Global online time has already become an increasing part of our lives, especially for us, ESL Teachers
Most of us have integrated Social Media, News Websites, Applications, Tv, etc. into our daily routines. Sometimes we are not even aware of the time and the way we use them.
Like anything in life, the Online World brings both benefits and disadvantages.
The way we use it clearly makes the difference.
Two important factors that need to be taken into consideration are the Time we spend online and What exactly we do online (our purpose).
How much time do we actually spend Online?
The latest Digital 2019 report, from Hootsuite and We Are Social, shows we’re spending on average 6 hours and 42 minutes online each day. Half of that is spent on mobile devices.
Research shows that in 2020, the Average daily time we spend online has almost doubled and is now 6 hours and 59 minutes, which includes phone, TV, and other forms of digital media. (due to the Covid-19 pandemic). This is almost one-quarter of our life.
Keep in mind that this is the average number. Most of us are within this average time, a few of us are under it and some of us are over it, (meaning more than 8 hours/day spent online).
It is true, due to the Covid-19 pandemic we can justify that our work has moved online so this dramatic increase is just a natural consequence.
What exactly do we do online?
We have already seen that we spend a greater part of our lives online.
Let’s just make sure that:
*WE USE the internet and not the other way around,
*Internet doesn’t/manipulate us,
*We don’t get distracted from our purpose,
*We don’t go down the rabbit hole
ESL teacher working life doesn’t make an exception and has increased its online usage.
More and more ESL Teachers are using online platforms for doing theirr job, educating, inspiring, and connecting with their students. Six hours per day (thirty hours per week) is the average online time spent by an ESL Teacher for Teaching, for helping our learners grow and develop.
In these confusing and scary times, ESL Teachers are doing their best to help students adapt to a totally new learning environment, to keep them engaged in the learning process, motivate and encourage them along this journey.
ESL Teachers are constantly transforming the online software platforms (Zoom, Microsoft teams, Google classroom, etc.) into the most possibly welcomed virtual classrooms.
What is the purpose, We, ESL Teachers go online for?
As Teaching implies Learning, we, Teachers spend a great deal of our time researching and learning online. This counts as using the internet as a tool to grow ourselves personally and professionally.
Online Teaching has been something completely new for most of us. In February 2020 when the Covid-19 Pandemic stroke, we needed to learn and adapt quickly, to get the proper equipment and software. Another proof that we, Teachers can always re-invent ourselves, keep up with technology, and adapt our teaching to any kind of reality, that nothing prevents us from serving our Students’ growth.
We saw that people are spending a greater part of their time online, especially on Social Media. This includes children and teenagers who happen to be a high percentage of ESL Young Learners.
Noticing the trend, some ESL teachers have proactively started using Social media as a tool to create and share educational content for ESL learners.
Driven by the desire to figure out the new online teaching reality and rise above the challenge ESL Teachers have started using social media more as a common platform of Profesional Growth and moral support. They have shared their struggles and their know-how, they asked for help from and they offered help to their peers. Teachers stay and grow together. They always find a way to spread knowledge and wisdom.
One of the benefits of social media is that it brought us, teachers together, (no matter our location) working on a common cause – to stay mentally and physically sane in challenging times, to better ourselves, and to become the best teachers our students need.
In a nutshell:
We, ESL teachers use our online time to:
*Help our Students GROW
*GROW Ourselves (research, study, learning)
*Help our Community GROW
We spend our time online both as Content Consumers and as Content Creators. As ESL Teachers we are also Content Facilitators.
A true educator acts as a facilitator of learning
We support our students to make the best use of the available online educational content.
We guide and assist our students in learning for themselves, offer support and advice when needed.
We are by our students’ side ready to provide the necessary scaffolding and teaching of skills whenever necessary.
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