DISTANCE LEARNING - POSITIVES

   We just finished making history in our classrooms, wherever that learning site is. On March 17th we were all thrust into a distance learning mode. The next 10 weeks were filled with many lessons that went well and those that were horrible. We were all forced to actually look at all learning through the students’ eyes. Educators improved their teaching craft due to more realtime reflections and modifications.
    Many students thrived in the academic side of distance learning. I’m not saying those students liked it, just that they found their learning path that was effective on their own. The path was theirs, not the way I feel students should learn or a friend does. That is probably the most powerful learning, in one’s self and style. Here is my list of positives from distance learning.

• STUDENT VIEW OF LEARNING - As stated earlier, being able to see the lessons and learning through the student lens. This process was constantly evolving into a better product, as I took feedback from students as to what went well and what could be better. I was truly able to better see my lesson from their perspective, as I learned about their distance learning style and home environment.
• REALLY LISTENING TO STUDENTS - I had a whole different approach to listening and responding to student emails. I learned quickly to ask context questions for what the learner is really asking. Then reinforce the power of a good academic email format, for effective communication for everyone involved.
• LEARNED HOW STUDENTS USE MY SITE - For the last month of the school year, I would reach out to students for additional input. In small groups, students would share their screens and explain how they use my learning site. Super insightful for me and those in the small group. If the group consisted of 5 students, there would be 3 different pathways to use the same site. Usually, a couple of methods were totally new for me. Then I could take what I learned to better tailor my instruction videos.
• INSTRUCTION VIDEO CREATION - This was deep learning for me. Initially, I was too wordy, over-explaining my expectations, much like a primary teacher needs to do. However, I am working with middle schoolers. Then I learned to be more effective, by getting to the point of our learning target and keeping a video short where applicable. Then creating my screen sharing video on where content can be found on my learning site. I would occasionally change the site format, for it made perfect sense to me. Forgetting to explain to the stakeholders what, where, and why of my site modifications.
• GENIUS VIDEO BAR - This was such a cool discovery that I wish I would have used much earlier in distance learning. Initially, I would set up Google Meet office hours for students to drop-in for questions and support. Then expanded for students to share their deeper dig and exploratory learner. The sharing and discussions were priceless. Students want their work validated at the level they are at. In addition. There was “Share the Learning” peer-to-peer conversations. Pretty cool.
• TIME - This one is totally me, for my commute is over 2 hours to/from school every day. I literally gained over 10 hours of prep-time each week. On most days, I felt more prepared than any given week of regular school and I consider myself a plan/prepared teacher. In addition, I didn't have any children in the house will teaching.

    This was a fun list to reflect on. There is often so much negative reflection of distance learning and many of the points are valid. As I stepped back, taking an objective look at the previous 3 months, I was surprised how many positives there were. We as educators can get stuck in looking at what gives us energy and joy, missing what sparks the same in our learners. There were many positives to take into a new school year. Regardless of the model or method the pandemic determines, our instruction has been improved.

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