Pandemic Learning vs Distance Learning: What’s the Difference?
I had no idea what we were in for when I got the phone call on the evening of Friday, March 13, 2020. Not only was it Friday the 13th, it was also a full moon, and we had a fun run at school that day. It had been a crazy day that was about to get even crazier! The first phone call I received said that we would have 3 days to prepare for the schools to close due to the rapidly spreading Covid virus. Shortly after that I received another call that said students could opt to stay home. Moments later, I received a third call that said schools were closed effective immediately. That escalated quickly!
As it became clear that “social distancing” and “sheltering in place” were not going anywhere, our school district quickly went to work to develop a plan to continue to educate our students and provide special education services to our students. Teachers had to move quickly to find ways to communicate with and provide their students with meaningful learning experiences (Tas, Eminoglu, Atila, Yildiz and Bozkurt, 2021).
Although we did the best we could at the time, it was not true distance learning. True distance education is “institution-based, formal education where the learning group is separated, and where telecommunications systems are used to connect learners, resources, and instructors” (Simonson, Zvacek, and Smaldino, 2019, p. 31).
What we did was pandemic learning. We did the absolute best we could with the resources we had at the time.
It was overwhelming for teachers, students, and parents. During pandemic teaching, teachers experienced trauma from “being forced to work from home, the fact that the existing lesson plans were not enough anymore, being forced to learn new technologies quickly, and being separated from their students” (Tas, Eminoglu, Atila, Yildiz and Bozkurt, 2021, p. 230).
It became clear that the way we had always done things was not going to work anymore. We ended up using a combination of online resources and packets of worksheets that were mailed out every two weeks. It was not very effective, especially considering a lot of our students did not have access to reliable devices and the internet. That one still shocks me! There was also no accountability. If the kids did the work or joined a Google Meet, great! If they didn’t, we were expected to be understanding and give grace. The result was that a lot of kids lost out on learning opportunities.
One of the most important components of distance learning is the connection and interaction. “It is important that learners be able to interact with each other, with resources of instruction, and with their teacher” (Simonson, Zvacek, and Smaldino, 2019, p. 33). Unfortunately, because we were not a one-to-one school at the time, our students were at a disadvantage. They didn’t have devices, and they didn’t have the experience with online learning tools.
Positives from a Negative Experience
First, it helped our school system escalate our one-to-one initiative plan. We were already working towards being one-to-one, but the pandemic and the need for students to have reliable devices made purchasing and managing devices as the number one priority.
Many of the teachers in our school district were not familiar with the tools that are needed for distance education. For example, many of us had not used virtual meetings, or a LMS before. Most of us, especially at the elementary level, were still pretty “old school” and used a lot of paper/pencil type practice. Our technology department again kicked it into high gear and pushed out professional development on how to use the tools we had available, like Google Classroom and the Google Suite apps, as well as purchasing tools and resources that would help us develop better instruction for students learning from home. So another positive that came from this experience was that teachers and students now had the tools and training to connect and communicate while learning from home.
It still wasn’t perfect, but it was getting better. The thing to remember is that we were not trying to provide ture distance learning. We were trying to get through a pandemic.
Having participated in true distance learning as I pursue my graduate degree, I see that it is so much more than just putting things in a digital format for learners to access at their convenience. There must also be interaction and a connection to other learners, instructional resources, and the instructors.
When we know better, we do better!
If I had to do it all over again, I would definitely do A LOT of things differently. One of the biggest changes I would make is providing my students with opportunities to communicate and collaborate with each other. Having taken distance education classes myself, now I have a better idea of how to do that.
References
LearnUSI. (n.d.) 7 Common misconceptions about distance learning [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K_JoBkxVI0
Simonson, M., Zvacek, S., & Smaldino, S. (2019). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (7th ed.). Information Age Publishing, Inc.
Tas, Y., Eminoglu, S., Atila, G., Yildiz, Y., & Bozkurt, U. (2021). Teachers' self-efficacy beliefs and opinions about distance education during the Covid-19 pandemic. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 22(4), p.229-253.
Last Name, F. M. [Username]. (Year, Month Date). Title of video [Video]. Streaming Service. URL
You summed up the situation we went through perfectly. At my school we also were struggling with the 1:1 initiative and because of the pandemic we were able to get devices for all of our students. I definitely think I could do a better job of teaching an online course now because of the examples and training I have had in my graduate studies. I still have reservations about distance learning with small children, "online courses require students to take more responsibility for their own learning, a task that some find challenging," (Zvacek et al., 2019, 110). Now that school is back in normal mode, I fear that the amount of screen time that our students are doing is too much. Students are using their chrome books in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade for at least half the day. They are working on projects, software that is catered toward their learning needs, and other great things, but is this developmentally appropriate? A study I found talked about students who were on screens more than two hours per day scored lower on language and thinking tests. Another one said that students who were on screens more than seven hours per day had a thinning of the brains cortex, (D'SOUZA, 2020). This is very concerning and more research needs to happen in how we are teaching our young students.
ReplyDeleteD'SOUZA, K. (2020, November 23). Distance learning stokes fears of excessive screen time. EdSource. Retrieved May 14, 2022, from https://edsource.org/2020/distance-learning-stokes-fears-of-excessive-screen-time/644165
Zvacek, S., Simonson, M. R., & Smaldino, S. E. (2019). Teaching and Learning at a Distance: Foundations of Distance Education (M. R. Simonson, S. E. Smaldino, & S. Zvacek, Eds.). Information Age Publishing, Incorporated.
Valerie, I love how you pointed out what we did from March-May 2020 was NOT distance education. It was pure survival! Although I wasn't responsible for one class of students to teach, i was the one making instructional videos for teachers and students and 24/7 tech support. However, one thing I do think was done well was create learning communities (Simonson, Zvacek, & Smaldino, 2019, p. 32). The students may not have learned a lot, but I have heard many stories of families coming together to teach students and we have all seen viral social media posts of teachers teaching through windows and doors to students. One article I read pointed out that distance learners should be high-level multi-taskers, as most mature adults are (Bhebhe & Maphosa, 2020). I have news for them- first graders made this work, and middle-schoolers and adults who hate technology! Although it was one of the hardest things I have no doubt we will ever do, we made it work. That's what teachers do!
ReplyDeleteReferences:
Bhebhe, S., & Maphosa, C. (2020). Examining the Learning Habits of Distance Education Learners in One Southern African University. Asian Journal of Distance Education, 15(1), 257-268.
Simonson, M., Zvacek, S., & Smaldino, S. (2019) Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of Distance Education (7th ed.) IAP-Information Age Publishing, Inc.
Valerie,
ReplyDeleteAlthough it was something outside of my (our) control, I still feel as though I failed my first graders when we were first thrown into this whole "distance education" deal. I was teaching first grade at the time and those were actually the students who would be affected by the Literacy Act this year as third graders. Without training and resources, which are critical for distance education, how in the world were we supposed to adequately teach our babies (Simonson et al., 2019)? Distance education is supposed to mimic a traditional classroom setting from an instructional standpoint and all of the same principles for best practices should remain (Yilmaz & Banyard, 2020). When we know better we do better but I am really hoping we never have to be put in this sort of situation again!
References
Simonson, M., Zvacek, S. M., & Smaldino, S. (2019). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education 7th edition (NA) (7th ed.). Information Age Publishing.
Yilmaz, A. B., & Banyard, P. (2020). Engagement in distance education settings: A trend analysis. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 21(1), 101–120. https://doi.org/10.17718/tojde.690362