Glitching, freezing, and crashing are all terms that we are used to hearing. Technology is often, as I’ve mentioned before, the culprit of many errors where remote learning is involved.
Now, take these technological issues that we experience here in Canada and attempt to connect smoothly across the globe. Smoothly is not an adjective that I would use. Luckily, with challenges come chances for adaptation and improvement! I have been learning many things with this remote environment and this blog post is all about sharing some of my strategies to cope with internet issues in case you experience this as well. Disclaimer: I mostly focus on remote teaching strategies.
Internet Issues On Your End?
1. Use an ethernet cable.
Okay, I’m going to be honest. Do I own an ethernet cable? No. Did I even know what it was prior to this internship? Also no. However, many people find ethernet cable connections beneficial to their internet strength. Even if you don’t have one there are other strategies you can try.
2. Ask the question!
If you live with other people and teaching remotely (like me), ask your roommates to avoid using the internet during your lesson time. Fortunately for my lessons, I’m teaching at 6:30 am. No one else is awake. This is unusual for many people, so any time that other people using your router can disconnect from it will make the experience of remote learning much easier.
3. If the screen constantly glitches, try disconnecting and restarting the call.
Personally, I don’t like hanging up the call. It makes me feel bad to end the call abruptly. So, I wait a couple minutes until restarting the zoom. It is always a good idea to wait a minute or two in case the internet catches up. Although, you don’t want to wait too long and waste more time on a frozen screen when restarting the call would have fixed the problem. That time could’ve been spent interacting with amazing people instead! So, try hanging up and restarting it.
Ash Ecclestone - Western Heads East 