Items

• 
  2020-09-01

  Every story matters - Student's perspective

  Classes in Fall 2020 were either fully virtual or hybrid. In hybrid classes, the professors would have to put the projector with some students being on zoom. This was a good idea because it helped students be safe and at the same time learn. It was also challenging because sometimes professors would pay more attention to the students that were in the classroom and not the ones on zoom. I took this picture a year ago to show my parents how classes were working. This was something my parents appreciated because they saw that St. Mary’s University was using all their resources to help students continue their studies. They liked seeing me continue my college experience in a different way but not fully virtual. I saved this picture for over a year to see the changes the world was going to have during the pandemic. I am glad we are finding new solutions and making changes with still being careful with COVID-19 guidelines.
• 
  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.
• 
  2020-05-13

  Is Telehealth the Present and Future of Healthcare?

  A blog post from Banner Health discussing the benefits of telehealth visits.
• 
  2020-03-17

  Banner Health to hold virtual hiring event

  A press release from Banner Health announcing a virtual hiring event, especially looking for medical assistants and positions in patient financial services.
• 
  2020-05-14

  Banner Health launches virtual waiting rooms for telehealth and in-person doctor appointments

  A press release from Banner Health announcing the new virtual waiting room across its brands.
• 
  2021-04-13

  Camp Wolfeboro Status Update Monday, April 13, 2020

  This is a letter from Monday, April 13, 2020 that was sent out by the Mt. Diablo Silverado Council of the Boy Scouts of America outlining three possibilities for the 2021 Camp Wolfeboro season, depending on when California lifted its stay-at-home orders. The letter also discusses an online opportunity to earn merit badges that would be hosted in the summer of 2020 if camp could not occur in person or if it only occurred for a reduced amount of time in person. The letter discusses how refunds would be handled if camp was canceled. Camp was canceled entirely in 2020 because the stay-at-home order extended past June 1, 2020, which is stated in the letter.
• 
  2020-05-14

  Banner Health revamping doctors' offices in the wake of COVID-19 with virtual waiting room

  An article describing Banner Health System's move towards virtual waiting rooms for doctors' visits.
• 
  2020-09

  The Sound of Learning - Teaching During the Pandemic

  On March 12th, 2020, all of the teachers and support staff in the high school where I work in Stafford, Virginia (A suburb of Washington DC) were called down to the auditorium and told by the head principal that our school would be shut down for the next two weeks as a result of Covid-19. Long story short, I did not return into that building until January of 2021. Even though I did not enter the building, between September and December of 2020, I toiled away teaching virtually via Google Meet from my basement. Teaching online was difficult - due to privacy concerns, students were not required to turn their cameras on - and none did. For the first time, I was teaching to a class of thirty without seeing anyone other than myself. Many students did not want to ask questions by unmuting their microphones, so instead they would type out questions, make comments, tell jokes, etc through the chat feature. Each time a student would send a message, my computer would make a small beeping noise. I learned to love this noise as it was the only reminder I had that there was someone listening to me. As a teacher, forming relationships is so central to the profession. At first, it seemed impossible to be a meaningful teacher when I had no clue what my students even looked like. But every time I heard that beep, I was delighted to know that someone was on the other side of that screen. Without the fear of immediate judgement of their peers, many of my students provided commentary on the lesson and made teaching fun. When teaching in person, I hate when a student tries to talk over me, so only dealing with a tiny beep was much more manageable and it was nice to see these kids communicate with one another while separated by the pandemic. Many articles that I have read have been incredibly critical of online learning, and some with good cause. I did not reach every student. Some fell back asleep, logged in then walked away, played video games, and even one of my students admitted to me that he was taking his dog on a walk during class. But hearing that beep reminded me that there are students out there that can make connections even when it seems impossible.
• 
  2020-06

  Some Graduation Memes and Photos During the Coronavirus Time

  Graduations during 2020 were conducted remotely. This meant that the students missed out on an important and memorable ceremony to mark this milestone in their lives. All ages were affected. The students were mostly home, and some had videos either as a live feed or prerecorded. Families tried their best to make the occassion memorable for their kids. Some schoolz had car parades for their graduates to "march" in front of their school or neighbors.
• 
  2020-08-06

