My venture into online learning was sudden, as any teacher in 2020 can attest to. In March of 2020 all teachers and students in Saskatchewan were moved to an online model due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Those first months went by rather uneventfully. Learning opportunities were limited to English Language Arts and Math for elementary learners, and were considered optional. I began with 13 students participating in online learning, then by May I was down to 2 students. This model was unsustainable, and ineffective.
Fast forward to September 2020. Teachers and students were eager to return to school. The day I finished setting up my classroom was the day I was offered a position in our Prairie South Virtual School, and I took down my classroom while my position was advertised.
With one week to meet my new grade 3 students, I quickly scrambled to determine how to simply begin. As Bates references, most teaching methods can be done online and in-person while designing for the context differently. I began the way I do in person. Community building with my students. I can honestly say this paved the way to a successful year. These students formed friendships, even learning how to play outside via Zoom. I sent weekly emails to parents with our learning outcomes, carefully scaffolded to build student’s capacity. The responses I got from parents was overwhelmingly positive. I discovered parents that were experts in areas I was not, and could easily access their expertise. Parents sat and learned with their children. Children learned from everywhere, even while checking cows. It transformed my view of building community in schools. It was a dream job, offering flexibility, empathy for families, and a strong community.
With the flexibility comes the importance of boundaries. At one point during the year I was hospitalized for a week. My classroom remained at my fingertips, so I continued to teach from the hospital bed. I emailed parents and explained the situation, but that learning would continue. All of my parents emailed back that they would spend time as a family learning but to not worry about posting work or coming to class. Instead I had visiting time when students would come to chat and visit with me. My students also had times of tragedy, where I got to return the kindness they had shown me. Every student had a reason for choosing online learning, and I was so proud of each of them for the successes they had.
The things that made me a successful in person teacher are also what made me a successful virtual teacher. I would say I mostly followed an agile design model, similar to responsive teaching in person. We constantly tried new technology and explored together. The opportunity to provide such quantity and quality of feedback allowed me to plan what learning opportunities students needed. It was the year we stayed home, stayed safe, and stayed connected!
Happy Teaching,
Leah