In March 2020, our world was flipped upside down. We had this foreign virus enter our state and no one knew how to navigate that. We watched and even participated in food being snatched off of the shelves. We saw loved ones and friends pass away and saw others suffer residual effects of this virus. No one could have ever expected that this virus would affect our country with the magnitude that it did. Educational leaders had to make the toughest decision to shut down schools for the safety of everyone. District leaders, teachers, and school staff had to frantically work up a plan to continue learning through all of this, even if that meant from a distance.
Distance Learning:
Whether we call it distance, virtual, online, or e-learning; our educational platform moved to uncharted territory in March. Our goal was to teach students no matter where they were. Schools had to act swiftly to provide technology and internet to students who did not have access. Teachers, students, and parents all had to transition to make the most out of the situation. Through all of the chaos educators made the situation work.
The shift to virtual learning pushed everyone outside of their comfort zone. People came together like never before. Teachers, like myself, who were also mothers had to navigate what this would look like for their own children. Here are some photos of my own children during the virtual learning. Teachers collaborated together to deliver effective instruction. Parents sacrificed their time and abilities to help make learning possible. Students were captivated by getting to stay at home in their pajamas and “play” on a computer. At least this was the mindset for the younger learners. Learning a new way was very intriguing to the students, however, parents had their reservations. Devices were used to manipulate, create, and communicate using one device. Hazaymeh (2021) argues, online learning “may also enhance student-centered learning, improve learning outcomes, create dynamic learning environments that enable students to be independent, skillful and creative learners”. The capacity in technology consumption and production for students, parents, and teachers grew vastly.
It was not all rainbows and butterflies. Teachers experienced scrutiny from parents and citizens that did not understand. They felt like teachers were on a paid vacation…funny right? The biggest issue that some districts faced was a digital divide. Not having adequate technology or access to reliable internet. Shelby County schools were able to provide both chromebooks and internet through mobile hotspots to students that needed them. Other counties installed hotspots on buses and parked them in central locations where internet was not possible for less affluent areas. Unfortunately there were still areas that did not have access outside the school building. Students had to rely on the restaurants and buildings that offered free wifi. This situation was not ideal and sadly students still deal with this daily. The digital divide is something that was magnified during the pandemic. Hopefully we as a nation are on our way to minimizing that divide.
When writing this blog I asked my daughter and two of her friends about their experience with online learning. They all noted that they missed their friends and classmates. The interaction with people dropped for safety reasons. Hazaymeh (2021) argues, “online distance learning still has some drawbacks such as technical problems, poor or slow internet connections, no physical interactions which may lead to social isolation and students' demotivation to learn well”. Other difficulties through online learning were dealing with lack of understanding. There was a big disconnect when parents were asked to help their students because they themselves did not understand. Learning gaps widened naturally due to virtual learning not being as in depth as face-to-face. It was literally thrown at everyone and that meant they had to learn along with them.
When we returned to school in Fall of 2020, it was a staggered schedule meaning only half of the students came on certain days. Students also had the option to move to a semi-permanent virtual class. I watched my colleagues, one of which was my team teacher, switch to the role of full time virtual teaching. This was no easy task. Everything they were doing had to be made digitally and still provide rigorous depth and components of learning. Their classroom was basically a closet. I did not envy them at all. However, I watched them navigate through one of the toughest years of their teaching career and do it beautifully, although they may disagree. According to Simonson, Zvacek, & Smaldino (2019), “the keys to successful distance education are in the design, development, and delivery of instruction” (p. 9). The teachers provided learning experiences for those students that were intentional, engaging, and rigorous. I am sure if you asked them if there were things they could do differently and they would have a list. However they embraced every aspect of it because they are rockstar teachers. Thanks to technology and their innovation, students were still able to grow their knowledge through it all. They also helped the traditional teachers, including myself, with some new technology integrations that we were able to use in the classroom.
Sometimes “it takes these big disruptions to force us to change” (Abramo, 2021). The pandemic as crazy as it was taught us that learning is possible outside the walls of a building. When we know better we do better. I have said and heard this so many times.If I had to go back to virtual learning, I would be more equipped to provide effective instruction that is engaging for students. Simonson, Zvacek, & Smaldino (2019) state, “the evidence is quite clear that students of all ages can learn from instruction delivered using technology, and that distance education works” (p. 8). The circumstances forced us into virtual learning, however the discovery made was that it can be done.
References
Abramo, A. (2021). Adapting to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. https://sph.washington.edu/magazine/2021spring/remote-learning-during-covid19-pandemic
South Park. (2016, August 19). Crowd Running. [Giphy].https://giphy.com/gifs/southparkgifs-l3vRcVLfmDQUl1F6w
Hazaymeh, W. A. (2021). EFL students’ perceptions of online distance learning for enhancing english language learning during COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Instruction, 14(3), 501–518.
