A student and teacher’s worst nightmare (or perhaps it was a dream come through for some) happened to our group this week.  Half the class didn’t show up in the intended virtual classroom (and so that class got cancelled!) and the other half of the class was actually waiting to start the session in another virtual classroom!

I mean, how can that ever happen, right?  All the links are posted on the google drive and the ONL group community board.  

Well, it happened.  And it was not a joyful sight. 

So what happened? 

Every single session has it own zoom room / link.  And users have to check every single time for the right link. 

Are you rolling your eyes yet? I am.  Where is the efficiency in checking every single time?  Why can’t we just stick to one location?

This reminds me of the one of the graduate classes in Beijing.  Every single session, we had to check the classroom of the seminar.  EVERY SINGLE CLASS.  Even though someone had planned ahead, but there was no consistency in location (because the class planner was trying out a new style “musical chair” call “musical classroom”… tsk tsk tsk) and without fail, every single class, we had people who were late from trying to find the location or just didn’t show up because they gave up looking.  

People, exercise your freedom of expression and choice elsewhere please.  Don’t mess with my classroom!

Note to self: when it comes to classroom location, virtual or in real life, there is no democracy.  The locations must be the same.  When it comes to time of class, the timing must be the same.  There is no democracy of free choice every single time.  Once it is decided at the start of the session, stick to it, see through it till the end.  

The need for consistency seems to be over-rated, but as this week’s debacle so clearly demonstrates, classroom selection democracy where every single session is a new choice or a new location just does so much more damage than good.