  Pagan Communities in the Time of Pandemic

  One group that is often overlooked when discussing faith and religion is paganism. Partly, this is because, as the article references, paganism is not uniformly defined like other religious groups and faiths. As a result, it is much more difficult to understand and see how various pagans are reacting to the pandemic. Nonetheless, this article briefly surveys various sects of paganism in many different countries. One common element for many who consider themselves pagan has been celebrating and practicing privately, while also meeting virtually.
• 
  2021-04-12

  Corona Vocabulary

  This is a comprehensive (but not exhaustive) list of the most common Corona themed vocabulary used by in the U.S. While a definition of each term is not provided, linked websites provide context and explanations of many of the words. Culled from a variety of real world sources, what is most important about these terms is what their use says about the culture they created/were used in. From the use of everyday pandemic language, researchers can gain a window into the COVID experience in a way that is inaccessible even in photographs. These terms also show the United States was undergoing dramatic social and cultural change and some terms highlight the political conflict that was often meshed with Corona in the U.S. The vocabulary also shows a degree of conformity in U.S. culture as all of these terms became part of most Americans' vocabulary. The case of the work "healthcare worker" and "virtual" are two examples of this. Before medical staff, nurse doctor, EMT, online, distance learning, etc. were used to refer to these things, but now Americans have dropped them for the COVID versions. This shows how powerful Corona vocabulary has become.
• 
  2020-06-24

  2020 Virtual Pride Event

  The Pride events that normally are live and in-person are now going to be going virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though, this may be seen as a bad thing it is to keep all participants safe as the pandemic has been raging and the goal is to still celebrate Pride and also keep everyone safe. There is one positive that comes out of this online pride this year which is that allows people who may normally not participate in other parts of the world who could not travel to New York City or their area or country outlaws LGBTQ things can simply just have internet and log on and participate and celebrate pride. This being online may impact others in a positive manner by allowing these new people to have the courage to be advocates for LGBTQ people.
• 
  2020-06-04

  Selling during COVID

  This is an article about selling a house during COVID. I wanted to include this source because one of my interviewees discussed some of the anxiety and stress that they experienced while trying to sell their home in March of 2020. This article provides context for what it is like to sell a home during COVID and how that market has changed. This article is by a realtor and provides advice and comparisons to what it may be like to sell a home during COVID and how that compares to selling during another crisis such as a recession.
• 
  2021-03-23

  #JOTPYLesson from Iyen Vinson

  I have learned that some work meetings can definitely be done virtually instead of everyone being together in a room. I have also learned that in person school is much more beneficial than online learning.
• 2021-03-18

  With Hope

  Today is Thursday, March 18, 2021. Saturday, March 13, was the first anniversary of the Friday the 13th that essentially broke the world, and that was our last day of normal. Or at least that’s how we all remember it now. On Monday, March 15, 2021, the students at my high school returned in “full swing” for the fourth quarter of the school year. I mean by full swing that we have no A and B days, and we are not all virtual. We still have an asynchronous day on Wednesday, but we all know that will soon go away. Many kids are staying virtual, and I don’t know how long that will be an option. So, we have had three days of students back on campus, and I think I would be much more concerned if I myself were not vaccinated, but I am fully vaccinated, and my husband completed his two-week waiting period a couple of days ago, so my house is “safe.” (Though I don’t totally feel that way yet) I don’t work on Wednesday right now, so we celebrated being fully vaccinated by going to an outdoor brunch, which was totally socially distanced, and I appreciated it a lot. I digress, though… school feels like school again. Sure, we limit the number of students who come into the library at lunch, but they are here, the halls bustle, and kids' noise in the hallway trails through our open library doors between periods again. Unfortunately, we are jumping back into things right in time for state testing, so we got this week of “bliss” before things become chaos of finding computers to test, getting students to make sure their computers are updated, and the general panic of finding space and making schedules that comes with any year of state testing. I want things to continue to trend in a direction where I don’t have to rescind all this hope a couple of months from now.
• 
  2020-05-16

  Covid-19 The Challenges of a Mental Health Provider #AZHISTORY

  Covid-19 changed the way we deliver Mental Health Services. This is my personal story of how it felt and what it required to provide Trauma Psychothery during the Pandemic.
• 2020

