Quaranteaching: Reconciling Change in Education during the Age of COVID-19

In this episode, I speak with friends and former colleagues of mine Shannon, Mina, and Graham about suddenly having to leave our teaching contexts abroad and finding ourselves back in the United States. The four of us spent the last year and a half as English Language Fellows in Uzbekistan through the US State Department's English Language Fellow Program. Throughout the episode, Shannon, Mina, Graham, and I recount our abrupt departures, contemplate our current situations, and provide our predictions for the future of the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) industry for instructors such as us.

Kate is a middle school teacher and university instructor in New Jersey. In this episode, Kate discusses how the transition to online learning has transpired for her, her colleagues, and her students. Specifically, Kate details how the difficulties of the transition have manifested differently for different people in her teaching context. Throughout the episode, Kate also provides a number of practical solutions involving educational technology and adapted approaches to fit the new online teaching context.

Managing the variety of responsibilities that come with being a graduate student can be very stressful. So, how are graduate students managing this sudden transition to online learning during the pandemic? In this episode, we talk to a graduate student named Colin about his struggles and successes during this sudden transition to online learning. We discuss how his courses have been affected by the sudden transition to online learning, how it's affected his motivation and routine, and how this current period might affect the future of online learning.