Education after COVID-19. A distance learning toolkit for schools.
A school is not a place. It's an environment that fosters learning, whether that means students and teachers gathered in a classroom or connecting over the internet. Educators around the world, from underfunded city districts to sparsely populated rural areas, were already seeing great results from distance learning before the COVID-19 pandemic made distance learning mandatory for public safety.
The current situation has only accelerated, not changed, the need for educators to adopt tools that give them more options while improving school performance. We can all now see clearly that just handling situations as they arise will not work out well for anyone. Educators need working systems for remote leaning now and plans for dealing with similar events in the years ahead.
Despite all the warning signs, few saw this pandemic coming. Even major institutions like Harvard had to publicly admit that they weren’t ready for the sudden transition to eLearning and virtual classrooms. “There is much we still do not know and the situation on the ground continues to evolve,” said Claudine Gay, Harvard’s Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
Administrators and educators at every level are facing the same challenges with remote learning. We are all students of the lessons taught by this virus and we will need to come out of the challenge ready to leverage our learning as educators and education technology solution providers.
So far, we've learned that there are a few essentials and best practices that stand out in simplifying the transition. These tools help educators establish a productive learning environment and improve performance scores for remote learning in the post COVID-19 world.
7 Essentials for the New World of Remote Learning
1 Connectivity for students
Over the years, student laptops and tablets have been filtering into the education system. It hasn’t reached a majority of students yet, but that could change very soon. The leaders in distance learning are working to make sure all students have devices and a reliable Internet connection. Programs like EdPower by T-Mobile and Google’s Rolling Study Halls are working to help schools buy or lease enough student devices and assure connectivity at a low enough cost that district budgets aren’t strained. This has led to innovation in payment systems and financing. In the next few years, how schools buy the devices they need will be just as important as what they buy.
2 Distance Learning software
New York City schools reacted quickly to security concerns over Zoom, switching to Microsoft Teams, which is still an enterprise software adapted for use in schools. Another option educators have is the browser-based audio/visual tool we have built specifically for the remote teaching environment. We are learning that the lecture mode offered by OneScreen Hype allows for better interaction between teachers and students and minimizes the distraction caused when all students see one another on the screen. The top choice for schools should also allow sessions to be easily recorded and shared as well as provide instant translation to support inclusive learning environments.
3 Help and training
Training and support often come as an afterthought when school districts buy technology. These two should come first. Too many devices and software bought by schools go unused due to inadequate training and support. When something doesn’t work as it should, teachers and administrators often can’t get the help they need from school IT resources. All technology purchases should come with onsite and online training, as well as on-demand help. This is more essential than ever. Both teachers and IT teams working to help teachers set up their new systems will need access to immediate live help. The Screen Skills Guru service from OneScreen is available from a link right in their distance learning app as well as on their website. This offers free, on-demand help from live agents in English, Spanish and Urdu. More languages are being added as the program expands.