Learning from home

Distance learning can prove a challenge to many - students, staff and parents alike. We asked two of our students and a teacher to tell us how they are finding working online from home.

Arkie Klotz (Year 7)

I have found it interesting learning and understanding how I work without a teacher. I only sometimes find myself lagging off, but it became easier to control after a few days. I know what I’m meant to be doing during class, thanks to the organised timetable that is on Compass. It’s definitely a hard way to learn, but during the next few weeks it will get easier for sure.

The difficulties of online learning are that I find myself getting distracted by my surroundings, eg fidgeting with things on my desk, chatting with friends, etc… This is something that is certainly annoying about online learning but it can be prevented. School is very different online, meaning, if you don’t know something it’s harder to ask for help from the teacher. A difficulty I always come across is that zooming can be a bit stressful; moving from zoom to zoom with new meeting IDs and passwords can sometimes mean I might be late for a class.

As for ongoing skills, I have already learnt so many more computer hacks just from zooms and being on Compass most of the time. The skills that everyone will learn during this will definitely help in the future. My favourite skill that I have learnt is multitasking, so I can now be on a zoom while listening and writing down notes at the same time.

Angelo von Möller (Year 10)

I’ve really been enjoying learning from home! Being able to do all my music lessons and continue ensembles online has been lots of fun. I’m also looking forward to getting back to Melbourne Youth Orchestra via zoom next week!

I really love how we can have our lessons recorded; this allowed me to do a one-day course which was based in the UK and in a different time zone. Having the lesson recorded also allowed me to catch up on my class later. The other benefit to having recorded lessons is that they allow me to re-watch them and learn the concepts at my own pace, which gives me more opportunity to focus.

The range of online opportunities is quite interesting to look through, such as galleries, nature parks, etc because it’s hard to fit those things in, and now I can look at them in my own time.

Kate Ellis, teacher of Theatre & Drama

Hello everyone, from a street in North Melbourne where I now work during this time of remote learning.  You can see here, my sun-drenched house... the dining table working as my ‘mostly’ desk and the bench top where my new puppy Indiana sleeps at my feet... my also ‘sometimes’ desk (got to mix up that sitting all day thing!). It is a beautiful place to work as you can see, with lots of windows to cast an eye out of, and lots of natural light... which became the inspiration recently for a task with my Year 12s.

The Year 12 Theatre group is currently working on what's called a Director’s Notebook. Here they have to take into consideration how they might light a scene. Students were asked to take photos of light in their home, screen share and talk to how that lighting state could work for their chosen plays. See Liv's dappled light photo as a disco light of sorts for a party scene, or the triangles of light, good for symbolically reflecting a play with a love triangle!

You can also see how we are trying to physicalise Drama, even though we are on zoom. One lesson was prefaced with the opening to The Brady Bunch so we could appreciate what gallery view might offer us. Students then acted as directors to create gallery tableaus. See here a heart and someone who is 'boxed in'.

Other Drama classes are working physically too, with our Year 7 group having to take their laptops outside to experiment with what we call 'enviro marks' in Acting for the Camera (our current unit of work).

In between classes I take Indi for walks into the cool autumn air. We found you a leaf as an offering to say we/I miss you all!