May 3, 2020
As this school year, with its unique challenges, comes to an end, it is time for reflection. I have listed and described three takeaways from the sudden move to distance learning. These are all things that I need to remember as I plan for next year.
Anything is Possible. First and foremost, anything is possible. Within less than two weeks, all classes in my district moved online. Teachers never said “we can’t do this”, they just did it. Training was necessary to get people up to speed on how to use specific programs. Teachers who had not used our learning management system, or those who were uncomfortable with it, had to be trained. Some teachers had never recorded themselves and/or their screens and had to get become proficient doing this in a hurry. Most of the teachers on my campus had never hosted an online meeting. Instead of complaining, teachers attended online trainings and reached out to instructional staff or other educators to get up to speed. These are just a few examples of how teachers have proved that anything is possible. There have been some bumps in the road, but we work through them and move on.
The Digital Divide is Real. My district is 168 square miles and there is a large rural population. We are a 1 to 1 campus so device accessibility is not the issue. Many of the students live in the rural parts of the district and have little or no internet access. This is not always due to financial considerations, the internet is just not available and if they can get internet, it is satellite internet which on a good day is marginal at best, but with increased network traffic it is not a reliable solution. At many of these rural locations, cell phone internet connectivity is also spotty. These students have the option of picking up a paper packet to do work, but these students are losing out on the instructions that teachers are putting online.
Look for Opportunities for Growth. To phrase this another way, teacher training needs to happen. As mentioned above, teachers are embracing the challenge of distance learning and they are looking for tools and training to help them. In an effort to not overwhelm the teachers, we are limiting the “new” resources we are sharing with all teachers. If there is a resource that will help a specific teacher, or group, it is being shared. One important thing for me to do next year is plan my trainings to give teachers many resources and give them time to get comfortable with them. Then, when challenges arrive, they can be reminded of the resources and it will not be all new information. While doing these trainings I will be emphasizing a growth mindset.
Sandra Negro 