  Campaigning During COVID

  I worked on a campaign over the past election cycle from August to November 2020. COVID brought new challenges to campaign work as everything we did had to be fully remote when before the staple for campaign work was going door to door to talk to prospective voters. This most recent election cycle was very draining as we had to use remote training methods which ended up being frustrating for many volunteers as the instructions were harder to understand. As a campaign worker, I was also left feeling frustrated and strained for much of my employment. Typically in a campaign, we would all share in our victories and defeats together but the distance between me and my coworkers made me focus more heavily on my defeats and shoulder them fully myself rather than sharing in them with my colleagues. COVID made the campaign work significantly harder and more emotionally draining than in other campaigns.
• 2020-03-05

  Classroom Networking

  I have always been a good student. However, I always make sure to have a "homework buddy" in every class that I am. That homework buddy is someone I can ask clarifying questions about coursework, exams, or quizzes, and vice versa. Usually, this study buddy is someone I already know in the class, or I just end up naturally making one. Of course, with online classes replacing in-person lectures, finding a study buddy has been completely different. I would say that I was extremely lucky to find my first study buddy. We met through our class Slack channel. We have been through time-consuming projects, grueling homework practice, and exam preparations...yet we have never met each other. We also only somewhat know what we look like (we both have social media accounts with little pictures). Despite this, I have never felt like we were strangers, and I am pretty positive that we would get along exactly the same way when we met in real life. We were both surprisingly nonchalant and neutral about our personal life details. While this is certainly not the most traditional relationship I've ever made, I view my study buddy the same way as I do to all my other friends. I have also joined group chats for my classes. These chats are fine; everyone is cordial and helpful. I would say none of us are friends, but questions get answered, tips are given, and it is still a beneficial group to be in. I am not sure I could get used to the new way of networking. Next semester, my university is supposed to be back in person. I do miss face-to-face human interaction, so I hope that I can make friends and study partners the traditional way again.
• 2021-03-04

  Remote Learning

  learning online was very distracting for me and i'm glad we get to go back on campus so I can focus more and get my work done. I think work is easier online but like I said i get distracted more.
• 
  2021-02-22

  "African/African Ancestry Health and Heritage Month Virtual Celebration: Black Family Day"

  Repost via Twitter @COVID19Black. Santa Clara County Public Health is hosting a virtual celebration for Black Family Day on Sunday, February 28, 2021 (11:00 AM- 2:00 PM) zoom link provided: http://BIT.LY/FAMILY_DAY2021
• 
  2021-01-11

  Trying to Sell Girl Scout Cookies in a Pandemic

  The one thing people seem to know about Girl Scouts is they sell cookies. What people don't know is that the profit from the cookie sales is how troops pay for their activities and service projects. My daughter has loved selling cookies since she started Girl Scouts in kindergarten. For the past three years, she has sold over 1,000 boxes a year, which is a crazy amount of cookies to sell! Of course, having a mom who has an entire high school student body to sell to, and a dad who has an entire college campus to sell to doesn't hurt. This year, both her parents are working virtually, which means her customer pool has shrunk considerably. The Girl Scouts, knowing how important cookie sales are to the girls, moved the sale online. To try and drum up sales, my daughter created an online sales pitch to send to friends and family, and post on our social media along with her personalized link to sell her cookies. We are all completely shocked that she has managed to sell over 500 boxes through this platform. I am so proud of her, and all our girls who have worked to achieve their two profit goals: first, to buy supplies and fund activities for another troop in our area that is run out of a local rescue mission and serves girls experiencing homelessness, and second, to go horseback riding.
• 
  2021-02-12

  Mr. Carl is Always Watching

  An unexpected benefit of quarantining for the past eleven months is my son has become quite the pianist. Since we’re always home, he wanders to the piano often to play his pieces - during recess, lunch, waiting for his sister to be done with whatever she is working on. Honestly, because he has endless practice time he has advanced much quicker than he would have if life were normal. His teacher and he share a dry and quirky sense of humor. My son’s favorite part of the week is when "Mr. Carl" calls for their virtual lesson. Carl noticed early into quarantine that the way the phone sits on the piano makes his picture reflect in painting on the wall. He told my son he is always watching him, and it has become their inside joke. When we put up Christmas decorations, the painting was temporarily replaced. Being a creative and funny guy, Carl photoshopped himself into the decoration and texted it to me to share with my son. Now after every single lesson, Carl texts me a picture of where he is that week. Carl’s positivity, consistency, and continued high expectations have helped my son thrive and I am so thankful for him.
• 
  2021-01-03

