Here is a quick look at how we are doing with this thing called remote or distance learning. While things are good, I think we should have been more prepared for maximizing this ‘opportunity’, rather than just being more prepared to cope with it.
Background: Since returning from China in 2011, I’ve been a leader in Coquitlam Open Learning, the district’s ‘Distributed Learning’ (online) school. That year my Principal, Stephen Whiffin, pitched the idea for Inquiry Hub Secondary and I got to co-found and lead this innovative, blended learning school. I’ve been directly involved with integrating technology into learning as a leader for over a decade, and this has been an integral part of my role for 9 years now.
Current State: Over the past several weeks my staff of teachers have definitely struggled far less than most teachers.
For my online teachers very little has changed other than they are working from home, and assessment practices had to change in some courses. We have always provided testing and support blocks at our schools, and supervised assessments have been key to validating authenticity of work done at home.
For Inquiry Hub, every class was already on Microsoft Teams, and/or had a class OneNote, and/or had digital resources shared in Moodle. Classes moved digital, but there are still many opportunities for students to connect online, have meetings and discussions, and continue with lessons and assessments as if we were still in the building.
So, the transition to remote learning has been smooth. Great… But what are we missing?
The online school: We are continual entry, and so my teachers, at any moment, have students starting the course, doing their final assessment, and everything in between. As a result, they almost never run synchronous lessons. So while I previously mentioned two great ‘Learning Experiences‘ my teachers did with students, these are exceptions rather than the norm. And as I mentioned above, assessment changes needed to be made, but I’d say the changes we made were not really groundbreaking or norm-changing. We are doing a good job, but we aren’t pushing any boundaries.
For Inquiry Hub: We’ve really had a smooth transition, kids are still getting a lot of support, and we have, as a staff, had daily meetings that always touch on two things: How are kids doing/who needs support? And on professional development and planning for some great integration of courses working in edu-scrums for next year. This is exciting work, and it happens in the background while teachers are working smoothly to maintain a continuity of learning for students.
So what’s missing? Where are the missed opportunities?
- Relevance: what have we done to connect and relate the global experience to what we are learning in class?
- Service: What could our students be doing to support their community?
- Assessment: What a great opportunity we have to rethink our online testing and personalizing it for our online learners?
- Community: What more could we do to build community ‘in’ our schools, both for students, and for families?
- Well being: How could we better support the kids we know are struggling, and also identify and support the kids who are struggling that we don’t know about?
- Course delivery: What opportunities do we have for students to learn in different ways?
- Inquiry learning: How could we leverage support for students inquiries when there are so many homebound experts in different fields that would love to help students out?
- Supporting colleagues: How have we shared what we know and do well with colleagues that are struggling with the transition?
