Items
Tag is exactly
text
-
2020-03-25
Teaching in the "New Normal"
My friend John is a high school math and physics teacher on Staten Island. On March 25, 2020 he sent me photo of his laptop screen. Schools had been closed for about ten days and he, like many other teachers across the state, had to improvise how to continue educating in this radically new reality. He wrote, “Proud of myself today. I figured out how to record myself and my notes.” I compared it to the setup of Governor Cuomo’s daily press conferences which were a unifying and relied-upon source of information in those early days of the pandemic. When I asked him to reflect on that lesson he said: “That early in the pandemic I was lucky I was good with tech so I immediately started recording lessons for students to watch asynchronously. In my mind it was the best way to keep continuity. (I would bet at that time I thought we would be back in school before the end of the year). That lesson in particular is very visual (the right hand rule) so I wanted to figure out how to have notes on the screen and myself to be able to show how to use the right hand rule. I tried to do as closely, as I could, what I would have done in class. I tried to have the students continue hearing from me. The videos were posted so students could learn asynchronously. I did host some live sessions where they could ask questions on anything they learned. We could not mandate synchronous learning because families could have multiple students sharing a computer or even parents who now needed to work remotely, etc. That policy changed in Sept. 2020 when we gave out laptops so we could say you have your own meet at your normal class time.” -
2020-12-05
Covid-19 Notifications
For six months during the pandemic, I worked at Target. During that time, this is how we were notified of positive Covid cases within our store. Due to privacy reasons, this was often all the details we would receive, leaving us wondering if we should be getting tested or taking extra precautions. This was particularly stressful during the holidays, as there would be at least one text regarding a positive case per week. On the week in the screenshot, there were three positive cases in one week. It often left many of us more stressed than we already were with the influx of holiday shoppers, but we had to continue with our work as is nothing was wrong in order to keep the store functioning to the best of its ability. By the end of the year, we were all surprised when we went more than a couple days without a text. -
02/23/2021
Beverly Van Note Oral History, 2021/02/23
I recorded a mini oral history with my former professor Dr. Beverly Van Note. -
2020-03-13
Virtual Learning with Covid
It started in March 18. The death of me. Online school... staring at a computer for 7 hours a day. My eyes hurting after each day. My mind racing at all times on other things. I sat at my desk in my room. I had barely any social interactions with my friends. All I could do was FaceTime or text them. The one nice thing about online school is waking up at 7:50 everyday. I also liked that during my breaks I could just shoot outside on my court at my house. Other than that, I am glad we are back in person school. -
2020-12-25
Covid-19 Christmas
My parents and my grandparents had been texting about what we were going to do for Christmas with Covid-19. We had stayed apart on Thanksgiving so we were planing to do the same thing but we really wanted to be together on Christmas like every year. I woke up at 9:00 AM and went over to my parents room. We eventually went downstairs after everyone woke up but it was weird. Last year my uncle stayed with us and he was there when we woke up. We open our presents in the morning and then around 2:00 PM my grandparents either come see us or we go see them. This year we had to be on zoom and it was weird. When I went to sleep that night it did't feel like we just had Christmas. -
2020-12-02
Living in a Hot Spot
I live in a hot spot. I receive texts from my municipal and the Massachusetts government at least once a week. The cases rise daily and the death toll is worrisome. I’m raising my child in a hot spot. I can’t go back to work without the worry that I might bring home a virus that can kill my child. When you get pregnant, there is a lot of anxiety about bringing a life into this world, but no one could have imagined that come 2020, there would be a global pandemic, a virus that we don’t know all the symptoms and a death toll growing daily in our country. I live in a hot spot. I can’t go outside without my mandated mask, social distancing and limited number of people in stores. I cannot see my friends or my distance family. I can’t bring my son to the park or the library, they’re all closed down. I’m being safe. I’m doing my best, but I cannot change that i live in a hot spot. -
2020-10-14
My Life Before Covid
