We’ll get straight to the point: Online Study is the new reality in a post-COVID world. Now, with the utmost honesty from each DKL teacher’s experience, we will share our pains from adapting to Online Study platforms, as well as the surprisingly great values.
Interview 1
DKL Editor: D | Teacher Danielle: L
D: What was your first painful experience with online study?
L: We were all forced to switch to teaching online after February, 2020; after the first COVID outburst. The Shanghai office was kept closed until June, 2020.
I definitely felt a punch to my heart at the idea that I wouldn’t see my students again.
So, when the studio notified us that we could continue teaching through an online classroom, I jumped on it. It was no pain at the beginning. I was so happy to get to see my students at all.
D: Does that mean you are a big fan of online study?
L: Yes, you can say that. However, I am a big fan of online study not because it is a perfect method. But because I believe it’s a relatively good solution with necessary compromises.
D: Why do you call them “necessary compromises”?
L: Firstly, we all became more resourceful in collaboration after the onset of COVID-19.. Many things that we thought must be done in person turned out to be doable remotely. Now, my DKL students’ families are excited about less time on road, more time to focus on the actual work, and less stress caused by driving in traffic while trying to keep many appointments. About 70% of my students stayed with Online Study even after June 2020, when the government re-opened schools physically.
I call online study a “compromise,” because I do miss in-person interaction with students: how we laughed together while holding hands. Now with the online classroom, we are inventing all kinds of fun things together: sometimes we collaborate to visualize a story by drawing on a digital whiteboard; I can record a student’s speech during the session, and we run a review immediately; I can call for a consult session with another DKL teacher, no matter where he/she is.
From my experience in the past 2 years, the virtual world of the online classroom may have compromised the sense of intimacy; but it has made our teaching sessions more collaborative, not less so.
D: What is your biggest concern about online study?
L: Eye fatigue. I have advised each of my students to wear anti-UV glasses when facing a computer screen, and to always try to write homework on a sheet of paper, not on a screen. For myself, I am very sporty, so I do as many outdoor activities as I can, every day.
Interview 2
DKL Editor: D | Teacher Lawrence: S
D: What was your first painful experience with online study?
S: I had a learning curve with the online classroom. My student would appear as a small window in my screen, but not as the warm, vibrant kid that would jump in the classroom and grab my arm to show me their homework. I did not like interacting with my students through a screen, especially while I was often concerned about when to push which button to make the teaching activities right.
D: Does that mean you are against online study?
S: At the beginning, yes. However, my opinion changed after a couple of months.
D: Can you tell me more?
L: To start with, both the student and I could have much more complete notes for each class session. The digital whiteboard made us write more, and it saves the full notes with one click. Now, the student can spend more time on in-depth discussion with me because the classroom is saving all notes for her/him digitally. This benefit was a total surprise.
Now, the student and I can be reading, playing video clips, recording, and writing from the same computer window. It has become a lot easier for a student to focus, and the class pace is usually smooth and fast.
D: What is your biggest concern about online study?
S: Eye fatigue. During break time, I push my student to walk out of the room, look at green trees and jump around a little. For myself, I try to ride a bike with my dog every day, and relax my eyes for as much as I can.
Interview 3
DKL Editor: D | Teacher Arianne: W
D: What was your first painful experience with online study?
W: To be honest, online teaching has been a bliss for me. The level of focus that I’ve had from my students, and the smoothness in the learning experience. I am a theatre person, and I used to be a bit anti-internet. The whole idea of a digital world used to scare me.
Now I think the online teaching platforms, CLASSIN for China, ZOOM for the US and UK, have converted me into a fan.
D: Does that mean you are a supporter of online study now?
W: Yes! I’ve been teaching from DKL online classrooms for two years now. I have worked with elite students; I have boosted one student’s test percentile to 91% amongst the North American student sample; and I was able to coach a student on public speech, 100% online, for more than one year. She is at the national final round, for a major speech contest in Beijing now.
My students are learning literature, non-fiction and poems with me, we have such deep intellectual connections. Every day, I feel so blessed to connect with them through an online classroom.
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