Zoom Classes with Learning Challenges
When schools shut down last Spring, contemplating the future of education was not my top priority. However, as the pandemic raged on, I began to wonder, along with the rest of America, what class would look like in this new dystopian reality. Zoom, a once-obscure, now household name synonymous with learning during COVID-19, was the answer. While the app has been a blessing in keeping classrooms somewhat connected, it has also shone a light on one of the holes in American public education.
While it’s no replacement for in-person classes, Zoom has provided a consistency to me that has made adjusting to this new world a little bit easier, and despite missing the hustle and bustle of campus, I enjoy the process of attending my class with the press of a button. Since surfacing out of a panicked depression brought on by the start of the pandemic, I have been able to maintain my grades with little added difficulty, and I have done what I can to create somewhat of a community for myself in my classes, albeit through a screen.
If the pandemic has taught us as Americans anything, though, it’s that the pre-existing divides between people in our country run deep and wide. As lockdowns, and thus online classrooms, rage on, one disparity has become increasingly obvious, and its long-term effects increasingly difficult to ignore: the education gap between neurotypical students and those with learning challenges.
This gap in our country’s public education system is something that has existed for a long time. The way in which many states build their school systems is not conducive to the learning styles and behaviors of students who have disabilities or other obstacles to their learning. As a result, students with ADD/ADHD, dyslexia, autism, dysgraphia, and other learning challenges often receive a much lower quality of education than their peers. The pandemic just made things worse, exacerbating this divide and allowing those who are neurodivergent to fall even farther behind.
With online learning, I have seen many of the people closest to me struggle to maintain the engagement that was afforded to them through in-person class models. As might be expected, this experience is not unique to my family and friends – it’s one that is shared by many people around the country. According to Emily Ungar’s article “4 Reasons Why My ADHD Brain Rejects Zoom” on ADDitude (a web magazine dedicated to insights regarding ADD and ADHD), the distractions provided by coworkers’ virtual backgrounds, pets popping up onscreen, novel background noise from kids playing in someone’s living room, et cetera, make paying attention during a meeting nightmarishly difficult.
Lynn Esmail on the same website, and Katy Reckdahl on Edutopia, echo these insights. They also point out the intense difficulties faced by students used to in-person classrooms. Things as seemingly innocuous as hand movements on the Zoom camera can distract ADHD students to the point that they start getting off track. Without being in person, it’s difficult for teachers to tell whether these students are still following the lesson, or if they’ve started to fall behind – making it difficult for students to receive proper and prompt attention.
Whether you struggle with learning challenges or not, almost all of us are finding it difficult to focus in even our most interesting classes. Maintaining a strict schedule can be crucial to not only fostering a sense of normalcy but also helping with remembering chores and tasks when there are a lot of things on our minds. Not only that, but taking time to give your brain a break can be important in preventing Zoom fatigue. Taking regular breaks to exercise and spend time away from the screen can dramatically improve education outcomes.
Take care in this final push out of the pandemic, and stay safe! For those who would like to check up on my sources and educate themselves further, the links are posted below.
Links for Article Information:
https://www.additudemag.com/zoom-and-the-adhd-brain/
https://www.additudemag.com/online-learning-advice-adhd-students/
https://www.edutopia.org/article/5-ways-support-kids-adhd-during-remote-learning
https://ldaamerica.org/disabilities/adhd/
https://www.ldao.ca/introduction-to-ldsadhd/what-is-adhd/
https://ldaamerica.org/types-of-learning-disabilities/
Link for Art:
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