  Teachers Not Heard

  Parents of the high school I worked at for twenty-five years and where my husband and many friends are still working purchased this billboard to display the message of discontent for one month about how unhappy they are that their students are being subjected to online schooling. The school district named on the billboard has chosen to keep kids physically out of the district's high schools after the winter break due to the immense surge of Covid cases in Arizona. The billboard is disturbing to see since it implies that online learning and the teachers' efforts instructing the students online are not working, and students are failing. A few parents think that the teachers are not doing enough to teach their children and that their children are better off being physically in a classroom environment regardless of the exposure risks to Covid. The parents who posted the billboard do not realize that the teachers teaching online want to be back in their classrooms as much as students but that they want to be safe from unnecessary and potential exposure to Covid. Many teachers have health issues that could become fatal if they were to contract Covid; many teachers live in blended households where they take care of older family members at high risk of exposure to Covid. Many teachers and school employees have children at home learning online while they are teaching, and those teachers have to juggle being a professional and parent at the same time. All of the school district teachers are doing the best job that they can teaching online, juggling family issues for those with their own families sequestered at home. The teachers remain silent towards the public outbursts, such as the one posted on the billboard. Teachers are trying their best to be professional online and personally during this pandemic and refrain from lashing out at the cruelty of those who appear to be a privileged minority posting discontentment on a public billboard.
• 2021-01-15

  Virtual theater

  This is an article showing what virtual plays you can watch and when/where. I find this article important because live theater is no longer a possibility in the pandemic so we must find solutions. This article explains that there are places you can watch recorded plays from the past and the contributions will be going straight to the performing arts which are financially struggling since March. This is a very helpful article for those who want to watch broadway again while also helping the business. Broadway will be back one day but until then there has to be adjustments made and this will help them get ahead start financially when they open back up.
• 
  2021-02-07

  2021 ASU Graduation?

  This story tells of my experience of hoping for a spring 2021 graduation. It is important because it captures my feelings about it and shows how closures are still happening in 2021 like they did in 2020.
• 
  2021-02-07

  Lost 16th Birthday Gift

  This document recalls my sister's cancelled 16th birthday present and her perspective on the closure of events in 2020-2021. It is important because it captures a unquiet perspective from a teens point of view.
• 
  2021-02-06

  Community Theater Zoom Shows

  With Covid-19 shutting down live performances all over the world, community theaters have been struggling to pay their bills without the income from ticket sales. Because of this, many have turned to Zoom shows and donations so that they can stay afloat until it is safe to hold live performances again. Community theaters are necessary to keep the performing arts alive in small towns and rural areas, but they often receive less grant support than larger theaters and performing arts centers, so they often rely on the support of their patrons. Hopefully virtual performances and fundraisers can keep these theaters alive, so these smaller communities don't lose all access to live theater and performing arts.
• 
  2021-01-29

  Virtual School in the Pandemic

  This drawing shows my mostly normal morning during the pandemic.
• 
  2021-01-29

  A summery of the beginning of Covid- 19

  A lot happened in the first weeks of quarantine. We adjusted to a new way of life at home. We developed countless memes, and binged many hours of Netflix. We were in a dark hour, and so many of us teamed up to pull through. We dusted off the old tambourine to celebrate the healthcare workers on the front lines, risking their lives for us. We started organizations to feed the hungry, and made masks from everything short of the computers we used to stay connected. And connected we were in a way we have never seen before. We had virtual reunions, lessons, and dinner parties. There were ups and downs, and swerves off the beaten path. We marched for George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, and all the other black lives that were being ended every day. We fought to overcome the stigma that surrounded the Chinese, for being dealt the hand of the virus first. There have been so many Instagram posts, Tik Toks, and Tweets. We ran out of toilet paper. We developed vaccines, with others on the way, and we are distributing more and more every day. Although COVID- 19 has taken so many lives, eventually, with hard work we will beat it.
• 
  2020-03-20

