Online experiments (Or, does that meeting really have to last an hour?)
The invention of the printing press means that people no longer have to sing you the news. (Image by Asimina Nteliou)
In the wake of the coronavirus, many organizations are moving their services online. My music school is now offering online lessons only, universities and grade schools are pivoting to online classes, and churches and cultural institutions are streaming (or live-streaming) their events.
Some of these organizations are replicating the way classes and events would be held in the physical world, which means that the online version suffers by comparison. There is no substitute for the energy that comes from gathering human beings in the same space. However, we have a unique opportunity to create an online experience that is useful and valuable at a level that would be impractical or even impossible in the physical world.
For example, the typical piano lesson is thirty minutes, once a week. Longer than thirty minutes, and you’ve got a seriously fatigued student; less than thirty minutes wouldn’t be worth the twenty-minute round trip the family must travel to get there and might not allow the teacher to go over enough new material to keep the student busy until the next lesson.
However, an online lesson offers much more flexibility. The teacher can break it down into three ten-minute appointments, spaced throughout the week. This helps to keep the momentum going, increasing the total amount of practice (and therefore, progress) and introducing the student to new material in bite-sized chunks instead of all at once. Since no travel is required, it’s logistically manageable, especially when people are used to teleconferencing.
This approach can also be used by religious organizations. Instead of (or in addition to) a worship service for two hours once a week, a church could offer short devotional programs on a daily basis each morning and evening. These could be live-streamed (that is, one-way communication), but it would be even better to offer breakout groups or a discussion board for the members of a congregation to connect with each other to discuss a homily or pray together. Under normal circumstances, a fifteen-minute church service at 7:45 AM on a Monday morning would be absurd. These aren’t normal circumstances.
Too many kids are being asked to attend teleconferences to replace each class they have in school. But learning doesn’t have to take place in front of a screen, directed by a teacher. Students can be invited to do things like…read books! Make drawings! Write essays! Solve math problems! None of those things require sitting and listening.
Now is not the time for complex assignments that require a lot of “in person” explanation and new information. Instead, this is a great opportunity for students to strengthen and build on existing skills and knowledge.
At the Little Middle School, we are doing two 15-minute check-ins each day, one at 10 AM and the other at 2 PM. Students share their struggles and successes at the morning meeting, and in the afternoon meeting we share our best moments and take a moment to praise each other. This frees the kids and teachers up to be productive, and even allows our teachers to have the time and energy to meet one-on-one with students as necessary.
The Internet makes life better and more interesting. One team I’m on draws people from three time zones and four countries — and there are only six of us. To be able to connect and collaborate with people from all over the world is so magical. However, the best use of these tools is still evolving. To really make the most of them, we ought to question whether the way it has always been done is still the best way and consider what else could be possible. In this time when everything is a giant experiment, let’s not get locked into a pattern of making the online world just a sadder, more boring version of the real world. We can innovate and challenge the status quo, creating something new that enhances life for everyone, now and in the long-term.