Distance Learning CAN Meet the Needs of Learners

In her blog post titled, “5 Reasons Distance Learning Did Not Meet the Needs of Learners” Dr. Katie Martin (the author of Learner-Centered Innovation and VP of Professional Learning at Altitude Learning) eloquently states some issues with remote learning as well as some remedies for each. I thought I would take a run at finding solutions to those problems too. 

Issue 1) Inequitable access to devices and/or Internet

I can readily see two solutions to this issue: 

1. Go out and buy devices and/or Internet for everyone that doesn’t have what they need. 
2. Devise alternative ways to get the same (or similar) learning done. 

If you have created a unit that requires the students to learn, rather than remember, there simply must be a way to do the same learning with poor technology or in it’s absence. Finding that way would help to create more learning and might foster a closer teacher/student relationship. Attempting to find a way to “low-tech” your lesson will help you and your students to “find the learning”. 

Issue 2) Lack of authenticity or purpose

Learning is an active process. Attempting to convince me otherwise is futile. Passively sitting in a room while someone else speaks can only result in students remembering material, at best. 

In teacher school we learned that you give them papers, then you grade the papers. This is low grade clerical work! They sit and dig through texts to find answers, write them down, forget most of it on their way to the teacher’s desk, then hand the work in. This is NOT learning. 

Asking students to solve a real-world, culturally relevant problem will give them purpose and promote much deeper understanding than standard lecture-test lessons. 

Issue 3) Multiple platforms and tools

Here Katie writes, “Keeping track of all the tools, platforms, passwords, meeting times …” is also an issue.

To deal with this I suggest you create a Hyperdoc; One document that has everything needed to complete the unit. Teachers can put in links to anything the student needs, place them in order, include directions, videos, … anything needed. With semi-independent 5-12th graders you can push out two week’s worth of work in one document. Then you need only to troubleshoot and problem solve (differentiated 1-on-1 instruction). 

This won’t help with passwords, but the concept of single sign on with Google solves that one (almost). Encourage your students to sign up and sign on with Google whenever possible.

Issue 4) Focus on the completion of tasks and assignments over learning

This is a tough one! Students need to explain their thinking about the problem and why they think their solution would work (proof). This requires logical and sequential thinking. It requires them to keep track of the work they do (scientific notebook or statement of invention). It almost demands that they follow the Engineering Design Cycle and when they do (if they document their journey towards the solution: insert ELA credits here) they will have proof that they have learned something. They will also be able to explain both the learning and the solution. 

Issue 5) Lack of connection and collaboration

Sadly many of our students will not be able to hug, shake hands, or share lunches this fall. But anyone that thinks they can’t work together has never seen a pair of teens work their parents to get permission to go out together. They can communicate with each other quicker than you would believe, and through more different mediums too. 

Teachers need only to allow it and ask the students to find a way to make it work. Maybe that can be the first problem your class needs to solve?

Here is a hastily put together not-at-all comprehensive list to get you started: 

1. Shared Google documents
2. Google Hangouts
3. Microsoft Teams
4. Zoom
5. Text
6. Email
7. Actual, old-school, telephone call (some students may need a video tutorial on how to do this <end sarcasm font>)
8. Snapchat
9. Instagram
10. FaceTime
11. Line
12. Messenger

This list could literally go on all day, but you get the idea by now. I haven’t even started in on the software specifically designed for collaborative work (trust me there are dozens! 30 are linked here.). 

The lack of connection part can be ameliorated through asking the students to solve a culturally relevant, real-life problem. The problem must affect their world for them to become invested in finding a solution. 

Summary

Give your students a real world, culturally relevant problem to solve that they can become immersed and invested in. Designate the tools they are to use to do the work. Demand that they document their journey in a scientific notebook or it’s digital equivalent. (Here are links to Rationale, Ideas, and Templates for scientific notebooks) Require them to collaborate. Even my middle school students, begrudgingly, came to like this. Follow the design cycle and document every step to prove that you followed it. Leave your teachers bias out of everything except to ask them to demonstrate and document their learning and their work at every step. 

Through the documentation of learning and work, students will become more metacognitive. This will lead to them understanding what they do well and what they struggle with. With this knowledge they can choose pathways to solutions that a) challenge themselves and promote growth or b) pick the quickest way to arrive at a workable solution. Either is fine for any given problem or solution. The work doesn’t care if students work on their strengths or their weaknesses, that is for caring adults who want to challenge their students to learn as much as possible this coming school year.