How to Improve Remote Learning Experiences | Remote Learning - EdTech Magazine: Focus on Higher Education

When educators implement remote learning, they should embrace a team approach and not try to replicate the physical classroom, writes Eileen Belastock, director of academic technology at Mount Greylock Regional School District in Massachusetts.

Child with laptop on an online class at home
Photo: FG Trade/Getty Images

Any K–12 district CTO will tell you that transitioning a school community to a remote learning environment involves long-range strategic planning, allocation of resources, focused sustainable professional development and equitable access to devices and connectivity for students.
However, the race was on when when coronavirus pandemic-related state mandates closed school buildings earlier this year. Understanding the detrimental impact that school closures can have on student access to education, school districts rushed to create online learning plans that would ensure educational continuity for the last months of the school year.

Classroom teachers and support professionals are especially burdened with the responsibility of sustaining academic growth and the well-being of their students in the new normal. With Wi-Fi hotspots and routers temporarily replacing brick-and-mortar walls, educators and students still need to connect, engage in exciting learning opportunities, strengthen and build skills, and explore and personalize learning with project-based activities...

Use Proven Approaches to Online Instruction
As lifelong learners, educators are always challenging themselves to provide students with the most effective instructional tools and resources. While this is extraordinarily commendable in this time of educational triage, it is recommended that educators and students use tools already incorporated in their classroom.
Read more... 

Source: EdTech Magazine: Focus on Higher Education