Distance Learning

A crash course in distance learning

I recorded this message on lockdown. I can't go anywhere due to the coronavirus pandemic and my multiple sclerosis condition. I'm in my house with my family, trying to educate my kids and keep their development on track. We're taking a crash course in distance learning, e-learning, online education, or whatever it's called, sooner than any of us thought.

LOCKED DOWN in California. Using my wheelchair to get around the neighborhood. Spoke to the teacher in a Zoom conference. Distance learning, ready or not. In the virtual classroom. Online learning resources from the library. Immersed in the distance learning environment overnight. I may be related to teachers. Spanish lessons.

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT

JOHN HOPPIN: This is the What's The Matter With Me? podcast. My name is John. I'm a father, small business owner, husband, radio DJ podcaster, and I have MS and I made this podcast to share what I'm going through.

LOCKED DOWN in California

All right, it's the What's The Matter With Me? podcast. It's still the What's The Matter With Me? Podcast, despite all that's going on. I'm locked down in California. I can't go anywhere because I'm on all these medication. I check all the boxes, even though I'm pretty healthy, but I'm not allowed to really go anywhere or see anyone.

Using my wheelchair to get around the neighborhood

The farthest I get is my kids, I get to go on the morning walk. I've been using my wheelchair on the morning walk to get around my neighborhood. It's cool. That's a cool thing. But it's a post-apocalyptic scene. The sheriff's deputies are riding side-by-side on a couple motor scooters. They're not even really motorcycles. Anyway, it's just, they're there. That's good. Their bikes could use some improvement, I guess. But they're there and my kids saw them and I hope they felt like there's order in the world when they saw them.

Spoke to the teacher in a Zoom conference

Today, we spoke to the teacher on a kind of chatting on.. what's the thing, Zoom. I installed it today and I became part of Gen Z for Zoom. Gen Z, man. Anyway, I'm a Gen X-er. I'm the original Gen X. I'm the original Gen Y. I'm kind of even just straight up fell through the cracks. I'm nothing. I can't [inaudible]. Anyway, let me pause this. I'm getting all the way off topic here. Come on man. Pausing …

Okay, so I'm here. I'm self-isolating with my kids. I've been in my house since Friday morning and now it's Thursday and like I said, I went in the wheelchair. I need to get some better exercise than that. The kids are riding around the block in circles like it's a velodrome. Koko is like, "I did six laps." I'm like, "This is nuts."

Distance learning, ready or not

Trying to teach the kids. A good thing was we had that Zoom with John John's teacher, and she was very prepared. The school gave him a Chromebook the week before everything shut down and so he's been using that. He has a Google Classroom. It's pretty cool, this distance learning. It's like, what can you make of it, really? They're going up full-bore, like people who are like, "I want to have a distance learning program." Well, you got your wish.

In the virtual classroom

I really feel for the students and the faculty and the staff. John John wrote, first thing, he wrote "hi" to his classmates on Google Classroom, his virtual classroom platform. There was an assignment. The teacher asked them to write a few sentences about how they feel, and John John wrote he was sad and that missed his school. That was tough to hear, but then he immediately launched into commenting. He just wanted to be part of that social media experience that I think we probably all take for granted. He was so excited to do that, and I was like, "This is good. It's learning."

Online learning resources from the library

My friend is a librarian, and shout-outs to Rocky. Rocky's been a really interesting in all my mind recently,