Distance Learning - Has it become the new normal?
Teaching is a profession known for the challenges faced. Those challenges can be related to classroom behaviour, exam pressures, funding and budget issues amongst many others. The Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 has brought new and additional challenges to all professions, businesses and occupations not excluding teaching.
Schools have been able to respond to the decision to launch distance learning using different approaches based on the digital tools, resources, experiences and knowledge of leaders, teachers and students within each school community. I know many teachers that already consider themselves to be very tech savvy and are fully embracing this opportunity to trial new approaches to learning and explore innovative digital tools and avenues. In contrast to other teachers where this feels like very uncomfortable territory. The gap between teacher confidence using technology has existed for years but has been made even more evident in recent months.
There are a wealth of benefits of using technology to enhance teaching and learning. Retrieval practice has become a well-known term in education over recent years, although the strategy itself has existed in classrooms for much longer, and this refers to the act of recalling information from long term memory. Every time this is information is recalled from memory it will make that information easier and quicker to recall in the future. Retrieval practice is vital to learning. Technology certainly lends itself very well to this strategy. Pre Covid-19 teachers were already using technology in different ways to practice retrieval of previously taught learning material. There are many well known websites that are ideal for providing students with a range of quizzes including multiple choice and/or opportunities for free recall writing short or extended answers. Some of these great sites include Quizz.com, Google Forms, Kahoot and more. Each site is different with their own individual features to support learning. Retrieval practice can take place with or without technology, but the key thing is that it is taking place whether we are in a school classroom or virtual classroom.
Another benefit of technology for educators are that a lot of digital tools (mentioned above) allow the teacher to be able to respond to work or provide feedback in a quicker and more efficient way than traditional methods of marking and feedback. Quizizz and Kahoot for example, will inform students if their answers were correct or not. It will also provide data for the teacher to gain an overview and insight of an individual or class set of results. The teacher doesn’t need to mark each one themselves the technology can do this for us. Technology can be fantastic for supporting our workload. Reducing our time marking quizzes/tests can give teachers more time to invest in planning, communication or engaging with professional development.
Technology also provides everyone with a variety of ways to communicate, engage and stay connected. This arguably has never been more important than it is right now. Isolation and lock down are new experiences, experiences that may have first sounded exciting or even relaxing but the reality is that it can be a very stressful, lonely and worrying time for everyone. We need to stay in touch as an educational community. Teachers and leaders need to support one another as well as our students and their families. There are of course e-mail, messaging services, virtual learning environments such as Google Classroom and Zoom conference calls. The way we communicate with each other will vary based on different factors such as location, age range ( some communication tools may not be suitable for younger students) and accessibility but again the key factor is that communication is taking place. This may be a whole school or whole class message or perhaps a personalised email to a colleague, student or parent. Communication must be clear , concise and it goes without saying but should not be forgotten, it should comply with the school safeguarding policy at all times.
There are many more benefits to using technology that educators, students and parents are discovering on a daily basis however, distance learning whilst being an effective temporary solution will never replace the authentic classroom experience. Firstly, retrieval practice is a great strategy for showing a classroom teacher what their students can and cannot recall. This doesn’t always happen during a quiz. It can be a question and answer discussion in class and this dialogue between the teacher and students allows for verbal retrieval and opportunities to expand, develop and explore answers further in a way that a digital quizzes simply cannot do. Technology can certainly support workload but now both teachers and students are spending much more time on devices, screen time is something we must consider. When people are not working it is likely that during their break or rest time they will also be using screens to stay in contact socially, to read news, visit social media apps or streaming programmes and films. This is a not a healthy lifestyle and we need to all be mindful to monitor and self regulate our own screen time. Feedback and communication can take place using technology but it is not the same as being in a school environment. There are things we often took for granted such as having a cup of coffee in the staffroom and talking to colleagues outside of our own departments or having the flexibility to plan our lessons with or without technology not restricted as we are now. For students the opportunity to see their friends, play football at break time and have conversations with their teachers have temporarily been taken away from them.
Distance learning is the approach we have to take for the health, safety and welfare of all. There is no disagreement that this isn’t our priority. Distance learning will become easier for students and teachers in many ways as we adapt to new technologies, develop our own routines and grow in confidence. As time passes with distance learning, not all aspects will become easier. The longer the period of time between seeing friends, family and colleagues can bring more mental health and pastoral concerns. The transition back to school will certainly be welcomed by many with open arms but could also be something that people struggle with, returning after such a long time in their own homes. It can feel like limbo right now, remembering life pre-Covid and planning for life and normality to return post-Covid. There are lots of uncertainties about this time but one thing is clear is that life has changed globally and each individual is trying to navigate and find their own new normal both inside and outside of the classroom.
Kate Jones is the author of Love To Teach: Research and Resources for Every Classroom and Retrieval Practice: Research and Resources for Every Classroom both with John Catt Publishing. Kate is Head of History at The British School Al Khubairat, Abu Dhabi and was the 2020 winner of the GESS Mark Duncan Award for Educational Influencer of the Year. You can follow Kate on Twitter @87history Instagram @lovetoteach87 and find out more about her work on her website lovetoteach87.com
