What Does Remote Learning Look Like During the Coronavirus Pandemic?
By Huntington Learning CenterChances are, your school is getting you up to speed on what remote learning will look like during the time that students must stay home from school—or maybe you’re already rolling. Here’s what is going on in different schools and districts around the country:
- Laptops for students – Some school districts are already working to distribute laptops that have been loaded with assignments to students, while others are working out those details now.
- Paper packets – Some districts are providing younger students (kindergarten through first or second grade) paper assignments every couple of weeks, although this could change with the extension of remote learning into April.
- Wi-Fi for all – For communities or homes without Wi-Fi access, schools are getting creative by encouraging families to drive to and park in school parking lots to access the internet and complete work there if needed. In other areas, schools are outfitting school buses with Wi-Fi to be used as wireless hotspots throughout their communities.
- Live broadcast learning activities – Schools are broadcasting activities through group video and audio conferencing tools such as Zoom and WebEx. These tools allow teachers to continue lecturing and showing students how to do problems as they would do standing in front of them.
- Posted videos for independent learning – It’s likely that many schools will have teachers post videos and assignments that students can access and refer to on their own time (which could be in addition to live lecturing via video conferencing). This will probably happen through a platform like Google Classroom.
On March 20, 2020, Google introduced Teach from Home to help teachers during the coronavirus crisis. Schools will be figuring things out in the days and weeks to come and possibly introducing new tools over time. You and your students can expect some trial and error as district leaders work to determine the best way to ensure students can continue learning and progressing.
