Alex Geordan Superintendent Explains COVID-19's Effect on School Technology
CANFIELD, OH, UNITED STATES , December 2, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ -- According to Alex Geordan Superintendent, COVID-19 has caused many changes in school technology used at all levels of education, including elementary and junior high. Most schools transitioned to online home school programs temporarily when the pandemic began in February and March in the US.
From kindergarten to college, classes went online quickly, says Alex Geordan Superintendent. Some schools went from no remote education program to the entire school working, teaching, and attending classes online. While many states have long offered K-12 online education or home-schooling programs using mail or visiting teachers, until 2020, the majority of its users were those with illnesses or medical conditions that precluded them from attending school on a daily basis each week. COVID-19 brought a sudden requirement to move all education online.
Many schools had no preparation for this. Teachers who handled classes for online education merely went on as they had, but most teachers found themselves thrust into the world of Blackboard.com and Zoom without a net, said Alex Geordan Superintendent.
They did the best they could, using spring break as a time to bone up on remote teaching methods. While the emergency online teaching mechanism did work to get people through the semester, it did not require them to stay there, says Alex Geordan Superintendent. When the US re-opened, schools resumed classroom meetings.
That does not mean they will abandon their newfound teaching methods, says Alex Geordan Superintendent. Many teachers expressed interest in teaching online classes. They also expressed interest in learning what real e-learning entails. True e-learning programs take long-term planning and preparation. The first step achieved though; the rest should be simpler.
Many schools used the summer break to improve their frameworks. If the pandemic requires a return to remote teaching, the schools improved their readiness over the summer. For K-12 schools, the basic framework of online education already existed. They had no reason to re-invent the wheel, so those schools used the existing state resources. This did require new or additional equipment though to accommodate a vastly increased load on the servers. The low-cost of moving to e-learning software shocked many schools. Some schools fully transitioned for less than $40,000, according to Alex Geordan Superintendent.
Although they usually teach, many schools had lessons learned. The overarching lesson was that what works for another school may not work for you. Rather than try to implement a learning management system on the fly, some schools allowed their teachers to use whatever worked best for them. If the English teacher already knew Zoom well, they could use it. If the health teacher already used GoToMeeting, they could use it, Alex Geordan Superintendent explained.
While they certainly did not have the opportunity to plan for it, the move to e-learning whetted appetites for more. Many schools expressed interest in moving to an e-learning model that would let them expand remote teaching perhaps reducing the need for school closures for snowstorms or other natural hazards. With schools online, students could attend classes from anywhere without downtime, keeping the school year on schedule, a boon for every school, Alex Geordan Superintendent said.
From kindergarten to college, classes went online quickly, says Alex Geordan Superintendent. Some schools went from no remote education program to the entire school working, teaching, and attending classes online. While many states have long offered K-12 online education or home-schooling programs using mail or visiting teachers, until 2020, the majority of its users were those with illnesses or medical conditions that precluded them from attending school on a daily basis each week. COVID-19 brought a sudden requirement to move all education online.
Many schools had no preparation for this. Teachers who handled classes for online education merely went on as they had, but most teachers found themselves thrust into the world of Blackboard.com and Zoom without a net, said Alex Geordan Superintendent.
They did the best they could, using spring break as a time to bone up on remote teaching methods. While the emergency online teaching mechanism did work to get people through the semester, it did not require them to stay there, says Alex Geordan Superintendent. When the US re-opened, schools resumed classroom meetings.
That does not mean they will abandon their newfound teaching methods, says Alex Geordan Superintendent. Many teachers expressed interest in teaching online classes. They also expressed interest in learning what real e-learning entails. True e-learning programs take long-term planning and preparation. The first step achieved though; the rest should be simpler.
Many schools used the summer break to improve their frameworks. If the pandemic requires a return to remote teaching, the schools improved their readiness over the summer. For K-12 schools, the basic framework of online education already existed. They had no reason to re-invent the wheel, so those schools used the existing state resources. This did require new or additional equipment though to accommodate a vastly increased load on the servers. The low-cost of moving to e-learning software shocked many schools. Some schools fully transitioned for less than $40,000, according to Alex Geordan Superintendent.
Although they usually teach, many schools had lessons learned. The overarching lesson was that what works for another school may not work for you. Rather than try to implement a learning management system on the fly, some schools allowed their teachers to use whatever worked best for them. If the English teacher already knew Zoom well, they could use it. If the health teacher already used GoToMeeting, they could use it, Alex Geordan Superintendent explained.
While they certainly did not have the opportunity to plan for it, the move to e-learning whetted appetites for more. Many schools expressed interest in moving to an e-learning model that would let them expand remote teaching perhaps reducing the need for school closures for snowstorms or other natural hazards. With schools online, students could attend classes from anywhere without downtime, keeping the school year on schedule, a boon for every school, Alex Geordan Superintendent said.
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