Tag: digital learning

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What do teachers even do during online learning?

A teacher helping another teacher use a computer

Digital learning, demystified.

The recent controversy over returning to digital learning has been fierce. Experts on both sides of the argument have posted impassioned pleas either for or against digital learning, and teachers are caught in the middle. Of course, teachers want to return to their classrooms full of our favorite people (our students!) — but we also want to keep our students, our communities, and ourselves safe during this pandemic.

While I’ve seen many things written and said about digital learning, what stands out to me is that many people really don’t understand what teachers do when digital- or distance learning. I’ve collected some of the questions I’ve seen about digital learning and will answer them here. Hopefully this will help shed some light so that everyone can be on the same page when talking and making decisions about digital learning.

What is the difference between synchronous and asynchronous learning?
Synchronous learning is when all the teaching happens at once, using a digital tool like Zoom, Skype, or Google Meet so the teacher can provide instruction. Asynchronous learning is when a teacher creates a lesson within a digital learning environment (which is basically just an online website where activities are linked), and students can learn at different times.

What are some of the pros and cons about synchronous and asynchronous learning?
Synchronous learning is good for having small group discussions, providing feedback, giving presentations, and demonstrating concepts. However, synchronous learning can be really difficult with large classes, and it is very difficult for a teacher to provide 1:1 support to students who need extra support. It can also be very distracting for students if they can see other members of the class (for example, in Zoom, when students’ cameras are on, or if the chat box is enabled), and can be miserable when a student has to spend hours watching video lectures. Teachers can check for understanding by building formative assessments into synchronous online lessons (such as asking students to respond to a question by adding a card to a Padlet board), but if not, it is difficult to check for understanding, or even to see if a student needs assistance if the class is too big to see all the student’s faces.

Asynchronous learning can provide the same benefits of synchronous learning when a teacher uploads videos or slide decks to the digital learning environment, but with asynchronous learning, a teacher can also provide better 1:1 support for students who need it by using Zoom to check in with students during the delivery of instruction. Asynchronous learning requires a lot of work upfront building a digital learning environment and filling it with quality resources like video demonstrations, slide decks, and other activities to check for understanding (Google Forms, Kahoot, or Quizizz assessments, Flipgrid or Padlet questions, PearDeck activities, etc…) and other activities. But, despite the heavy front-loading of teacher work, asynchronous learning frees a teacher up to assist students during the learning process and to track student progress through student data features (like the student progress feature in Hapara Workspaces, or by students posting responses in the class activities. Asynchronous learning can feel impersonal to students without face-to-face time with teachers, so it’s really important that teachers provide opportunities for students to check in with the teacher and also to collaborate with other students.

Why can’t we just take a 50-minute class and turn it into a 50-minute Zoom class?
While this sounds like an easy solution, it’s not that easy to replicate an in-person class in an online setting. In a face-to-face class, a teacher can physically occupy the same space as students and can easily spot students who are off-task or confused. That’s a lot harder to do in a video meeting. Also, in face-to-face learning, a teacher can manage instructional and physical tasks at the same time, walking around to support students at the same time. In a digital classroom, it’s kind of impossible to provide instruction, activities, and support students at the same time. This is why experts in digital learning, such as the Christensen Institute, suggest that teachers provide more asynchronous learning, with plenty of 1:1 and small-group collaboration between students and teachers.

My district’s teacher’s union is proposing flexible time for teachers. I have to work an 8-hour day. How come these teachers are given free time?
It’s really good that your district is considering some flexibility for teachers in how they do their work, because good digital learning requires a lot of different types of tasks. To be great digital teachers, these teachers need to become content creators and curators. Teachers need time to create lesson videos, slide shows, to search for online resources that will help students better understand a concept, to deliver online instruction, to check in individually on all their students, to score student work, and to provide tech support to students and parents who need it. Also, please consider that during face-to-face learning, teachers are physically up and moving around and not looking at a computer screen all day. Teachers who have to spend all day on computers, often at kitchen tables and other less-than-ergonomic settings, tend to suffer from eye strain, back and neck pain, and other health issues, so districts who are giving teachers some “wellness time” or some flexibility in how they spend their work hours are giving teachers opportunities to take eye breaks, stretch breaks, short walks outdoors, and to practice mental health-boosting mindfulness meditation that will help them to be their best for their students. Don’t worry, your child’s teacher is probably putting in more than an 8-hour day working from home, especially if they’re just learning how to do online learning for the first time.

