E-Learning Platforms

When most schools began to close in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, all education departments were in crisis mode. Everyone was being forced to jump into a whole new world of technology that they had no idea how to handle or navigate. There were a lot of ups and downs...it felt like a really crazy roller coaster. Teachers were being pulled in many directions and crammed with tools & resources. Everyone was using multiple platforms to reach to their students. It was survival mode. There were no plans in place and no one knew what they were doing. Who would have ever predicted that schools would be shut down in a blink of eye. We did the best we could!
    2019-2020 school year officially closed, and districts knew that they had to start coming up with plans and expectations for teachers since this Pandemic, that was thought to be temporary, has extended into the new school year and is unpredictable when it will end. Summer schools, or ESY as we know it in our district,  were the starting point and pilot for many districts to rethink how to handle distance learning. Teachers were now expected to provide live lessons for a period of time and provide continuous communication with parents. Templates with sample schedules, and lessons were created. Furthermore, the specific distance learning platforms that should be used were reviewed. 

For many educators when they left brick and mortar, they began to utilize any digital tool they could get their hands on. This meant pure chaos. It meant that teachers were all over the place with their tools and platforms. 
Here are some examples:

• Video conferences: Facetime, Whatsapp, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, and zoom. 
• Communication applications used such as Remind, Class Dojo Etc. 
• Don't forget to think of the platforms used to post assignments, lessons and homework submissions (Google Classroom, Flipgrid, SeeSaw, Canvas etc)​

Imagine...if you are a parent with multiple children at home. Two of your kids are in middle school with 6 different teachers ALL 6 teachers using different ways of communicating information, video conferencing and using class assignment venues. It makes your head want to explode. If you as an educator, thought it was hard being thrown so many things during this pandemic, imagine how parents and students were feeling. This frustration became clearly evident by data showing lack of participation and engagement. Students were not successfully turning in their work and sometimes I can't blame them. Everyone's roles changed, their lives were turned upside down in an instant. Teachers were feeling defeated like they were horrible educators. While parents were losing their minds trying to become both parents, technicians and teachers at the same time. Something had to change. 
    After many complaints from everyone, districts began to realize that they needed to fine tune and provide one venue/tool for their districts to utilize if distance learning was going to continue to be a possibility. What this meant is that instead of allowing everyone to use so many platforms, they were going to focus on very specific tools. This would allow educators and families to be trained to become proficient in using a uniform tool for a higher success rate. During summer school, counties realized that the more they trained everyone (teachers and parents/students), the more students participated and there was a growth in learning...
    Everyone is finally getting on the same page. We are setting clear expectations and we are learning how to navigate distance learning to provide lessons and education virtually! Hopefully, by the beginning of this upcoming school year, your district has selected the digital tools and platforms you will be using. You are probably getting trained endlessly to become proficient with those tools. But that is not the end of it... now it is setting it all up and getting it ready for your students. 
Keep in mind, the more you practice using the same tool/platform the better you will get at it and the more comfortable you will feel as you navigate it. It opens the comfort door and you begin to explore all the things that particular tool may provide and how to efficiently use it. Remember, you must also take the time to educate your students and their families because they also need to feel as proficient and comfortable as you!

Here are some useful tips that made my ESY (summer school) experience successful:

1. Do a live session where you explore the video communication and academic platform/tool you will be using.
2. Create "how to" video tutorials that will show to log in, and use the tools/platforms that you will be using during the school year. This is very helpful since parents/students can review on their own time or multiple times if they still don't understand.
3. Create written instructions with visuals. This can be printed out and they can follow step by step. Remember to differentiate for your visual learners (parents included).

I hope this post helps you to start thinking that just like you, we can't expect students and parents to just know how to navigate through this distance learning technology. They also need to be taught and trained. Consistency of the same tools will most probably lead to increased usage, independence, participation and most important learning! 

Hope to see you on the next post! ​