Under the current circumstances, a lot of things have changed in the lives of students and teachers. Now that online school and virtual learning have started, there are a series of new words that have found themselves in the everyday vocabulary. This Virtual Learning Dictionary was created to help understand the new words and phrases with which people might be struggling.
A: Asynchronous Learning: A general term used to describe forms of education, instruction, and learning that do not occur in the same place or at the same time. Example: After my teacher teaches the lesson, she lets us work by ourselves during asynchronous learning time.
B: Bitmoji: A little cartoon person that you can make look like you. Example: Since we can’t see each other in person this year my teachers made a bitmoji to look like them in their place.
C: Can you see my screen??: 1) The words a teacher utters when they are trying to share their screen on a zoom call. 2) The words you utter when your wifi starts acting up and you don’t know if anyone can see you snaking or not. Example: “OMG can you see my screen!?” - Jayla spat out as she was devouring a bunch of spaghetti.
D: District expectations: The guidelines the district sets for us so that we have the best online virtual learning experience we can have and get the fullest out of school. Example: Student:“Mrs. Smith, why do we need to be in classes all day?” Mrs. Smith: “ Because following this schedule is a part of the district's expectations.”
E: Everyone turn on your cameras: When your teacher is reasonably strict you might hear them say this and then you see all of your classmates' faces pop up. Example: Student 1 “ Yeah everyone in my class had their cameras off.” Student 2 “Yeah my class was like that too until the teacher said “everyone turn your cameras on.”
F:Flipgrid: A website that you can use to film videos of yourself for your class. Example: For one of my ice breakers I had to make a video on FlipGrid about myself.
G: Google Meets: An online meeting app you can use to talk to other people. Example: Some people’s teachers use zoom to have their class meetings most of mine use Google Meets.
H: Hybrid schedule: A schedule that would provide both virtual learning and in person learning. Example: Once the positivity rate amongst high school aged students starts to go down, we might be able to move to a hybrid schedule in Phase 2.
I: Intervention: A period during lunch where you can talk to your teachers about something you’re having trouble with therefore intervening before your grade drops. Example: I had to set an intervention with myself before lunch because I noticed my productivity went down and I wasn’t doing any work
J: Just use the chat: The phrase you hear when your microphone is clearly not working. Example: Student: “SjfDsh *static noise*” Teacher: “Ummm just use the chat.”
K: Kami: An app you can open any google doc with, usually used if one needs to annotate or mark through an reading assignment online. Example: My English teacher wanted me to annotate an article using Kami.
L: Learning Support: Support you can get from your teacher before and after class or during lunch. Example: At lunch I decided to ask my teacher if they could give me some learning support. I really needed help with the math.
M: Mindfulness: The time you get before class to just think and gather your thoughts together, and to try to find a positive mental space to get through the day. Example: During mindfulness time I remembered I almost forgot my pencil.
N: No❤️: To refuse sarcastically. Example: Due to coronavirus we are going to have to have online school. Everyone: No❤️
O: Open Google Classroom: What you hear when your teacher assigns you a new assignment now that everything is online. Example: Teacher: “Okay class, open Google Classroom to see your new 500 page essay assignment.”
P: Pandemic: A disease that’s prevalent over a whole country or the world. Example: The spread of the Coronavirus has caused a global pandemic.
Q: Quarantine outfits: This is usually consistent with pajamas or some sort of leisure wear. Example: Jamie’s quarantine outfits usually are just some Mickey Mouse pajamas and a headband just for some extra spunk.
R: Restorative Practices: Improving and repairing relationships or productively building on what you have. Example: The teacher used restorative practices in my math class to help bring us together.
S: Synchronous Learning: Refers to a learning event in which a group of students are engaging in learning at the same time. Example: When we are in synchronous learning time my math teacher is sure to tell us what we will be doing in class.
T: Tik Tok: The new social media craze that has been taking up most of our time since the pandemic began. Example: Since i’ve downloaded Tik Tok I spend like 20 hours a day just watching videos.
U: Unmute: When in a meeting, conference, or class call with your teacher you may mute or unmute yourself depending on whether you want to speak or not. Often times, people don't realize they are muted and they try to speak. Example: Mrs. Heart called on me so I had to unmute myself to answer her question,
V: Virtual learning: Being educated/ taught online instead of in school. Example: Virtual learning has been the new way to learn these days since the Coronavirus struck.
W: Wifi is down!: When you are trying to get on the Zoom or Google Meet, but your wifi is acting up and you can’t log in. Example: I got into the Zoom call, but as soon as I tried to turn on my camera, my wifi went down.
X: Xenophobia: Dislike of or prejudice against people from other countries. Example: Xenophobia has found itself very prevalent now against Asian people because of the Coronavirus. It is absolutely awful.
Y: You’re on mute: What you hear when you’re trying to answer a question thinking everyone can hear you. Example: Emily was in the middle of explaining why frogs hop when her friend Jessica blurted “You’re on mute!”
Z: Zoom: A video meeting app that you can use to talk to other people online. Example: My teacher sent the Zoom meeting link earlier so I’ll be able join when class starts.
Credits:
Created with images by Sergey Zolkin - "Work on notebook" • visuals - "untitled image" • Volodymyr Hryshchenko - "orange sheets of paper lie on a green school board and form a chat bubble with three crumpled papers." • Lesly Juarez - "“The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.” ― Thich Nhat Hanh" • Levi XU - "untitled image" • Jay Castor - "Pristine water lily" • Matthieu Joannon - "untitled image" • Praveen kumar Mathivanan - "Connectivity "