On Screen-Teaching Remotely

Last time on "Trekkie History Teacher"...
When the pandemic broke out, I did not think I was going to be out of my classroom for months. I thought a few weeks at most and then we would return to some semblance of normal. I was being overly optimistic. I instead found myself creating new work for my students, attending countless meetings, and setting up my at home virtual classroom on the fly. I felt like Sisko and the DS9 crew when they had to abandon the station. 

When we left school in March, I left the Batman coffee mug I am known for having behind on my desk as a symbol that we would return to class soon. Like Captain Sisko's baseball that he left behind on his desk when he left DS9, the mug has taken on new meaning. It sits on my classroom desk as a silent, persistent symbol of defiant hope. Teachers will not be defeated by this virus. Schools will reopen and we will all stand together again to learn from each other and grow as people.

On a semi-related and more upbeat note- teaching via computer is weird! Remote teaching makes me think of what it must be like to live on a starship or a space station, far away from an inhabited planet. I find myself quietly saying "Put them on screen" when I am setting up a meeting with parents or my students. It also is fascinating to me all the ways cameras/video conferencing tech can "direct" a live stream chat. If someone is talking, the camera cuts to them, if someone wants a different background, boom, there it is. Video conferencing feels very Trek. I sometimes find myself laughing and thinking of Nelix's first appearance on Voyager whenever I see someone clearing things away from their camera or wondering if Picard or Sisko ever took a call from Starfleet in their pajama bottoms while wearing a uniform top. I imagine Kira would have a background with lots of cool Bajoran stuff and Jadzia Dax would have fun animated backgrounds. Would Spock even go on camera if there was no logical reason to do so? 

I want to wish you the reader well. I don't know what your situation is but I do hope that at least once a day you take some quite time for yourself. Self-care is critically important and staying mentally grounded is key to making it through all of this. That having been said, it is sometimes fun to pretend you are on a starship, warping through the stars ready to encounter strange new worlds. Think of your mask as part of your away team gear! 

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