The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Launch Pad: Snow days are a thing of the past at Holy Rosary
PLYMOUTH — The snow is coming, the snow is coming. Like British invaders come to take away American freedom, this winter’s snowstorms wreaked havoc on school calendars across the region, leaving administrators stuck between shortening spring break or extending the school year well into June.
Despite the countywide school closures, Holy Rosary Regional Catholic School found a way to defeat a recent storm and keep from tacking on make-up days: the iPad.
Using an app called “Go to Meeting,” Holy Rosary teachers broadcast lessons to their upper school students, who currently use iPads in the classroom on a regular basis, thus allowing the students to attend classes from home. Before the storm, students were
given access codes to each teacher’s meeting, and excel spreadsheets of the access codes were sent home to parents. After a brief lunchtime meeting in which the sixth-, seventhand eighth-grade teachers tested out the app and a student login practice session, Holy Rosary geared up to test out the cyber classroom.
Thomas Arnold, Holy Rosary’s seventh- and eighth-grade social studies teacher, said that though the first run was a learning experience, it ended up a near flawless success.
“Each teacher had a preset Go to Meeting session set up and ready to start for their normal Monday class,” Arnold said. “The fact that the attendance rate was so high tells me that both the students are interested in the cyber classes and the parents are willing to support it.”
Cheryl Cannon, whose son Tommy is a sixthgrader, said the cyber classes have her full support. The entire Cannon family worked from home during the storm.
“Tommy loves it. I think he was more focused than in school,” Cannon said. “In our situation, Tommy is the youngest, with two older brothers who were also working from home on the Internet, as well as his father.”
Arnold noted there are fewer distractions for children at home.
“I think this technology actually helps some of the students focus on the lesson better,” Arnold said. “There are less distractions to draw them away from what the teacher is trying to teach them.”
The app also granted every teacher their wish, according to Arnold.
“The technology makes for very simple classroom management. If a student is talking out of turn I can simply click a button and they are muted,” Arnold said with a laugh.
In addition to removing distractions, Arnold pointed to the efficiency and practicality of the holding classes electronically.
“The ability to still hold class during a snow day is a major benefit for the school,” he said. “First and foremost, it allows us to maintain some semblance of a school calendar. The only option for both teachers and students is to take away spring break dates or extend the school year further into the summer. Either option is not very popular with teachers, students, or parents.”
Arnold also noted the benefits of not missing school to both students and parents.
“Parents have mentioned that an additional benefit to the cyber classes is that the students are able to spend their time productively instead of just sitting around the house all day. Sure, a lazy snow day here and there never hurt anyone and brings a relaxing relief, but in a winter like we have been having this year, the cyber classes have become almost a necessity.”
There were a few technical difficulties, but some can occur on a regular school day, too, Arnold said.
“There were a couple of students who were legitimately sick or injured from sledding accidents,” he said. “Some students had connectivity issues based on their Internet speed at home and could not fully hear me talking or heard a blurred version of me. We solved most of those problems during the course of the class, but it was still an issue for a couple students.”
Other students had to phone into the conversation because their iPads were not available.
“Those students could only hear my voice. When some of your students can only hear what you’re saying that makes coming up with lessons very difficult,” Arnold said. “So yes, there were some difficult limitations when comparing to a classroom learning environment where you can do so much more. However, it is still better than nothing and having no class at all. As technology continues to improve I am sure these difficulties will disappear.”
Lisa Hoban, principal of Holy Rosary, also noted a minor drawback of the cyber classroom, but said overall it was a successful first run.
“The only drawback I could see is that we were only able to ‘see’ the first six students who logged on,” Hoban said. “I would love to find an app that allowed us to see 25 students, or wouldn’t it be great if we could build one?
“Students were able to hear everything, speak, and in the absence of a mike, could type in their responses. I visited every classroom on both days. Teachers were calling on students, showing PowerPoint presentations and playing ‘Jeopardy’ to prepare for tests. Math teachers had students holding their work up to the camera to show everyone.”
Cannon said she was impressed with the system and happy her son spent a productive day at school. After school, he was still able to enjoy the winter wonderland.
“After helping to shovel the driveway and sidewalks, Tommy met up with some of his neighborhood friends for sledding,” Cannon said.
This article is the sixth in a series called Launch Pad. For more articles from Launch Pad, visit www.timesherald.com.