Reflection on Online Teaching Webinar

     On December 22nd I got the chance to participate in a webinar on teaching young learners online. The presentation was conducted by Ms Justyna Wasek, who works in an international pre-school "Baśniowy Dom." She showcased not only how teaching young students works online, but also various ideas and principles, which her pre-school preaches.

    One of my favorite aspects of the webinar was the presentation of the pre-school and how things run there. There was a lot of emphasis on building strong relationships with not only the students, but also their parents. This is something that I always focus on, because it's part of my beliefs as far as teaching goes. Building respect, strong relationships, and a comfortable atmosphere is an incredibly important starting point to learning. A quote that I appreciated was "connection before correction." Sometimes it is more important to focus on how you're reaching the learner rather than what you are trying to tell them. If there is no understanding or respects between the learner and teacher, the message could easily be lost, which is why relationships are so important. The motto of the pre-school presented was "it is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men," which really stuck with me. Teaching is an incredibly important job, because you are molding young people, who are still learning about the world. Once we grow up, we are more set in our ways and sure of who we are as people, but in school we are still figuring ourselves out. This is why it's so important for teachers to be good role models, who lead by example and share not only knowledge, but also life experience. Some other aspects of the webinar that I enjoyed were the topics of positive discipline and importance of routine. I could tell that the pre-school had their ideology, which puts the students, their comfort, and the relationship with them, at the forefront, which lines up with my own personal ideology as a teacher. It was great to hear a like-minded individual with experience share their tips and tricks - there was a lot I could learn from Ms Wasek.

   The other aspects of the webinar I wanted to discuss was the topic of working with kids online. The presenter shared a lot of examples of difficulties, such as stress for teachers inexperienced with technology, hardships in grabbing the attention of the children, or kids losing focus easily and laughing. While I was aware of most of these difficulties, there were two that I never thought of, which were issues with parents, as well as muting. Parents can sometimes be distracting to the lesson, either because of their noisiness or them wanting to get too involved. Muting can also be an issue, because while the teacher can mute misbehaving kids, it is the child that has to later unmute themselves, which can be problematic, especially with very young kids. These two aspects were something I never heard discussed, which is why I appreciated them a lot - especially the muting issue, because it's very practical advice. Another tip that was shared related to silence, which should not happen during online classes with kids. Once it becomes quiet, kids will get distracted and start doing thing on their own, which is when it becomes difficult to get their attention back. This was another tip that I really appreciated, but this also brings me to my one critique of the webinar - there were not a lot of solutions or practical advice related to teaching online. I felt like most of the time was spent discussing the issues, but not as much on how to actually deal with them. I felt like that could've been one area that could've been expanded had there been more time during the lesson. I still did appreciate the tips that were given and the in-depth overview of the situation with teaching young kids online.

    In general, I appreciated having another opportunity to listen to a professional share their knowledge and experience regarding teaching young kids. These types of meetings are always the most valuable, because there is a sense of practicality to them. There is a lot of relation to the real world, as well as examples set in actual classrooms. The wisdom Ms Wasek shared was very valuable and I cannot wait for more webinars in the new year.