  Year of the Switch

  Almost as if Nintendo had made a contingency plan for the pandemic, Animal Crossing: New Horizons came out on the Switch around the same time "quarantine" had started. For a lot of people (including myself) it was their only way of having some semblance of normalcy, of a normal life. I personally began to understand the true value of being able to go fishing with my dad without fear of getting sick, and the value of being able to talk to other people and hang out on a sunny patch of grass without the stifling masks and social distancing. For a while, the game gave us what we needed, and it's honestly been impressive to see how far people have come with it. I know that it was an invaluable tool for me to hang out with loved ones, including my fiancee, in every way except physical. Maybe the same goes for others. This specific game system has been the respite of many people, not necessarily with Animal Crossing, but with other titles as well. I don't think i've ever seen that many games come out for a system within less than a year, and i've been gaming since I was six. I'm asthmatic, so i'm pretty limited in what I can do, so having this teeny little game system has been almost a saving grace for my mental health. Almost. Lol. There's probably something ironic about the fact that you start the game on a desolate island and you make the most of it while still being totally isolated from other islands, and being an figurative island yourself, far away from the reach of others. But you make the most of it.
• 2021-01-20

  COVID-19 Rules and Proceedures

  We all celebrated when school closed. We were so excited for our 2 week "break", yet little did we know that 300 days later we would still not return to school and virtual learning was the new normal. That Friday, it was Friday the 13th of March 2020, I got to sleep over at my friend's house. Me, Scarlett, Ella, and Ava had our last sleepover. The four of us haven't had a sleepover since then. Then on Saturday morning my parents brought me home and told me the news. We were going to quarantine to avoid getting Covid-19. "What?" I asked, not understanding why. Then we went into quarantine for months. Each Saturday my family had house deep-cleaning day, where we would do the work normally done by my cleaning company. We would go on long family walks with my blue-nosed Pitbull Rowdy-Girl. We would wear masks that my mom and I made during the earliest days of quarantine when it was too difficult to find masks. Although I understood why it was important to wear a masks and practice proper social distancing, the disability to see my friends made me so sad. Having no face to face social interaction outside of my family and dog was impossible to me, I wish life was the same as before COVID-19.
• 2021-01-15

  Describing experiences while learning virtually.

  While learning virtually, there were many good things and some difficult. I was able to wake up just before school started and open my computer. I sat in bed in my pajamas and eating pancakes. But there were always days that my computer didn't turn on or it wouldn't connect to the internet. Even teachers had technical difficulties. Over all it was an experience to remember.
• 2021-01-14

  Virtual Learning

  Well, my school decided to teach virtually. I was quite saddened by this news. I was hoping we would be over with this virus, but apparently not. My routine is basically wake up in the morning, take care of my dog, eat breakfast, and go to school on my computer. I enjoy sleeping in a little more and not having to get ready for school, but there are lots of challenges along with virtual learning. I had a very difficult time learning online and it was difficult to do projects at home. I did not have all the supplies so I could not do some projects. Some classes were strenuous and I was exhausted at the end of the day. Also, some other benefits of online learning is not wearing a uniform and not waking up early for school. Overall, I enjoyed some things about virtual learning, but I also struggled with some parts too. I would rather want to go to school so I can make new friends, learn much more, and get to know my teachers.
• 2020

  virtual learning

  This year because of covid most of the students had to do virtual learning. I personally love doing online school, because I'm a lazy person. When you wake up everyday, you only need to open up your computer and login on to zoom. But for regular school I had to wake up at 6 every single day because I live far away from my school, this isn’t fun at all. And another thing l love for online school is that you can eat during classes and on one will see it, at school if you got caught eating during class, you will definitely get in trouble.
• 2021-01-14

  virtual learning

  When it was March, i first heard about this Virtual learning and i was very confused on how that would work. For the first 3 months of quarantine, i was at my dads in Northern California and thats where i started virtual learning and ended 7th grade. Virtual learning in the beginning was actually really fun. but as it progressed, it started to be emotionally and mentally draining. i wasnt taking care of myself and it became too much. so at the beginning of 8th grade, i decided to try and get myself back together. learning online was sometimes a struggle, like when we needed a paper we would have to print it or we would have to write everything down. it was often that i didn't really learn anything. it was a lot harder to learn online then i expected. although it was nice being home everyday, i found myself often in my bed and turning off my camera. yes, there are some negatives to virtual learning but, there are a lot of positives also. i stayed healthy. i didn't get sick which was the best positive that i could get. my grades werent as bad as i thought they were. i just needed to slow down and pay attention.
• 2020-12-25