But digital learning was a failure in the Spring. Why are we still trying this?
Digital learning in Spring 2020 wasn’t a failure — it was crisis response. Many districts did not have solid digital systems in place prior to COVID-19. Students lacked appropriate technology, did not have the digital skills to learn away from school, families lacked internet connectivity, and teachers lacked the training to deliver online learning. Though all these problems have not been solved, the shutdown highlighted the need to address these issues. Even when COVID-19 is no longer creating problems with returning to in-person learning, addressing these problems will create stronger learning opportunities for students and help deliver instruction during other times that school must shut down — inclement weather, wildfires, structural issues, etc… Also, having a good digital learning system in place will allow students and parents to access learning 24/7, not just when class is in session. Though we are not there, yet, there is no better time than right now to start working toward that goal. It is especially important to address digital access for every family. Digital access is no longer a luxury; it is a social justice issue!

Gee, this all sounds really complicated. Where do teachers go for good training in digital learning?
Sadly, many districts did not prioritize online or blended learning training in the run up to the COVID-19 shutdown, and many teachers (and students) really struggled with digital learning during that time. Hopefully, districts are now providing teachers with training to create dynamic online and blended lessons that support diverse learners, but many districts aren’t. That’s why DIY EdTech was created — to provide districts, schools, and individual teachers with quality consulting and training using the tools you already have to create exciting and successful digital learning experiences for all students. We also offer support to parents and homeschool groups in navigating learning in the digital world. Please contact us today using our contact form if we can be of service.

Photo by Christina Morillo from Pexels

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NO, ONLINE LEARNING WASN’T A FAILURE: IT WAS A LEARNING EXPERIENCE

Sad Girl

People keep circulating this article from the Wall Street Journal about remote learning. “The results are in” it declares.  “Remote learning didn’t work!”  Results?  Was this an experiment?  Funny, I don’t recall there ever being a hypothesis, or any kind of preparation to ensure that the resultant data had any real value.  There was no set up of an experiment, or distribution of supplies and training to ensure that teachers even knew how to do online learning.  This was not an experiment.  

What online learning was, from about March to June, was disaster response.  And teachers responded in heroic fashion!  With very little (and sometimes no) warning, teachers went from teaching in-person, in classrooms, with all their supplies and equipment, to teaching from home, from their kitchen tables and makeshift home classrooms, with their own technology, and sometimes no training in online learning best practices — often while trying to help their own children with online classes. 

Of course, this “experiment” failed — like so many “experiments” in public education. But since this was an experience and not an experiment, we should do just what we encourage our students to do when things don’t go the way they want them to — reflect on our experience and learn from it.  Here are some takeaways from the shutdown.

