Week 3: Online Education Career

In response to the COVID 19 pandemic, Manitoba Education had to be creative. Having large amounts of students together in a classroom was just not safe anymore. Many parents were worried about sending their children to school, out of fear that their child’s exposure risk would be too high. Many individuals remained at home for an isolation period if experiencing some common cold symptoms. All of these students that were at home missing class needed a way to keep up with their education. Teachers attempted to post as much material as they could online to support the learners at home, but that became quite overwhelming. Teaching students both online and in-person unfairly burdens teachers, and it is also unfair to each student, as the quality of education diminishes when teachers are overwhelmed. A need for online educators grew as more and more students were asked to stay home for the safety of all Manitobans. To meet the needs of students, Manitoba’s Remote Learning Centre was established. This would serve as a virtual school for those students who were unable to attend a physical school. Specific teachers were hired for online teaching responsibilities, and virtual classes and cohorts were put together. This program is ongoing and expanding each day. 

 As a young educator, I wonder how the Remote Learning Centre will influence my future employment. This program appears to have created many job opportunities that did not exist prior to COVID. The Remote Learning Centre is hiring new teachers, just as if a new division was created that needed immediate staffing. There is a large need for tech savvy teachers, which is quite exciting for students in the Internet for Educators course. We are perfect candidates to fill this role, so perhaps this year will be a little less stressful for new graduates finding jobs, provided that they are equipped with adequate tech skills. Additionally, the number of teachers employed in the physical schools appears to be similar to in the past. If anything, more job openings are occurring in the physical schools, as educators become overwhelmed and decide to take time off. Or some long-time educators that were pondering the idea of retirement have decided that a pandemic would be a good time to pull the plug and retire. This seems to be an ideal year to be a new graduate teacher. 

 

The questions running through my mind, however, are: Is this new opportunity something that I would be looking forward to? And would I want to educate students through an online platform? Personally, I do not believe that online education is as rich as an in-person experience. I took university classes through Zoom over the past year, and to be completely honest, they were much less engaging than being in a classroom. I enjoyed the benefits of being able to complete the courses from home, being able to isolate while still in school, and other COVID specific benefits, but overall, I did not learn as much. The novelty of learning through my laptop has already worn off, and I am ready to see actual faces again. So if this year I am faced with the choice of two job offers; one through a remote learning platform and one in person, what would I do? Even with considerable tech skills, and the ability to teach well online, without a doubt I would still choose the in-person teaching. It is what I set out to do when I applied for the education program, it is how I envision my career, and my goals have not changed throughout this pandemic. Additionally, it would be difficult for me to promote learning through a platform that has been less successful in teaching me. Perhaps some of my peers are interested in online teaching, which is great, and I would encourage it. Take whatever job interests you the most. It is important to not only do what you are skilled at, but also what makes you happy.