  Lonely Christmas

  This Christmas was a lonely and strange one. My family usually goes to San Antonio and Austin Texas to see all my mom's family. Though, this year my family and I have to stay home to prevent the spread of Covid-19. It felt weird this year also because on TV everything is virtual and nobody is together. Finally, this year it felt that the 'Christmas Spirit' was less than in years past.
• 
  2020-06-07

  Family Day Activity

  This comes from the #WendeOnline programming that started at the beginning of COVID-19. One facet of #WendeOnline is a monthly family day. They hosted a family day in pre-COVID times so this is an example of a direct translation from in-person to online programming. For June, the Wende collaborated with ESMoA to provide instructions on how to create a board game. The activity was called PLAY X GAMES X ART and encouraged families to design a game of their own based on household objects. They also provide a template in the pdf attachment that is based on historical games. While building a board game aligns more with the mission of ESMoA, it does loosely apply to the mission of the Wende. In my opinion, it is more important that the activity is collaborative and engaging than it directly relating to the subject matter of the museum. This event is different from most of the family day activities in the fact that it does not have an obvious link to history. Despite this, I think it is a unique way to engage with “visitors.” After making the game, families can continue to play it for a long span of time. Even once they’re done with the official family day activity, the experience can last longer. This is a great example of building a community within a household and between museums. This is important to me because this was a museum I went to in pre-COVID times and it is nice to see they are still building community.
• 
  2020-04-02

  COVID-19 isolation spurs Canadians to read, exercise, call loved ones

  This article provides a report on how Canadians across the provinces spent their time at the start of the pandemic. The report includes how often citizens dined out, ordered food, and what types of entertainment they engaged in under lockdown.
• 
  2020-12-08

  Julie's Paint Party

  This photo illustrates how one Canadian business is hosting paint parties for those who are either beginner or experienced painters. These Zoom meetings connect people not only across Canada, but beyond where a community partakes in one of the most popular hobbies during COVID-19.
• 
  2020-10-01

  Interview by Dr. Juilee Decker and Alicia Evans, educator and Fiber Artist

  Alicia Evans describes her busy life before COVID. She was a professor at City University New York as well as a fiber artist and medical actor. She describes how her work changed due to COVID, and how virtual learning has changed the way things are taught. She shares her art and stories about how she is impacting lives through her work and art.
• 
  2020

  COVID Effects on Masconomo Park, Manchester Ma.

  Masconomo Park is a place where family and friends spend most time of their afternoon to interact with the public and have a healthy social environment. During the summer, the park would host bands, ice cream tables, face painting and a movie night for everyone. Many tourists would come to town to experience socially the interactions and activities offered by the town and appreciate the beauty of the harbor. During the Tuesday movie nights, a projection screen would be placed in the center of the park and everyone would bring their chairs, blankets, and snacks for a cozy movie night with family and friends. The Park was one of the most populated point of the town until the outbreak happened. Masconomo has not been the same since the outbreak of COVID-19. As you can see in the photos below of before and after the pandemic, the contrasts are enormous. The silence of Masconomo Park is louder than the fun summer nights the citizens used to have. Now the emptiness has taken over and no one can interact in the public space anymore. The park has been closed for a long period of time and citizens were not allowed to share the field for their own health safety. Once everything goes back to normal as we all hope, we cannot wait to spend engaging times at the park as we used to. For now, we just have to remain social distancing and virtually connecting for mental and physical health of the citizens.
• 
  2020

