April 28, 2023
ISO 200, 1.0s, f/22
The One Shot Summary is an assignment that I require in one of my courses where students choose a picture they’ve taken at any point during the trimester which they think best embodies their experiences in class. And then they write a 1,000-word essay about both the picture and their experiences. I was wondering if I could do one within a few hours. Below was the result.
It’s been 5 years since I’ve shot a proper waterfall. And even then, I wasn’t able to focus on it as I should. I was looking forward to go and shoot that small falls at Dalitawin Resort because I had lots of time and there weren’t that many people getting in my way, even though it was the start of a long weekend. So one can imagine how I felt like an idiot when, after mounting my camera to the tripod for what was supposed to be me going around for at least half an hour, the battery indicator instantly flashed red. I didn’t bother to check the night before. And I consciously decided not to bring a spare battery. I only managed to take a few trial shots before the camera went dead, one of which you see here. It wasn’t the best spot to shoot from and my exposure settings were off. I brought a vari-ND filter even though I get better results with my Kenko ND4. The result here isn’t complete garbage. But it’s no excuse for my lack of preparation. I wasn’t setting a good example. I found it emblematic of my time in MMS 173 (Photography in Multimedia) these past 14 weeks.
I returned to MMS 173 with feelings of both excitement and apprehension. I haven’t been doing well with regards to my own studies. I was coming in with baggage I’d rather not be carrying in a class with a generation of students that I don’t fully understand and relate with.
I was trying something new for me as a teacher. Community building was something I kept outside the online classroom and mostly with students I already had a rapport with. This time I was attempting it in class with students unfamiliar to me. The only thing I had going was that said students actually thought it was a good idea to volunteer without knowing exactly what they were in for. My first go at it during the previous trimester was a mixed bag of good and bad highlights. It left me wondering whether or not it was even a good idea for this to be the basis of my PhD study. I started doubting if I even wanted to keep doing this.
On the other hand, I needed to stay occupied. The stagnation from last year had not been good for me. Ever since I got COVID, I felt I had been in physical, mental and emotional decline. It was perhaps the closest to depression I’ve ever come (and since I didn’t go to get diagnosed, who knows). Going back to my routine as a teacher cranked the engine between my ears. It’s still not firing on all cylinders. A lot of rust still needs to be shaken off. But it felt good to get moving again. Like I said, it wasn’t a smooth start back in that first group in MMS 100 during the previous trimester. But I thought I could do better. And in the face of this influx of new blood in the Faculty, it felt like I needed to prove that, even though the PhD thing isn’t going as it should, I still have what it takes to be one of the best and most reliable teachers in UPOU.
I got the chance to prove it in MMS 173 (Photography in Multimedia). The first teachers in BAMS were also the ones who developed the courses. The courses were their babies, so to speak. And MMS 173 was mine. Even now, my work serves as the template for those who handled the course after I went on hiatus. My chances of doing better, I felt were higher. But I had no idea that even I was underestimating what was in store for me.
It was not apparent to me at the beginning. It took maybe a week or two for them to start warming up to me and the setup. And when they did start warming up, they had a vibe that was different from my old classes. But my group of 22 volunteers displayed a level of interest and engagement I had not experienced since that first time I I stepped into a face to face session, Nikon D80 in hand, for the inaugural MMS 173 class more than a decade ago. I don’t even remember the last time I handled a class that were more interested in actually talking about photography, rather than their grades. But perhaps what I found most impressive about this group as a whole was their collective drive to do things in the course, to the point that I started telling them to hold back a bit. I’ve never had to do that before. That’s probably the best problem I could ever have as a teacher.
The process was not without compromises on my end, though. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I was making mistakes. For starters, perhaps “pilot group” was not the correct term to use for my recruitment of volunteers. It carried certain connotations which didn’t apply. That, perhaps, turned off prospective students. And then I realized I had forgotten a number of things about the course — even those that I wrote myself. It also quickly became apparent that I had to adjust my teaching style. I needed to be more lenient with how students communicated. I don’t mind students being less formal, but it was a bit of a struggle keeping up with the Gen Z lingo and perhaps more importantly, their sensibilities that eventually dominated our online classroom. It’s something I would not have tolerated in the past, but it would seem that this enabled the back and forth communication that I had always craved for in class to a significant extent. I also had to let go of some of my methods. I really had to re-think my approach with discussions. It wasn’t just about the language. It was about learning to not force the issue when discussing anything. It was about abandoning many of the assumptions I had with regards to what was the best way to deliver information and lessons to students. Given enough time to observe at the beginning, it becomes easier to figure out what works well. It’s just unfortunate that the trimestral schedule doesn’t allow for a lot of time to do that.
Now, the class has come to an end. It’s a shame that we’re still following a 12 week schedule. I would have liked to spend an extra month with this group. More importantly, I believe another month would lead to even higher quality output from the students. Unfortunately, a sense of community can only do so much in the face of a huge pile of deadlines across multiple courses. I will say this, though. watching the students convene every night working on their assignments or at times just hanging out — true unprompted collaborative learning in action. It reminds me of my old tambayan back in college. I often wonder if these kids ever sleep. But I can’t help but smile every time I see 5 or more students convening in our little space in the Internet. It worked. My efforts paid off.
I bid farewell to this class with valuable lessons learned, a clearer path forward for both my studies and my work, and perhaps a new generation of student collaborators whom I can work with in the next couple of years. There is hardly anything else I could expect or even hope for as far as outcomes go. I may yet have the waterfall shot that I wanted sooner than later.