A Year Of Shifts: Reflections On Pandemic Digital Education
Which of these items do you think will stay at the forefront of the discussion?
When we look back a year, two years, or even a decade hopefully we will be able to identify some of the shifts that happened in 2020 that caused us to look differently at the world of digital education and student learning. I wanted to take a moment and share a few of the broader topics that I have encountered as part of a COVID time capsule of the shifts in digital education. Which of these items do you think will stay at the forefront of discussion?
Technology Reliance In Education
During the peak of the pandemic, the increased frequency of the use of technology and its reliance as an instructional tool created learning environments that were the bridge for incredible enhanced collaboration between teachers and students and opened the doors for global communication and sharing of resources, instructional approaches, and tools.
Based on the frequency of collaboration online still happening as the return to the classroom begins the ever-present opportunity to meet virtually or share resources in a digital format should remain. I think many have learned that it has become the most efficient and offers many features in-person meetings don’t offer such as each collecting feedback through video conferencing add ons like polls and digital whiteboards.
Deeper Dives Into Effective Instructional Models
The deep dives educators and leadership have taken at reviewing the variety of instructional models has pushed a new level of active creativity with educator style, delivery, and resources. Whether the approach was remote or hybrid the ideas and concepts shared to how these models support the wide range of student needs was solution-based and provided a rich opportunity to review best practices.
Internet Connectivity & Bandwidth
Creating solutions for the increasing divide of internet connectivity for students and families with limited access was brought to the forefront during remote learning. Districts needed to plan to support these needs and grants became available from the federal government to provide wireless hotspots but in the long run, it serves as only a band-aid to a larger problem.
Ideally, the federal government will use the data collected regarding the need to support more households with devices and internet access and create more federally sponsored opportunities for schools and families to utilize the benefits of high-speed connectivity. This is an issue that existed prior to the pandemic and hopefully has developed some steam and much-needed attention.
Increased Comfort Level With Digital Tools
Moving forward, opportunities for educators to build upon their experience and continue to enhance the learning and application of new tools need to be supported with new and unique professional development options. These options should be considered in all formats from virtual conferences, hybrid approaches, and offerings that support the deep dive many educators have taken to deepen their learning to meet the expanded student skills set that has come with long-term remote learning.
Enhanced Collaboration & Sharing: Student & Educator Technology Skills & Enhanced Resources
Many of the learning groups (Facebook Groups, List Serves) that I have followed related to teaching resources continue to thrive and share resources broadly. There has been a window in the past several months in which the strategies for new ideas and shifts in approaches of in-person learning have been discussed. We are yet to see the depth of how technology will be implemented upon school return and the desire of educators to maintain their implementation of tools and resources in digital portals and learning management systems. The remote learning period has marked a tremendous level of improved technical skills and a greater level of comfort with the adaption to more technology in the classroom
Hopefully, these shifts cause us to look differently at the world of digital education and student learning in a time in which technology supports so many solutions. Many educators are anxious to return to their classrooms and begin to work with students in person. There are however several important experiences that we have all gained from the struggle of adapting to new learning and teaching modalities that have framed the past year of educations and there is much to gain from a review of those experiences.