  1. We need to invest in digital learning.  Like everything else in schools, our technology budgets are squeezed to the max.  Students are learning on broken and outdated equipment, and teachers lack tools needed to do online learning justice.  
  2. We need to close the digital divide.  Students hurt the most with online learning are students who lack access to technology and internet services.  Though there were many clever workarounds during the shutdown, success was spotty.  In a world where digital access is no longer a luxury, this divide is an equity issue that needs to be addressed in order for all our students to learn, whether we are learning in-person or at home.  This also applies to teachers, who need digital tools to work from home.  Many teachers were also hamstrung by lack of access to digital tools, especially those who live in and serve marginalized communities.  
  3. Students and teachers need digital literacy skills.  This may be surprising at a time when students are creating impressive Tik Tok videos and teachers are using computers to teach every day, but the way we use technology in our lives and in our classrooms does not always translate into successful online learning.  Many of the programs that we use in schools are designed to be very intuitive for every student, but don’t exactly teach important skills needed for learning online — creating content, uploading, knowing how to protect ourselves online, digital citizenship, etc… — so we may be using technology all the time, but we are not building skills important for learning online. Also, because we live in a digital world, these skills are important for more than just online learning.  We all need these skills to be productive citizens.  By not teaching these skills, we are limiting our students’ success in life.  
  4. We need to understand that online learning includes offline learning, too!  It is possible — and encouraged — that we find ways to move students offline, even while learning online. Too much screen time is unhealthy for kids and teachers.  But online learning can still work because not every task can and should be done on a computer.  Some learning just works better with analog tools.  For example, I teach art.  Many teachers asked me, “how do you even teach art online?”  I could have taught for the entire 11 weeks doing nothing but online zoom lessons about famous artists with students responding in Google Classroom with what they have learned.  But that would be torture — for students and for me!  Instead, my students watched my videos, responded with written or video reflections, then went offline to create art with things they had at home.  They would then photograph their art and submit it on Padlet.  All the resources were available for my students 24/7 on our Hapara Workspaces, so students could log on and learn anytime they felt like it, and though uploading work required learning some new skills, they quickly conquered them.  Students logged in for Zoom studio hours to get assistance and feedback, but for the most part, they learned on their own — offline!
  5. We need to empower students and teachers to become content creators — not just content consumers.  Again, this applies to learning in-person or from home.  Online curricula are wonderfully convenient but the best learning experiences happen when teachers can design resources and learning spaces specifically for their own students’ needs.  We talk a lot about differentiation, but it’s hard to differentiate without teacher-created resources.  By training teachers to create and curate digital content and design good digital learning spaces, we are truly giving our teachers the tools to differentiate learning.  Better yet, when we empower students to be content creators, we are promoting deeper understanding through the authentic learning experience of sharing their knowledge with others.  
  6. We need technology decision makers who are informed about online learning.  Many districts employ IT personnel but not digital learning specialists.  These are two very different fields.  When people are making choices about digital learning tools with only an IT background, they are looking at an entirely different set of criteria than a person who is trained in digital learning best practices.  Often this results in some of the nightmares we found during the shutdown, like compatibility issues between Learning Management Systems (LMS) and content creation tools, or issues with systems not working properly from students’ homes or learning devices.  Also, many teachers complained of not knowing how to choose appropriate online learning tools, or how to use them to teach online, so a digital learning specialist would be able to spot and provide appropriate professional development and resources to minimize shortfalls.  
  7. We need time to shift from primarily in-person learning to online learning.  Time is unfortunately our biggest challenge, when students need to be able to learn right now.  But shifting to using more technology, even with face-to-face learning, is important, to provide students with important digital skills, understanding and practicing good digital citizenship, information literacy, and to provide the differentiation students need to succeed in school.  And, with issues such as wildfires, continued periodic shutdowns from COVID-19, and natural disasters, it’s good to have a solid digital learning system in place so that our next shift to online learning won’t be disappointing.

It’s safe to say that this experience (not experiment) was a learning opportunity for all of us  — from the most tech-averse to the blended learning super-teacher.  But to write off our first foray into online learning as a “failure” is like grading a rough draft as a final research paper.  We wouldn’t do that to our students, so let’s also cut our teachers some slack.  Moving our teaching entirely online without much warning was an impressive feat, and though there were major problems, there were also great successes, and even more opportunities to reflect on our in-person teaching and learning practices and the inequities that exist in our day-to-day schools.  We need to look at our experience through a growth mindset lens, and apply what we’ve learned to improve our work — just like we teach our students to do.  When we return to face-to-face learning (hopefully, when it is safe to do so), let’s not forget what we learned, and use our knowledge to improve school for all students, no matter where they are doing the learning.