I have been a teacher for almost 30 years, and I have never faced a disruptive effect brought to the classroom as much as Covid from 2020. There has been so much debate, vitriolic and adjustment for students, teachers and even concerned parents. Nothing in the teaching playbook has prepared me to face Covid.
Thus, as the world starts to get ready that Covid takes the status of an endemic, rather than a pandemic, I have 10 classroom exercises for all teachers to use as possible discussion.
Please note that some questions are centred around artificial intelligence (AI), inequality and sustainability issues too. Lastly, I have created these questions for the benefit of teachers.
Here they are:
Question 1:
Can you provide to ways in which you can design your own custom-made reusable cloth mask to show your individuality?
Question 2:
How can you change the background of your zoom profile so that the zoom-instructor knows that you have prepared for your subject?
Question 3:
There is a zoom class in session. Without any warning, the online class is rudely disrupted by a hacker – aka “zoom-bombing”.
How should you react so that intruder is not given the pleasure that he has succeeded in his devious plans?
Question 4:
Ask the class to choose a difficult topic. Encourage them to brainstorm how they may create a short TikTok recording to highlight the important concepts of this topic.
Conduct a social experiment and ask them if they still find the topic challenging after this TikTok recording.
Question 5:
Create a scenario in which Instagram has requested that any extra uploaded image beyond 50 must be charged a fee. Then ask your class which are the images that they will still retain and why.
PS: For the purpose of clarity, you can ask them to use their current Instagram collection as an example.
Question 6:
Gather your class in different groups and ask them to discuss which are the jobs will be difficult for humans to be replaced by AI and provide some reasons.
PS: As a background reference, many HR experts predicted the rise of AI in the workplace even before the detection of Covid before 2020.
Question 7:
Before you conduct this classroom exercise, use Google to get relevant and updated statistics about global inequality. With this information, ask the class to provide suggestions about how this inequality can be minimised.
PS: It is important that you are not too demanding in your expectations of their answers as they do not have readily access to the solutions.
Question 8:
Explain to your class about meaning of the term “sustainability”. Then proceed to ask them if they are willing to recycle and waste less in order to have a better future world.
PS: This question may not hit home to them till you prod them further about how they feel if they do not upgrade to the latest mobile device in order to lessen digital waste.
Question 9:
Ask them how they perceive the concept of “the simple life” without the stress of wanting more.
Question 10:
This last question may be the most profound of all. Do they feel that they are slaves to technology and that their privacy will never be of their own?