By Charlotte Calick
Due to a disturbing event in an Irvington High School Syracuse University Project Advance Forensics class, the Google Meet procedures for all Irvington Schools quickly needed to be changed.
An outsider of the school district entered a Google Meet and disrupted a class that was in session. This incident has now altered the way remote students in Irvington enter their classes.
Before the incident, as soon as a teacher began their class, remote students were able to join on their own. Students were also able to view how many and which students were already in attendance. With the changes implemented by the district, students must now first enter into a “waiting room,” with the teacher required to admit each student. This forced change has impacted classes a lot more than probably expected.
Since students were able to enter at their own pace, teachers were not required to tend to the computer and could immediately begin instruction. Now school time must be devoted to admitting students to class.
The three-minute switch between periods, specifically implemented for remote students, has become basically non existent. Typically students would be able to get water or use the bathroom between periods in order to not miss anything in class, but now they must wait to be admitted to do so.
Students must ask to join and wait to be admitted before the teacher moves away from the computer and starts to teach. It is no surprise that now class start times are delayed; teachers are unable to walk to the board without fear of leaving a student in the waiting room.
The actions of a perpetrator who “broke into” a Google classroom presumably for a laugh has had a ripple effect, making a difficult learning environment for both students and teachers even more challenging.
