I observed a one-hour program English studies lesson in a BigBlueButton classroom. The program is a short term language and culture program through TRU. The class I will be observing is made up of 23 students, they are mixed ages from 13-18, from multiple countries. Most of the students are located in Delta, BC. It is clear that is a mixed group of language learners, some of the students being somewhere close to a high beginner/low intermediate, while others are at an advanced level as they have been in Vancouver for over 3 years.
In this class, the instructor focused on homonym instruction. The instructor indicated to the students that they had taken specifically chosen words from their work they have submitted thus far. The instructor rounded out the word selection with the most common errors for Canadians as well. The instructor noted that the students had very few errors in her polling, she was wondering if some of the students were taking too long to decide and looking up the answers.
The online class environment brings a lot of new challenges to classroom management. It is difficult to know for certain what students are doing, hearing, or seeing. The instructor in this observation is experienced and has a toolbox of classroom management strategies. Even with her preparation to fall back on, it is apparent that adapting to this environment brings a novelty to the instruction process. It will be interesting to follow this class further to see how the instructor manages to adapt.