many things that came as a halt during COVID-19. At first, we all thought that COVID-19 would be a nice 2 week vacation. I thought that it would be an escape. However after hundreds of days on zooms, things began to be too boring. 8I would wake up at 7:59 sharp. Exactly one minute before class. Without brushing my har or washing my face I quickly opened my laptop which was on my brand new white desk that I added to my room in order to do zooms. Often times my wifi would go out and in and my family would yell as we glitched out of our period. Then I had a break and I would eat a breakfast of a microwavable frozen Costco sandwich. Then I would go to period 2 and begin my next zoom, then another. Then it was lunch and I would be starving during the long day of staring blankly at a computer screen. Finally I had period 4. Although often difficult, online school did have its' benefits. It was nice to be able to do school from the comfort of my own desk (sometimes bed), sleep in later, and eat during class. But it was very difficult to focus.
• 2012-01-14

  Remote Learning

  School started in August 2020. It took place at home. During the spring, I already had experience in learning at home, so it was not too hard to adjust to the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year. I cannot believe that I have been learning virtually for almost half of the school year already. My morning routine starts at 7:30 AM. Sometimes, I would wake up at 7:55 and skip breakfast to attend my first-period class at 8:00. Then, I would go through my class schedule. We separate A days from B days. Each day would have different classes. We still had our required core classes and our electives. At the end of the day, I would finish all my homework and then rest. The benefit of doing remote learning is safety. However, it causes eye pain, burning, and discomfort because of screentime. I had no obstacles or challenges while doing remote learning. Especially this year, I have learned to adapt to changes.
• 
  2020-11-16

  Freshmen Study Lifesaver

  Going to college is very difficult. I think anyone can agree with that especially if someone's never been to college. When I started, I was immediately caught off guard. I never knew when my assignments were, and I occasionally missed assignments. There was something about this online experience that really made it difficult, so I went in search of something to help. The screenshot is of my schedule early in the year when I finally decided to utilize Google Calendar. It was by far the best decision I made this semester, and it is my best advice for anyone (especially freshmen) looking to get more organized. Covid may have changed what college would normally look like, but it has taught me to adapt during this hard time. Google calendars was just a new way of me doing it.
• 
  2020-11-06

  Making Adjustments

  One thing that everyone and everything shared in common during this pandemic is the ability to being forced to adapt to the situation or fail in its path. The most important thing that was forced to have to adjust was all schooling. It made all schooling forced to have to figure out how to get their students the education they have been paying for. many schools sent out emails to their students giving them options on how to access their classes and educational resources. Of course online being really the only option for college courses universities that were not comfortable with the online process were forced to learn how to adapt to their students needs. It was just on thing that they had to get comfortable with and eventually everyone was up to speed on the process and things began to smooth out.
• 
  2020-08-30

  East Melbourne Synagogue Schedule of Services

  Jewish Melbourne
• 
  2020-08-10

  COVID-19 Share Your Story

  COVID-19 has definitely made a huge change to my everyday routine. Before this all hit Arizona, my weekly schedule was gym in the morning, and depending on the day i would go to work in the afternoon and then do some homework before bed. On my days off from work I would go to school in the afternoon and usually do homework after. I would usually only have free time on Sunday's. This hasn't really affected my schedule negatively, but has definitely changed the origin of where I do things and has limited my abilities to do a lot of things as well. I now work out from home and had to purchase equipment and do not have access to anywhere close to the amount of equipment or weight that I normally have access to at the gyms, but have to make it work with what I have. I also have had to work from home, which is the same schedule I was on before and it definitely took a little bit of getting used to since I have roommates, but I made it work and I'm very fortunate to have a reliable job during these times. Most of my classes I take are online, so that won't have a very big impact on me other than if I ever have to go to campus, which I haven't had to yet. This has also had a huge impact on my relationship with my family. I went from seeing them once every 1-2 weeks to never seeing them because of me being a risk. My grandparents are very old and I haven't been able to see them since March. It is definitely tough for me, but i try to call them everyday to stay in touch with them as much as I can! Overall, I don't thing this whole COVID situation has impacted me as much as a lot of others and I and lucky to be in the situation I am in.
• 2020-05-31

  Why Did I Buy a Planner for 2020?

  When 2020 started, we were all happy for a fresh start, a new year, and a new decade. Anyone who bought a day planner was in for a rude awakening because there was soon nothing to do, businesses, entertainment, restaurants, and sports were closed or cancelled. Planners were useless unless you needed to plan the trips from the bedroom to the living room and the kitchen.
• 
  2020-05-30

  COVID 19 EXPERIENCES

  Okay, this whole coronavirus got me feeling both anxious and relaxed at the same time. I know it’s contradicting, but the reason I feel this way is because an immature part of me wishes this pandemic to reach something higher so it would give it that movie-style feel to it. Sort of in the way the movie “World War Z” depicted that a virus from China had gotten out of control and went to wipe out most of humanity by turning it into fast, zombie like things that only seeked to find an uninfected human to bite, and move on to the next. But then again, I come to my senses and realize that it’s not what I want; I don’t want the destruction of the world as I know it. And even though I know this pandemic won’t go to those great lengths, I just sort of want my “normal” life back, that is, back in school, back with my friends or whatever. On the other hand, I feel relaxed too, as the pressure of the monotonous school routine is not there anymore, I feel free.
• 
  2020-05-29

