Distance learning: A learning curve for all involved
The first week of the 2020-21 academic year began on Monday, and teachers in the Lodi Unified School District are adapting to distance learning.
While the district implemented remote instruction last March when the COVID-19 pandemic began, officials and the Board of Education have acknowledged the spring semester was more of a crisis distance learning chapter in education than a structured one.
For the first quarter of the new year, Tokay High School teacher Jen Cassel said distance learning will be completely different.
“There is a whole different tone that’s been set this time around, and I think the kids are picking up on that,” she said. “And the teachers are stepping up in a way we’ve never done before. I’ve been a teacher for 28 years, I’ve never had to teach like this. It’s a whole new set of challenges.”
While some teachers might be more tech savvy with Zoom or Google Classroom — a program students use to turn in their assignments — Cassel said the district has provided teachers that have been hired to train or coach employees the basics of remote instruction.
“Every teacher is pulling every kind of digital tool out of their tool box that they can,” she said. “Some people are just way better than others, and I’m somewhere probably in the middle. We’re trying to change it up so it’s not just six hours of
Zoom.”
As an example, on Thursdays, Cassel’s students, which are mostly seniors in advanced placement courses, will spend 20 minutes of class on Zoom with her.
After that Zoom meeting, Cassel will log off, and her students will participate in online discussions about the assignment she provides.
On Friday, her third period AP English students will be given 55 minutes to write an “in-class” essay about the novel “Brave New World.”
Cassel said it’s not only teachers who need guidance to log on or navigate apps to turn in and review assignments. Many times after a period ends, Cassel said she’ll receive nearly a dozen emails from her students with inquiries about logging into Google Classroom or submitting assignments.
One of the challenges distance learning presents, she said, is building a sense of community for her students.
“You want them to feel that school is a welcoming environment that they are free to share and contribute,” she said. “So how do you do that in a digital world? How do you develop camaraderie and trust, when all we’ve got is this? We’re only in the first few days of this, and it is really challenging. I think some teachers are really grappling with that.”
One way teachers are trying to create community and camaraderie is a music exercise with students to start each period.
As her AP English students logged on for their 9:37 a.m. class, Cassel played Bob Dylan’s “Tangled up in Blue.” She then asked the 12 students enrolled in the class what kinds of music they would like to hear when they log on.
Many said they liked KPop, and even named groups like The Rose or Oh My Girl, while others requested Reggaeton, pop, alternative, rhythm and blues, or calming instrumentals pieces.
Some even mentioned popular artists such as Drake or Green Day.
After the music survey, Cassel then explained that dual enrollment was available to students, which allows LUSD students to also take courses at Delta College, and described how they could enroll or participate before giving them an assignment for the online discussion.
A challenge to creating community is getting students to remain on camera during a Zoom meeting. Cassel said some students have black screens because their computers aren’t equipped with cameras, while others with cameras prop them up so they are facing the ceiling.
She said teachers are encouraging students to create unique digital backgrounds on Zoom if they feel the session is intrusive. However, some simply sit in a corner to reveal as little of their household as possible.
One of the highlights of distance learning this year is the attendance, Cassel said.
“I’m at 100% attendance,” she said. “No one is absent. Is that because they can sit in bed and just turn on the computer and be there? We’re doing what we can to encourage them to show up. My classes have really shown up, and their doing the homework. They’re really putting the effort in.”
Cassel said distance learning could potentially be an avenue for the district to help students who would rather learn without having to come to campus for personal reasons.
“We’ve known for years that kids sometimes crave an environment that’s more like this,” she said. “And I don’t know that we’ve really served those kids over the years, who want more like an independent study and who don’t really want to be on a campus with 2,000 kids.”
One aspect of distance learning that worries Cassel is the quality of technology some students have to work with.
She said some students are using Chromebooks that are about five years old, so the audio isn’t the best when it comes to participating in class, and there are students who do not have easy access to the Internet or WiFi.
One of her students Thursday morning attempted to respond to the music request, but the sound was spotty, so Cassel instructed her to type her response until the sound was fixed.
Conversely, there are families who have purchased brand new computers and are participating with crisp video and sound. It’s an uneven playing field she hopes can be corrected as the year progresses.
While some might think that teachers and students sit back and relax once a Zoom session is over, Cassel said that is not the case.
After logging off with students each period, she reports attendance numbers through a a district app, then prepares content for her next class. After the final period, she gets to work reading and grading assignments to have them ready to return to her students the next day.
The timed essay planned for students on Friday will take up a good chuck of her weekend, she said.
“Teachers are aware that the community has the impression that this is easy street for us,” she said. “We’re also aware that the community thinks we’re fearful of kids, or that teachers have some political agenda. No, we’re just trying to keep everybody safe. We recognize this isn’t ideal.”