在大流行之前, the use of technology in the classroom varied and was dependent on the age of the students. 小学生使用科技的经验最少. 大多数都有一些基本的互动——无论是通过Epic, 数字阅读平台, 或iReady, 提供差异化教学的在线数学课程.
“大流行前没有很多技术被使用. 大多数学生的学习都是非常手工的。 凯莉·索恩，17岁她在马里兰州蒙哥马利县的幼儿园任教. “我的学生每周使用一次电脑室，每次45分钟, but they were so unfamiliar with technology that it took most of the class time just to get them logged on.”
玛丽·赫尔曼，15岁，莫斯提克刘易斯堡地区学区的三年级学生, 宾西法尼亚, 对疫情迫使他们使用的技术也相当不熟悉吗.
“Before the pandemic, students learned keyboarding skills and how to type on laptops,” says Mostik. She also used various applications and programs to teach math, reading, science and vocabulary.
但大流行带来了新的挑战. While older students may have had the attention span to sit in front of a screen for longer periods of time, 索恩幼儿园的许多孩子都没有.
“It was very challenging to teach them how to read and write through a screen,” Thorn recalls. 有些人会离开他们的电脑, play other games on the computer or do something completely off task and there was nothing I could do about it from my own house!她说。.
尽管这种向远程学习的巨大转变令人沮丧, the result of having to transition online is that many teachers increased their competency in educational technology. 根据EdWeek研究中心的一项调查, 87% of teachers surveyed said their ed tech skills improved as a result of the pandemic.
Those findings echo the sentiments of Susquehanna alumni contacted for this piece — though much of that confidence has come through trial and error. 而一些学区为他们的教师举办了培训, many teachers dedicated their own time to develop their technology skills by searching out webinars, 教程视频或同伴.
“I learned most of what I know about technology from my colleagues,” Mostik says. “I work with experienced and innovative teachers who find amazing uses of technology and are willing to share.”
约翰·比克哈特01年 被任命为丹维尔地区学区的课程主任, 宾西法尼亚, 疫情爆发几个月后. 从地区的小学校长转变过来, he and the information technology staff mobilized to support teachers prior to schools reopening for the 2020–21 school year.
“We created an entire training program that could be accessed online and adapted to the knowledge level of the teacher,比克哈特解释道. “We established four technology coaches — one for each building — as well as an instructional coach. 当我们回到学校, 我们的老师100次中有99次是在课堂上授课, 即使我们要请几天假, 因为我们给他们提供了支持.”
The shift to online learning also revealed a digital divide in American society and education — leading to equity issues in the way education was delivered. 这在农村学区是一个特别的问题, 哪里的高速互联网服务不稳定, 昂贵或不存在.
Jason Weller ' 99 teaches eighth-grade science in the entirely rural Line Mountain School District in 宾西法尼亚. “Many of our students do not have reliable internet at home or even access to a computer,韦勒说. “Houses that had somewhat reliable internet faced issues if there were siblings who also needed to be online at the same time.”
Some districts near Susquehanna provided hot spots — a wireless access point — for students who did not have adequate internet service at their homes. 一个是米夫林堡地区，在那里 罗莎莉娅·克莱门斯14岁 教一年级.
她说:“我们还录下了自己的视频，这样学生们以后就可以看了。.
对于Mostik, the larger equity issue arose regarding the amount of support some students did or didn’t receive.
“Many working parents were unable to assist their children with logging on to Zoom,” Mostik says. “Many students missed Zoom lessons or did not complete their assigned work outside of school. Some kids were at daycare or a family member’s house, and the same complications often arose.”
While most teachers claimed their opinion of educational technology has improved as a result of increased usage during the pandemic, 管理人员的前景比教师乐观. 在EdWeek进行的调查中, just 6% of district leaders said their experiences during the coronavirus closures have led to a more negative view of ed tech, 相比之下，21%的教师会这样做.
麦迪逊·赖斯21届, 谁直到大流行开始后才开始她的教学生涯, can see the pros and cons of relying heavily on technology- based teaching and learning in her kindergarten classroom at Selinsgrove Area School District.
的好处, 赖斯说, are that students learn to work independently; they engage easily with game-based instruction; platforms can differentiate instruction based on the academic level of the student; and many have data linkages that offer snapshots of a student’s areas of strength and weakness.
“然而，一些学生并没有从技术的学习方式中受益. 每个学生学的都不一样, and if hands-on instruction is better for them then the technology piece can cause them to struggle,她说。.
适合仍在完善精细运动技能的小学生, 教师们发现，掌握这些技能的速度较慢.
“如今，科技已经深深地融入了孩子们的生活, 他们在简单的任务上挣扎, 比如拿铅笔，用剪刀剪,克莱门斯说. “Sometimes technology can hinder children from developing the basic skills they need.”
尽管这可能是一次陡峭的攀登, increased technological demands on teachers appear here to stay — and some of that is a good thing, 克莱门斯说.
“Technology can provide students with an array of learning opportunities,她说。. “总的来说，学校变得更加灵活. 我认为我们将有更多的选择，如何为学生提供指导.”
Bickhart, 现在是米尔顿地区学区的负责人, 宾西法尼亚, 他说他的选区正在采取措施建立自己的网络学院, something he believes many districts will do thanks to the technological foundation they have built during the pandemic. He estimates the move will save significant taxpayer dollars that the district would otherwise be obligated to send as payment for its students who enroll in cyber schools not affiliated with the district.
协助创建网络学院的是该地区对Canvas的使用, 一个支持在线学习和教学的系统. 学院和大学比学区更常用, 它允许教师发布课程内容并发布成绩, 网上信息和作业. 该学区还利用它来建立自己的在线课程图书馆.
“I think we’re on the cutting edge of it and I think you’re going to see high schools will be able to do a lot of asynchronous options for their students,他说. “这对参加网络课程的学生和所有学生都有好处.”
这场大流行向社会证明了大多数教师已经知道的另一件事.
“The pandemic reinforced the importance of face-to-face instruction and having students and teachers in the classroom together,韦勒说. “As great as our technology is in bringing us together and allowing access to unlimited information, 没有什么能代替老师和学生在一起.”
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