What a day. Still nowhere near over. Spent over an hour to record a 5 minute clip on Screencastify to “welcome” my students into their “virtual learning classroom” tomorrow morning. Yep, it’s real. Starting March 18th all schools in Malaysia are now closed, and the PM announced a raft of other measures to control the spread of the virus. Suffice it to say that life at the moment is not normal. The tentative end date of these new measures and perhaps going back to school is mid-April, but the situation is … fluid? Is that the word? What is perhaps most distressing is the lack of parallels to something similar in recent memory. There have been many terrible tragedies over the years no doubt but they were often (at least for the majority of humanity) of the “out of sight and out of mind” variety. Something happening in a faraway land that you might have read about, but then again maybe you didn’t as you happily walked down streets past happy restaurant diners before nonchalantly stopping by the supermarket for a few rolls of toilet paper. Ah, the things you take for granted. Right now I am thankful I am home and with my family and we are healthy. We have everything we need for the time being. A good book, water, power, internet, some munchies and each other 😉 Two hours and counting until the new measures restricting movement of people and business kick-in. A new normal? I sure hope not!
Below the headlines from my news feed this morning (March 17, 2020)
March 17, 2020 at 10:06 pm
Indeed crazy times that haven’t been seen in my lifetime. At least, as you so aptly stated, in my own little cotton-wrapped world. We are as ready as we can be. Love your family, virtually hug your students. Keep writing!
March 17, 2020 at 10:09 pm
Stricter measures are falling into place here too (Canada). I feel like I shouldn’t leave my house at all! But we are due to visit my father-in-law and that is important. I’ll have to pack sandwiches and food since all the stops along the way will be closed. I bet your recordings will become more efficient over time. They won’t all take one hour to produce 5 minutes of content!
March 18, 2020 at 4:32 am
Well, your post reminds me of how worldwide this pandemic truly is. It’s hard to think worldwide on a regular basis.
At least you’re ready with a great attitude. Be well.