Remote Parenting
During my lunch break I was able to help my son with his homework. (He has one more day of vacation than I do.) He has a pretty big paper due tomorrow, and he needed some assistance.
Instant messaging made it work. I logged into iChat and reminded him that I wanted it soon. A few minutes later, he messaged me with a few questions that were giving him trouble. I did a quick Google search and found some sites that would help, and sent him the URLs. I also popped a couple of images into the chat that illustrated the answers. Eventually, he sent me the document (again, through the instant messenger), which I read through, and then sent him edits and comments.
The whole process took about an hour and a half, with much of that time being spent doing other things and simply responding to the messages when they came in. In some ways, it was actually easier than if I was there in person. There was less opportunity to get defensive or cranky when we’re eight miles apart, which some might say is the minimum distance to maintain with teenagers. I can see that it would be a very comfortable part of remote teaching, either for students or adults that are comforable with the technology. I actually increasingly find that I prefer it to telephone conversations, particularly with the ability to log and store the conversations.
Today, though, I’m just glad that I have the opportunity to chat with my son during the day - and that his project will be done before I get home!