Simonson, M., Zvacek, S., & Smaldino, S. (2019). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (7th ed.). Information Age Publishing, Inc.
Erica,
ReplyDeleteYou are so right! The pandemic definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone. I was scared to death when I was asked to be a virtual teacher. I knew that there was so much I needed to learn. When you mentioned how your daughter and her friends missed their classmates, it made me remember the feelings that I experienced. I was teaching my students from the school building, but I still felt very isolated and disconnected from other teachers and my students. I’ve said a million times that I could not have made it through that year without the other virtual teachers.
I like how you talked about the instruction provided to students who were learning at a distance. It was a challenge to ensure that the lessons we were providing were intentional, rigorous, and engaging. At the beginning, I was trying to do everything I would have done in a traditional classroom, but just virtually. As Simonson et al. (2019) states, “equivalent, rather than identical, learning experiences should be provided to each learner whether local or distant, and the expectation should be that equivalent outcomes, rather than identical, should be expected of each learner” (p. 52). I learned many new ways to incorporate technology into my teaching that I still use today. Balci Comez (2022) points out that the use of technology tools such as web-based, game-like applications, increases students’ interest and engagement in both traditional and distance education.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
References
Balci Comez, C., Çavumirza, E., & Yildirim, M. (2022). Investigation of the effect of Web 2.0 supported 5E learning model on students’ success and opinion in teaching pressure unit in distance education. Participatory Educational Research, 9(1), 73–97.
Simonson, M., Zvacek, S., & Smaldino, S. (2019). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (7th ed.). Information Age Publishing, Inc.
Erica,
ReplyDeleteI love the quote you included by George Couros. Like any resource, if put in the hands of a dynamic teacher, the resource will enhance the learning experience for all of those involved. During the pandemic, I was an administrator, and I worried a lot about the quality of instruction being provided due to the forced distance learning approach. I worried about my students with attention deficits and those with learning disabilities. I worried about being able to support my teachers in choosing appropriate tech for students with disabilities. Kobrin et. al (2021) sharted that the key takeaway in working with adult learners is to find a balance in the amount of support and flexibility provided. And while I worried about the million little things we could not control, I was able to see a sense of unity and an effort to go above and beyond that was not quite there prior to the pandemic. Simonson et. al (2019) wrote about the separation of teacher and student in distance learning, and you mentioned students missing their friends. The relationship aspect of in-person learning is such a hard thing to achieve through a device. I know at my school, teachers struggled with finding that balance between synchronous and asynchronous activities as well as maintaining rapport with students. After experiencing the pandemic, I wholeheartedly believe Simonson et. al (2021) when they wrote interactive telecommunication technologies can be conducive to connectedness with peers and the teacher in distance learning. We just have not had to do it before 2020. Thoughtful planning of a variety of tech tools in the distance learning classroom can lend itself to feeling connected to peers. It is not the same but we can get it to be pretty close now.
References
Kobrin, J., Nicole Bullock, P.-G., Gierke, J., & Heil, C. (2021). Adult educators adopting
technology in their classrooms through innovation, collaboration, and Inquiry. Adult Literacy Education: The International Journal of Literacy, Language, and Numeracy, 3(1), 49–54. https://doi.org/10.35847/jkobrin.pbullock.jgierke.cheil.3.1.49
Simonson, M., Zvacek, S., Smaldino, S. (2019). Teaching and learning
at a distance: Foundations of distance education (7thed.). Charlotte, NC:
Information Age Publishing, Inc.
Hey Erica, you really brought back some memories with this blog. It brought back so many memories. From having a close worker pass away from it to having close friends and family getting the virus, to the virus entering my home. You even asked your daughter about her experience. I had a child to suffer depression during that time.
ReplyDeleteI even notice how you mentioned how teachers were getting the fingers pointed at them during distance learning. So much was going on and had to be adapted during this strange time. This time made technology take front seat to everything. It made me think about the book text when it mentioned, "A technology or disruptive innovation is a technological innovation, product, or service that eventually overturns the existing dominant technology or product in the market" (Simonson, M., Zvacek, S., Smaldino, S, 2019, p.10).
That is what happened in my district. Zoom dominated everything we did. This other article reflects what you mentioned about the parents pointing blame at the teachers. "While instructor barriers might be related to the identification of expectations, providing feedback and interpersonal relations" (Özüdogru, 2021, p.2).
I feel like parents just expected more of teachers when in reality teachers were doing the best they could do. Teachers had their problems to deal with as well as everyone else in the world. And they were expected to be outstanding in their instructions during this difficult time. Thanks for sharing your experience.
References
Simonson, M., Zvacek, S., Smaldino, S. (2019). Teaching and learning
at a distance: Foundations of distance education (7thed.). Charlotte, NC:
Information Age Publishing, Inc.
Özüdogru, G. (2021). Problems Faced in Distance Education during COVID-19 Pandemic. Participatory Educational Research, 8(4), 321–333.