  Manchester Essex Regional High School Contrasts on COVID-19

  Manchester Essex High School is a place where students have the opportunity to learn by having hands-on interactions with academic resources such as art, music, technology, science labs, debate, sports, and even how to take care of the environment. Manchester was filled with students ready to engage with a shared goal of academic success. Students would meet in the library to do homework, complete research, and chat with friends. The teachers would find time after class to assist students with homework questions and help them improve academically. In particular, I loved to stay after my math and art classes to discuss ideas, strategies for learning, and even creative brainstorming with teachers. They helped me solve math problems and even envision how a piece of art can be “read.” Sadly, the physical human interaction has been switched to virtual. Now students do all of their classes online and are not allowed to practice sports, clubs, after school band and other activities offered by the school, in person. Like myself, I imagine many other students find it hard to connect with teachers and keep up with a good academic year, something we’ve only ever experienced in person. However, the necessity of virtual learning in 2020 and the foreseeable future presents an opportunity to learn to adapt and challenge oneself to thrive in a new environment. All we can do is hope, hope that when COVID is conquered, and history is made, students like the ones at Manchester Essex High School will have become more adaptive, and even more eager to interact in person and engage in intellectual discourse.
• 2020-05-10

  Validity for an online teacher

  The Pandemic brought validity to my new teaching career while challenging my family structure and stretching my financial resources. I am a middle school teacher and I have taught both virtually and in person for over 4 years when the Pandemic hit. I was lucky enough to be teaching virtually with an accredited online school when the Pandemic hit, so my work life was not disrupted like so many other teachers. However, a strange thing happened when millions of teachers were forced to teach online, my career move to online teacher was validated. So often I had heard other teachers scoff when they found out I moved from teaching in a brick and mortar classroom to teaching in a virtual classroom. Often I would get remarks such as, "that is not real teaching" and how "great it must be to have a super easy teaching gig". I would try and tell them that teaching virtually was actually more challenging than teaching in the classroom. How do I get students to actually work when I am not in front of them? How do I ensure that students are learning and not just searching the internet for the answers? How do I meet my students social/emotional needs when we are all virtual? How do I connect with them? How do I create a virtual classroom that is a a safe space when there is no physical space? What happens when my students computers break or their internet gets shut down? Teaching virtually has challenged me in ways in person teaching could not even come close too. It was all too real when the pandemic hit and schools were forced to all operate virtually. Now they were faced with challenges they were not prepared for, at least I worked for a school that invested in remote teaching for over 20 years. Somehow, almost overnight, I was flooded with questions from former colleagues and acquaintances asking how to handle virtual teaching. Suddenly I became a valued resource and my teaching skills as an online educator were validated. No more was I seen as taking the "easy route" and "not actually teaching", as they enjoyed telling me. Now, I was a teacher who was ahead of the game and had valuable insight and information to give them. I have school aged children of my own, so I really felt for their teachers when they were suddenly and unceremoniously shoved into online teaching without a life vest. This pandemic has been a strange experience of both fear and validity. Finally being recognized by my fellow teachers and the state education board as being a valued, hardworking, educated teacher was not what I expected to come out of the pandemic.
• 
  2020-10-06

  Jewish Melbourne: Jewish Care virtual 'news and views' session with residents

  "Not even COVID-19 restrictions can stop our volunteers from brightening the days of our Elders at Gary Smorgon House! Long-time volunteer Errol Rink has adapted his weekly ‘news and views session’ on Zoom, complete with trivia quizzes and lots of jokes. “The reaction from the smiling and laughing elders makes it all worthwhile,” says Errol. Elder Celsia Goldberg is especially thankful for the volunteers “constantly giving their time, showing love, respect and compassion” and for coming up with entertaining arts and crafts, Yiddish sing-a-longs, music and guest speakers for them to enjoy. “They have made the restriction period so much more bearable, even enjoyable, and for that I am so grateful.” We are so lucky to have such a strong network of kind and selfless volunteers helping across all aspects of our work."
• 
  2020-11-22

  Jewish Melbourne: TBI AGM online

  Temple Beth Israel is hosting their 2020 AGM online
• 
  2020

  Jewish Melbourne: TBI Daily Daven

  Sunday through Thursday, Temple Beth Israel hosts a 'virtual daily daven' online at 6.15pm.
• 
  2020-09-18

  Jewish Melbourne: Mt Scopus students celebrate Rosh Hashanah online

  This is a photo album of screenshots of students celebrating Rosh Hashanah together on zoom
• 
  2020-06-09

