Online Teaching in K-12: A New Blog Series

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June 17, 2020 by twunewteachers

Written by Amanda Hurlbut, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor of Teacher Education at Texas Woman’s University

As thousands of administrators, teachers, parents, and students wait to see what the fall semester holds as far as K-12 schooling in the midst of a pandemic, there is one thing that is almost sure to be certain: online education in some form or fashion, whether it is the driving force or the back-up plan, will be part of the 2020-2021 school year. 

This is of course driven by the COVID-19 pandemic following a 3-month spring break during the 2019-2020 school year. Almost overnight, teachers, who had only received training, preparation and experience teaching students in face-to-face settings had to now transition to finishing out the school year in an online-only learning environment. I watched firsthand as article after article, blog after blog, and tweet after tweet came out, attempting to help and encourage teachers in these contexts with advice, online courses, and books about how to shift to a digital learning platform. 

I noticed one glaring reality about this never-ending stream of advice…the majority came from instructors’ experiences with teaching in higher education. Sites such as Edutopia, Association of College and University Educators (ACUE), Faculty Focus, Higher Education Chronicle, etc. regularly released content on this topic. An occasional blog from sites like Cult of Pedagogy and Jennifer Gonzalez focused specifically on the plight of K-12 education. But these usually focused on one specific part of online education. Strategies to engage learners in Zoom meetings. Pedagogies to create screencasting teaching videos. Tools to build relationships with students. But there was never an encompassing compilation of information on how to purposefully design and implement an entire online learning experience for students in one place. 

Higher education went online a while ago. Online classes became a staple of college offerings in the early 2000s. While many college instructors navigate these waters and come out stronger on the other side, many in higher ed still have no clue that online classes need to be taught with a different design mentality and a different pedagogy altogether. Some are successful and some are not. I feel fortunate that I already had at least five years under my belt of designing and delivering effective online instruction (which yes, is very different from teaching face-to-face). According to recent statistics regarding enrollment in online and distance learning courses, approximately 33% of undergrads and 38% of post-baccalaureate students participate in at least one online course (Education Data.org, 2020). Online learning has yet to catch fire in mainstream K-12 public school settings. 

The pandemic created an immediate shift and reliance to online learning where no niche yet existed in K-12. Districts scrambled to select a learning management system. Schools scrambled to provide devices for students. The community scrambled to ensure that low-income students had access to the internet at no extra cost. Teachers scrambled to put together lessons that were somewhat meaningful, but wouldn’t create an endless email chain of questions and confusion from parents and students. It was a lot of scrambling, but not a lot of prepared planning. There just wasn’t time. Online learning was only a distant possibility, but never a reality for schools charged with teaching K-12 learners…until now. 

As such, TWU New Teachers will be releasing a series of blog posts this summer around the topic of online teaching and learning. The purpose of this series is to shed light on research-based practices for teaching in online and distance-learning settings, specifically targeted for students in K-12 schools. I believe that the pandemic created a whole new concept of school “choice” since learning has traditionally only been brick and mortar. But the documented mass exodus of students (National Center for Education Statistics 2012, Department of Education 2020) to homeschool or attend charter, private, and university model schools demonstrates the need for public schools to continually evaluate their offerings. Furthermore, recent statistics also suggest that families are choosing to leave public education in favor of rapidly expanding virtual school options (International Association for K-12 Online Learning 2013). Many students will NOT choose or succeed with online learning, just as many college students choose not to take online classes. However, many students will thrive and even soar in these types of settings that have never been widely available to them in K-12. I believe the pandemic has created a fire starter by which K-12 schools can use to offer more options and learning formats to reach more learners than ever before, long after the pandemic becomes a nightmare and no longer a reality. 

Some of the topics that future blogs in this series will address include: 

• Online design pedagogy
• Building relationships with students
• Issues of equity and accessibility
• Organizing your course/content for enhanced clarity and success
• Strategies for assessment and feedback
• Engaging your students in meaningful content
• Setting boundaries for the online teacher (who never gets to go home)

Until the next post, here is a brief glimpse of one teacher’s experience with incorporating technology into the classroom as a conduit for potential online or blended learning experiences: 

Written by Maricela Salazar, TWU Graduate Student and Denton ISD Teacher

Preparing students for distance learning may not be one of the items on a new teacher’s to-do list. However, as we have seen over the last few months, it has become quite clear that alongside preparing lessons, organizing our classrooms, and setting up routines, we must include teaching technology. It may seem that most students today have had access to and used technology since they were toddlers; but, absorbing content passively is not the same as using the technology for expressing or producing ideas. We are living in a time where technology is integral in our lives and we may think “pushing” its uses may not be necessary or in a student’s best interest. Most secondary students now come to class with at least one personal electronic device and with districts pushing for tech literacy and innovation there is a real need to ensure we are preparing them to use it in a productive and responsible manner. 

One of the first things we should include in the first days of school is to take the time to teach students how to properly use the learning platform they will be using in class, whether it is Google Classroom, Canvas or anything else. You will be surprised how many students still do not know how to navigate these often-used platforms. In addition to these, students need to be taught how to navigate the applications that will be used in class effectively and thoroughly. Don’t be afraid to require students to insert images, videos, drawings, hyperlinks to digital documents. For example if you use Google Docs, require the students to use proper formatting, use spell-check, and other tools available in the software. Students need these skills in order to effortlessly create assignments that will maximize their abilities of expression. That is, technology provides a way for you to differentiate your lessons and the more apt your students are at manipulating the technology tools they have, the better they are able to take an active role in their own learning. When you prepare students to use the available tech tools, whether they are devices or software programs, you are giving students the ability to express their learning in various ways, some more creatively than others, but at least you give them the ability to produce work they can feel confident about and be proud of. 

Incorporating these mini-lessons within your lessons will save you time and will allow you to feel confident that students will be able to communicate their ideas, work, or misunderstanding more easily. Teaching your students to be tech-savvy will not only allow you to assess them more easily but they will also be able to assess themselves. Students should be able to be active in their learning outside of school, and as we have seen, be prepared to access content virtually at a moment’s notice. What better way to holistically prepare students than to ensure you make purposeful use of technology. Don’t be afraid to learn alongside them. If you are not sure how to use a particular app, website, or tool, make it a whole-class learning opportunity. You will be surprised how eager students are to teach you something! In fact, ask your students periodically what apps they are using and see if you can incorporate them into your lessons! 

Mrs. Salazar teaches science at Braswell High School in Denton ISD where she has worked since it first opened in 2016. She is certified in Spanish (6-12) and Secondary Science (7-12) and is in her final semester of courses in the M.Ed. in Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum at TWU. She loves reading non-fiction and watching sci-fi films and shows (old and new). Her favorite subject to teach is chemistry and environmental science as they make for interesting labs and discussions.