to absorb the application of these science experiments at home.
As the number of Coronavirus cases continue to rise, schools across the nation are taking precautionar y measures to ensure the health and safety of their students and staff, with most transitioning to a distance learning model. In MUSD, teachers were notified by the district about the transition to online learning at the close of Spring Break (March 16-March 20) when preparations took place. “It is our moral imperative to provide every student access to a robust instructional program aligned to grade level standards. We understand for most of our students, the optimal environment is physically in the classroom. Due to the state and local government recommendations for a potential twelve-week or longer school closures, the best solution to address the educational needs of our students is transitioning to [a distance learning environment],” said superintendent Dr. Clark Burke. Schools, teachers and administrators planned quickly to bring an alternative learning environment to their students beginning April 6, 2020. During the first planning period, teachers learned how to
use Microsoft Teams, an online Microsoft application that allows teachers and students to collaborate remotely in one platform. Teachers who have experience using the app used their knowledge to help other educators explore the online tool including Sierra High School science teacher and Academic Decathlon club advisor Mr. Tyler Ryan who said, “I was part of a Teams training group at Sierra that provided extra support to teachers by holding small scale training sessions, one on one help, and practical implementations of Teams.” Teachers at Sierra High frequently use technology to administer online assessments or homework assignments. Their success with technology inside the classroom assisted in the successful implementation of technology at home. Mr. Ryan uses Teams to communicate directly with his students. Before each class, Mr. Ryan posts an agenda outlining the activities for the day. “Usually the students will have an independent warmup assignment
whether it is a formative quiz or reading that relates to what we will be discussing during our class meeting. I use the shared screen feature in Teams to provide direct instruction and write all the notes in the OneNote,” explained Mr. Ryan. Teams comes with an abundance of features that are extremely useful for modern collaboration. It makes it easier for teachers and students to communicate in the interim before school starts again. In addition to assigning homework, teachers can also record lectures and organize their class notebook in the Teams app accordingly. Science teachers are known to conduct lab experiments as a way of teaching science through a handson approach. Some initial concerns Mr. Ryan had was finding a way to replicate these labs at home. Virtual lab software facilitates the science teaching process for educators and makes it easier for students
“I have a duty to not only teach these science standards, but also teach my students how to develop their own thinking and understanding so that they can improve every day,” expressed Mr. Ryan. Similarly, other teachers find ways to effectively bring the classroom to the at-home learning environment. Others continue to use online tools like Flipgrid, Edpuzzle, Forms, Quizlet, and Quizizz in the distant learning process like in the classroom. During the planning period, students had the opportunity to get to know the new digital software. Arveen Birdi, incoming Junior at Sierra High School and ASB president said, “My favorite part of distance learning is how we have incorporated more technology. In Teams, we can submit assignments, see our teachers face to face remotely, and submit our homework online.” Besides attending her class meetings and keeping herself up to date in class assignments, Birdi is an involved community member and has found ways to stay connected during these difficult times. She said, “It is quite different to conduct Community service virtually, however, I am glad that we have the technology tools to stay connected and coordinate projects remotely. In Leadership class, we are trying to do our best to keep the positivity ongoing such as virtual Spirit Week!” All around student athlete and
senior Sabrina Caldwell said, “My favorite part of distance learning is getting to still be in contact with teachers and I am grateful that we are still able to learn from home. My daily life consists of waking up every day at 7:00am, I go out for a run, and then come back home to make breakfast and get ready for my 8:00am English class. I am keeping positive by staying busy. Some activities that I have been doing more frequently is getting to go outside more often and walking my dogs.” Birdi added, “I am trying to stay positive by trying to eat well, dance to music, and begin a new skin care regimen. It has been fun cooking and baking with my family.” While students miss being part of the school environment, modern technology bridges the gap between teacher and student. Teachers can apply the same techniques they used inside the classroom with the help of tools like Teams. Within two weeks, 1,300 teachers and 1,200 support staff successfully transitioned to a distance learning model. While fifth grade and above already had student devices issued to them, fourth grade and below needed to have devices deployed. The MUSD team of technology support specialists and library media technicians, prepared upwards of 8,000 devices for K-4th grade students to begin distance learning from home.