  Graduating in Pajamas

  This is a screen-recording video of a FaceTime with two of my close friends. The morning of June 9, 2020 was the set date for my school's graduation. However, due to COVID-19, a large in-person gathering with 560+ students and our family members was not possible. Our graduation was moved online so while watching the graduation video in our pajamas at home, my friends and I FaceTimed so we could turn our tassels together. This graduation was obviously not like anything we expected, since under normal circumstances we'd be able to walk across the stage and shake our principal's hand while receiving our diploma. Under normal circumstances our graduating class and teachers and family and friends would be together as a whole, as we move on to the next stage in our lives. This year we had to use technology to try and give us the same feeling of togetherness, which was disappointing but very understandable considering the dire circumstances of the pandemic. We were still able to laugh and smile and try to make the most of the situation, and not lose the excitement in moving onto the next chapter of college.
• 
  2020-11-10

  Life in a Digital World

  For millions of people, the blue and white logo of the digital video meeting service, Zoom, has become a familiar sight. I am sure that many of us, like myself, had to abruptly learn about Zoom in March 2020 when our lives entered a digital phase due to the pandemic. I’m sure that I am also similar to many others when I can now say that (in November 2020) I am more than proficient in my Zoom skills. Everything from school to work to social meetings are now conducted by sending Zoom invitation links. Zoom has become the classroom, the office, and the cafe…..possibly without even changing the room you are sitting in. This year has not been easy but, as I look back over these past months, I have realized that the technological world has become a surprising lifesaver. Technology has allowed people to stay connected to the world without even stepping outside their homes. Phone calls, emails, texts, Zoom meetings….they have all played a part in keeping us close to our family and friends. Even my college graduation in May was conducted over Zoom. We moved our tassels as one graduating department, even as we sat in front of our separate computers in different locations! I have started my first semester at graduate school this fall at a Pittsburgh university. My classes are conducted through Zoom, so I am not actually on campus or living in the city! While I miss in-person social interactions, I am also incredibly grateful that, thanks to digital tools and dedicated professors, I have been able to continue my education despite this year’s difficult circumstances. Interestingly, despite global lockdowns, I have been able to “visit” parts of the world I would not normally be able to, due to institutions’ and organizations’ commitment to providing virtual experiences. From our home, my family and I have watched theatrical performances, concerts, and other events occurring in different geographical areas because of the ability to livestream. We have also been exploring various museums by taking virtual tours and looking through virtual collections. Through technology, I have been able to learn about and experience events and places that I would not have been able to otherwise! Eventually, this pandemic will be over. I hope, however, that institutions and organizations continue to reach out digitally even when it is safe to resume in-person group activities. Digital programs and projects allow people to participate in events and experiences that might have been too costly in travel expenses or time commitments had they only been offered in traditional, in-person formats. Regardless, I am grateful for what digital programming and technology have already given me. This year has been incredibly stressful and filled with anxiety. Sometimes, it has made all the difference to be able to connect with a few people over a Zoom meeting. In the end, the Zoom logo has come to signify many things to me: pandemic, prevalence of digital technology, and, when it comes down to it, the importance of human connectivity and relationships.
• 
  2020-04

  Family facetime

  At the start of lockdown it became clear that my family would not be able to see each other for a while. Most of my family lives in Sydney, some of us live in Melbourne, regional Victoria and Canada. In response, my sister initiated a Coffey Family FaceTime every night at 6:30pm with whoever was available. However, this meant teaching my grandmothers how to use Facebook and how to start a call. More than 8 months later and both my grandmothers still can’t turn their video on without direction and also can’t start Facebook calls. This call kept us together when we felt far away. Celebrating father’s day and birthdays and anniversaries on FaceTime made some moments more memorable and some feel more lonely. Face timing each other was fun until there was a family dinner in Sydney and you couldn’t leave the state. However, there were fun moments, stirring up my parents dogs by yelling “walkies” or “dindins” and then leaving the call, FaceTiming on empty trams and using the weird face effects to confuse my grandmother about who’s camera was whose. The call gave structure to the days spent inside and caused me to talk to my grandmothers and extended family more about the current world events. HIST30060