This was the first week of remote classes. I have a lot of schoolwork, but since I’m home, it feels like I should be on vacation. This whole thing is just… odd. As I mentioned last week, I haven’t done homework at home since ninth grade. Before Monday, it had been years since I made myself breakfast in the kitchen and then went off to school.
When I go upstairs for an online class, I tell my mom I’m “going to college.” My dog follows me up the stairs, and we joke that she is also going to college. (She’s not a big fan of Zoom; she prefers to sleep on my bed.) My mom is like, “have fun at college!” and, later, “how was college?” It’s amusing. It’s nice to see humor in this otherwise unfunny situation.
Every class is approaching this differently, but here’s how my professors are handling it.
Portuguese: Our class only has about ten people, and it’s largely discussion-based, so pre-recorded lectures would not be ideal. We meet on Zoom at our usual time (11:20 EDT), four days a week. This is unfortunate for anyone on the west coast, but thankfully, no one in the class is more than three hours behind.
Anthropology: We complete readings and watch mini pre-recorded lectures, then meet in small groups, based on time zones, once a week. On Fridays, if we can, we tune into a Zoom discussion session. Those who are on the other side of the world can write a short reading response instead.
Music theory: My professor holds lectures at the normal time (9:55 EDT) for those who can tune in. The lectures are recorded for those who can’t, and we complete worksheets for homework. This class is the most similar to how it was on campus. And my one-on-one guitar lessons continue via Zoom!
Writing / women’s and gender studies: Given the discussion-based nature of our class and our geographic diversity, my professor is not holding any Zoom meetings. Instead, we read articles on our own and complete weekly projects, which we post to a private Facebook group. There we can see each other’s work and comment.
This was just week one, so we’re all ironing out the details. I’m grateful to be in eastern time, and to live in the suburbs where I have space to walk and run.