As schools close, will e-learning make grade?
Non-traditional ways of providing education, it’s your time to star. Or fall on your face.
From kindergarten through college, education is being disrupted by the impact of coronavirus. No question that health comes first — even at the price of overturning normal life.
But what about education itself? Are there ways to make the coming weeks at least somewhat productive for students? Or maybe even a time of valuable innovation in learning?
As of Friday, colleges and universities in Wisconsin have generally come to a halt, with the broad intention of switching to students doing academic work anywhere but on campus. That can include a lot of things, many (but not all) online.
The picture for kindergarten through 12th grade schools in Wisconsin was changing quickly on Friday, with many in the Milwaukee area announcing closures. And there have been numerous large, even statewide, school closings announced nationwide.
Online learning, home schooling, virtual schools, distance learning — these have been hot subjects in the last couple decades. And computers have become a nearly universal tool for students and teachers at every level.
But a lot of computer use — smartboards, Chromebooks, smartphones and so on — really amounts to hightech ways of doing things rather conventionally, whether it’s writing a paper or researching a project or even communicating between teachers and students.
Transforming education as we know it? Lots of talk, some cool examples, but, overall, kind of a sputtering history to this point. Some research has concluded that kids overall do not learn as well online as they do in in-person settings.
When I think of schools or education approaches that were intended to be the Next Big Wave in schooling, the first things I think of are programs that failed and schools that moved back toward more traditional approaches.
I remember observing a roundtable discussion convened by Milwaukee Public Schools leaders about 20 years
ago. Several national leaders in digital education and the tech world as a whole were among about 25 participants. MPS was aiming to be a leader in launching new and better styles of education. Almost nothing came of this.
I remember being at the opening of a “cyberschool” where students would focus almost entirely on using computers and other technology in place of conventional teaching. Didn’t flourish.
Or schools where students spent much of the day doing lessons on computers but made changes when results weren’t so hot. Or touted national online curriculum providers — many of them now gone. Virtual schools? The record of student academic success in many of them is weak and some operators have come and gone quickly.
Why?
Let’s suggest two broad reasons: First, conventional classrooms aren’t perfect. But they’ve been fairly effective for many decades. Good teachers, engaged students, well-chosen lessons and materials, well-run classrooms with a good learning cultures — there are reasons they’ve been so enduring. (Yes, note all the adjectives. I’m not defending ineffective teachers, bored kids, and lessons that don’t work.)
Second, effective online or distance learning is really difficult to do. It requires highly skilled teachers or program leaders, it requires smart creation and oversight, and it often requires more, and not less, interaction between teachers and students. Not to mention more, and not less, involvement by parents.
So now, millions of students nationwide, from preschoolers through doctoral candidates, are getting pushed out of their conventional settings, with little notice or preparation, to do their learning in new ways. Doesn’t sound promising, does it?
Or will necessity breed solutions? At the K-12 levels, a few things to aim for if the next several weeks (or however long) aren’t going to be an educational waste of time:
Teachers who connect with students, regardless of not being in person. Parents who set a tone and convey positive messages that education is still on the daily schedule. And kids who are motivated and whose approach has structure and goals.
Who is at most risk of having a tough period if school is closed? Kids with difficult home circumstances. Kids whose parents aren’t able to give them attention (some have to work, you know). Kids who need school meals to maintain their own well-being. Kids who are already behind. Kids who don’t have access to some of the tech and other elements that can make their time more productive. Kids whose need for social involvement is too frustrated.
Overall, the fear being expressed by experts is that the “have-not” kids are the ones who will have the toughest time. That’s why schools serving large numbers of low-income children are most reluctant to close.
But regardless of income, extended school closings will be tough on many families, especially those with young children and working parents.
For college students? I’m not an expert, but it seems reasonable to expect them to show more motivation and responsibility for moving forward with their education, especially if institutions give them good support and if technology allows effective and even personal communication with professors and others.
Despite the tepid history of high-tech approaches to learning, the whole array of what it makes available still offers hope of elevating educational success.
Maybe this will be the time when the new world shows its worth, when both adults and kids rise to the occasion, when great ideas take hold and have lasting impact. We might as well hope something positive comes out of this whole crisis.
Alan J. Borsuk is senior fellow in law and public policy at Marquette Law School. Reach him at alan.borsuk @marquette.edu.