Before Covid, I was in the middle of the seventh grade. It was going pretty well considering it was the middle of the year and nothing much happened then. I wish I had known then what was about to happen because I never got to go out one last time with my friends or go to sports practice without worrying about being distanced from each other. I had gotten into the routine of normal days and repeating the same schedule 24/7, and wanted a little something to change it or make life a little more interesting, this is not what I meant at all. I remember talking with my friends every day and seeing them at school, but now we can't. Calling and texting are great and all, but it isn't the same. Not even close. Hopefully, we can go back to the way it was before Covid sooner rather than later. -
2020-12-10
Anonymous in Santa Ana, California
I think that it is good to have texts that talk about the lives of people that are not so upper class as they are living through this pandemic, since that is what future historians will use and they need to be able to access more sources. -
2020-06-24
"Well, Atlantic Canada is now bubbled up!" text
A text sent to a group chat of graduate students now dispersed across the county. The writer is from, and is currently living in, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. He is sardonically expressing frustration at the absurdity of a state of affairs where the province cannot provide some basics, but can make interprovincial deals to allow people to travel and associate with others in the Maritimes. -
2020-03-18
Shelter in place county warning
The county texted an announcement on 03/18/2020: Solano: Effective immediately: Solano County Public Health has issued a shelter at home order for all residents. -
2020-04-01
Laid off during COVID-19. [PRIVATE]
This image shows how thousands of employees at Gap INC were furloughed due to the closing of all stores. Many of my coworkers have families to pay for and are now on unemployment. A screenshot of the general manager at my work informing us that we have all been furloughed. cshsecon -
2020-05-01
My COVID-19 Experience
Hello, My name is Carolina, or I like to go by Kat. My story begins towards the beginning of March 2020. -
2020-04-18
Movie Night
Tonight was one night of many that my boyfriend and I watched a movie as together as we could during this pandemic. I haven't seen him since March 13th, but using an app to screen share a movie made us feel close. We watched the movie and these texts are the commentary that we wish we could have spoken to each other. -
2020-04-08
Australian Government text message
HUM402 A text message received by Australian citizens from the Government, reinforcing social distancing measures across the 2020 Easter long weekend to help combat Covid - 19 -
2020-04-23
Texts from New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell: Severe weather, volunteering, homicides
When I realized I was going to be quarantined in New Orleans for the foreseeable future, I signed up for texts from the mayor. These three, sent within hours of one another, suggested an evocative sketch of the landscape that is New Orleans, encapsulating both the threats we face and the ways we respond to them. The first text was about the morning's severe weather (often a threat in New Orleans), which disrupted Covid testing. The next was about how we can help those facing the threat of food insecurity. The last compared the death rate from Covid to the city's homicide rate (which tells you as much about violence in the city as it does about the pandemic). I was talking on the phone last night with a friend who said she's heard a lot more gunfire in her Bronx neighborhood than usual. She said she worried about an increase in violence as the pandemic widens existing inequities in our country and people become more desperate. -
2020-04-07
John Gaddy
Short text. -
2020-04-05
Paranoia in the Pandemic
Short text -
2020-03-20
On the Coronavirus Pandemic
An ongoing journal documenting my opinions and experiences during the Coronavirus pandemic. -
2020-04-04
Grandmother
Short text -
2020-04-04
An Ode to Normality
An Ode to Normality -
2020-03-23
Texts asking for help making face masks
These screenshots show a friend asking for help to make facemasks for nurses and doctors. #HIST5241 -
2020-03-26
They Canceled Commencement Reaction
Image shows an experience that is relatable to many people graduating from high school, college, or graduate school. This piece highlights the many emotions students have, and how they have been impacted in this moment. -
2020-03-17
Social Distancing Text
This image shows how social distancing is put in place and enforced by families. The amount of tests currently available in the United States is limited and its important to distance oneself from others until the situation settles. -
2020-03-21
Text Messages
snippets of a text message conversation capturing information about the state of grocery stores and a call for a friend to come out on their porch to say hi from a safe distance away -
2020-03-19
City of Boston's Daily Text Service
The image displays texts from the City of Boston's daily text service updating the public on developments related to the coronavirus. Messages provide updates on how many people are infected, remind residents to take necessary precautions, and alert residents to relevant closings and where to find more detailed information.