  Humorous Schedule in Quarantine

  At first, people in quarantine didn't know what to do with themselves. This is one person's humorous schedule of his or her day. It shows the boredom and emotional toll of being isolated.
• 
  2020-05-29

  Home Schooling Schedule-Humor

  During the quarantine, people found themselves eating a lot and taking a few naps a day. Another popular activity was watching TV and playing video games. While homeschooling their kids, all the screen time rules went out the window. Parents also found it difficult to keep a school type of schedule.
• 2020-05-04

  Journal entry 5/4/2020

  taken from journal entry: Today I woke up around 1 pm without an actual schedule to follow it feels like i have no routine.I have been falling asleep around 3 am and waking up very late. Never thought i would say this but i miss going to school and having busy days and crowded commutes. Things i would complain about i now yearn for. I went to Walmart today and looking around at everyone with their masks and gloves, i never thought id ever see anything like this. my trip to the grocery has now become one of the most exciting parts of the day. Going out now is such a hassle we put on masks and gloves and coming back we take everything off immediately and take a shower. All the groceries we brought back my mom will thoroughly wash and throw away original packaging. Later i went for a run in rock creek, there were quite a lot of people there but everyone maintains distance and has their masks on. At night i did a lot of online work i had. without going to class i barely have any motivation to do it. in one of my classes i had a 100% now i have dropped down to a 70%. Good thing we have the pass/fail option at my university, thats the only thing saving me right now. Then i stayed up with my dad binge watching series on netflix until about 2:30 am. i really hope we go back to normal, i miss seeing my friends, my girlfriend, going out to eat or to the movies. My best hope right now is that we go back to classes when the fall semester begins.
• 
  2020-05-07

  A Change of Pace: Life During Quarantine

  This is just a brief look into my personal adjustment to the COVID-19 quarantine and how it has affected my everyday life. I discuss what an average day looks like for me in light of the situation. I also highlight the challenges I have faced during this time, as well as the changes that have occurred in my life. #CSUS #HIST15H
• 
  2020-03-17

  "Karuk Tribe Initiates Office Restrictions in Response to COVID-19"

  "Today, the Karuk Tribe will alter several employees work schedules minimizing exposure to high risk persons."
• 
  2020-03-16

  Daily Calendar for First Three Weeks of High School Closure

  Daily calendar for students, posted by their AP US History teacher. The calendar was supposed to cover the three weeks of school closure, with the assumption that school would resume on April 13, which did not happen.
• 
  2020-04-27

  Карантин 2020

  [Curator's Note]: A personal account during the pandemic.
• 
  2020-04-07

  Feed Your Soul

  Reflection of having one's day slow down during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 
  2020-03-01

  The beginning of a family’s pandemic journal: Creating a sanitized home.

  As early as March 1st, I realized I needed to treat my family home as a self isolation unit. My mother has only 1 functioning kidney, COPD, Heart Disease & significant history of cardiac surgeries. However, she has a good quality of life and frightened by what I was telling her of the virus. I read research and accounts from Italy and with no US response I ordered sanitizing agents, surgical scrub and gloves along with trauma first aid kits and things to keep us out of a hospital. The Pandemic Diary begins with a list of places to focus on cleaning.
• 
  2020-04-07

  Daily Schedule during Quarantine March

  My daughter is a HS freshman and has been at home since March 16. This was her very early on schedule for her day. School was just transitioning to remote learning and the days were more free-form. We have 8 pets of various sizes and varieties so the 'pet hour' is a very important way to stay relaxed. Photo taken April 7, 2020. Document created late March 2020 just when schools closed.
• 
  2020-03-30

  Sign Series #12

  This is part of a series exploring the role of language, typography and design in informing the general public. #FordhamUniversity #VART3030 #SignSeries
• 
  2020-03-26

  New Hours at Caffe Nero

  This is a photograph of the front door of Caffe Nero in Jamaica Plain, Boston, MA, where I work. The new, shortened hours have been written by hand on the window. Below, two printouts have been printed on the door. One explains that the cafe is open for takeout only, as per the order of the governor earlier in the week. The other announces that the cafe is now giving all healthcare workers free coffee. The cafe closed for an unknown amount of time (at least 2 weeks) the day after this photo was taken. #HIST5241
• 
  2020-03-25

  Our family home schooling schedule.

  My son's school closed on Monday. He is a high energy kid and copes better when he knows what the day holds. So I devised a schedule for us where he can continue to learn whilst school is closed. We are finding that having a schedule is really helping with our daily life. It is meant to be flexible and serves more of a touchstone for when things get difficult throughout the day. Many people are saying that time in isolation is a great opportunity to learn an instrument or language, master a hobby or really relax - but those of us with children don't have that luxury.
• 
  March 22, 2020

  My Schedule Just Opened Up - Social Distancing

  I accidentally swiped to the upcoming events and was struck by the wording of no upcoming events, given our state just went into a stay-at-home order