Dr. David J. Childs, D.D., Ph.D.
Northern Kentucky University
The world has been forever shaped by the global pandemic. As a result, we have had to make major adjustments in how we do things. The pandemic has impacted businesses and organizations and the way they operate, including restaurants, grocery stores, trucking companies, the meat packing industry and even education.
Educators in general (K-12 and at the university level) have been greatly impacted by the pandemic. Teachers now more than ever need resources that will help them navigate the challenges that present themselves as a result of the pandemic. One major challenge has been that teachers have had to shift their curriculum to an online environment, or in many cases they have to teach both online and in person. 
Woman Teaching Online
From: https://apuedge.com/5-tips-to-landing-your-first-online-teaching-job/
“As teachers, students, and families enter an uncertain school year with new routines, both in-person and virtual, PBS LearningMedia offers this special collection of flexible resources to support learning from anywhere. Find videos, self-paced Interactive lessons, printable activities, and more.” Teachers can browse the PBS “distance learning broadcast schedules aligned with PBS LearningMedia resources.” These resources can be found on the page entitled PreK-12 Resources for New School Routines, it offers a number of resources that can help teachers successfully teach online.
One great idea from the PBS Learning Media site is entitled Learn Along Bingo Packets. “These bilingual, weekly Learn Along Bingo packets for elementary teachers…include a range of thematic learning opportunities for children to choose their own learning adventures. Check out these other resources for teaching online from Democracy and Me. One is an article entitled Suddenly Home-Schooling? Here’s Help and another is entitled Incredible Online Museum Resources for Teachers. Both sites contain a numbers of resources and teaching activities for educators who find themselves teaching online.
The pandemic was a time that affected everyone. I was just beginning my path to becoming a teacher, so I was able to see how much it affected teachers around me and understand the struggles they encountered. I think this is a great article to have on hand to reference because the future is always uncertain, so we never know when we may have to teach online again. The resources that are in the article are also helpful because of how much online teaching is used. Instead of snow days or school closures, teachers turn to online assignments.
When the pandemic hit, I was a senior in high school and my teachers did not care about what assignments they gave. No one knew what to do because the pandemic was all new to the whole world practically and they just wanted to make sure we passed. Educators were hit the hardest out of all workers in the U.S because of the fact that they had to make all new assignments adapted to online work. Using the resources that other educators have made to adapt to the pandemic that happened is so useful for the ones that aren’t tech-savvy. The pandemic truly ruined teaching for many educators when it happened but looking online for lessons could’ve easily changed their mindset about school during a pandemic.
I found that these resources have been very helpful. I think that future educators at this time have a very interesting perspective on teaching during a pandemic because we are not experienced what the classroom was like prior to the pandemic. We have also been students during this time learning how to navigate online learning. Even though most classes are in person, the tools and resources that were gathered during the time everything was remote has impacted the style of teaching and the way students learn.
I found this article very helpful. I am reading this “after” the pandemic; yet, I know teachers will still use these resources during NTI days. If there is any reason the students may have off, they can still attend school from home. This is an amazing turn point in education history.
As a future teacher, I know I will have to adapt to many teaching resources that are meant for teaching online. It can be a little overwhelming to quickly learn new resources to teach with when it has to be online. PBS seems like a great sight that offers many online resources for teachers to use. They provide webinars for teachers to watch so they can understand how to use the resources offered. This is great because I think many schools provide online resources for teachers to use, but they may not actually teach them how to use it. These webinars seem to provide very detailed descriptions and directions for teachers who are interested in using it.
The first sentence of this article, “The world has been forever shaped by the global pandemic” really hit home. I truly believe that most of the changes made during the pandemic are changes here to stay, regardless of whether the pandemic is over or not. Students, families, and teachers have all learned an entirely new system of online education, a system that will forever be used in some capacity moving forward. Think about it, students are no longer free from schoolwork on snow days. Districts can easily call snow days a virtual learning day in which teachers post curriculum or hold class online. These types of changes are here to stay, so I believe it is important that students, families, and teachers are aware of the educational resources available to them online. This article list just a few of many “flexible resources to support learning from anywhere”. If you think about that, it’s amazing. We can learn from anywhere! I specifically love the suggestion from this article to explore the PBS Learning Media site. This is a sight that I have not heard of but will be exploring soon. I think that these online resources are of value to us even when the pandemic is concluding. The opportunity to access endless “thematic learning opportunities for children to choose their own learning adventures” personalizes learning and caters to students’ specific needs which may not always be met in the classrooms.
I chose this article because I have noticed how much students and teachers are using technology in the classroom. Even if students are in the classroom for the day, they are still using a tremendous amount of technology. The pandemic has truly changed the way the classroom operates. It does make me a little nervous going into teaching, with little knowledge on resources available. I know how to operate zoom and how to navigate through websites, but it’s knowing the resources available. Another difficult thing is if some students are online, and some students are in person. This could lead to a lot of materials needed in various places.
I liked this article because the resources provided for teachers can be greatly used in and outside the classroom. The pandemic has greatly changed education and how children learn. Many students are behind academically due to the pandemic and teachers are really trying to catch students up. I like the “PreK-12 Resources for New School Routines” where a teacher can pick their grade level and choose videos based on the subject. For example, a second-grade teacher might want to teach how water moves, and they can easily find a video about water in the resource.
I like that this article linked some resources for teachers currently employed during our pandemic. Im going to be a teacher in a few years after I graduate, and even now it is still scary to think of what would happen to teach if another surge from Covid 19 happened again. Im glad there are some resources out there now for educators to combat the complications that can arise from teaching in a pandemic!
The pandemic seriously affected teachers and students. It was harder for teachers to teach and more difficult for students to learn. Since I am going to be a teacher in a few years there is a chance that the pandemic will still be going on. Hopefully not, but there is a chance, this article gave me some valid resources.