Virtual learning if shutdown goes on?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have a sense or inside information if virtual classrooms with student's teachers will happen if this goes past the two weeks? My 6th grader has almost finished the materials provided by MCPS. I'm trying to find other resources but I also need to work. Plus it would be great for kids to see their teachers and classmates, even if just through a computer screen for a couple of hours a day. Hoping it's in the works...

I was told by someone in MCPS that they don’t want to do virtual classrooms because they can’t guarantee that every kid would have access, and it’s an equity problem.

If I understand correctly, DC public schools will be starting distance learning soon. If DCPS can figure out how to do this when some kids do not have access, then MCPS needs to get on it stat. I understand that kids need to be fed as well, and I have received about 20 emails about the available meals, so it seems that they have this in hand. I think MCPS needs to step up on the remote learning as well and demonstrate that they can be problem-solvers, not just wring their hands and do nothing for ANY of the MCPS kids in terms of adequate remote learning.

+1

There are a lot of Chrome books at most of the schools. Can't they distribute them for use in households that do not have access to technology? My understanding is that Comcast is providing free internet access--including free self-installation kits--during this time.

I've heard that they're trying to figure out ways to get Chromebooks to all kids who don't have access to technology at home. My question is--how are the kids going to be able to charge the Chromebooks? At school they're all plugged into carts--they don't have individual chargers. I guess MCPS has to order individual chargers for all of the Chromebooks? The other thing is that many of the Chromebooks are in terrible condition and barely function, especially the oldest ones which will be the first ones to be given out. Not to mention they will need a serious cleaning.

my guess is that they will save money and just take apart the carts you can pull Chromebook chargers out of carts.

Honestly the trickier part would be configuring hotspot devices to be mcps compliant and FERPA compliant

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have a sense or inside information if virtual classrooms with student's teachers will happen if this goes past the two weeks? My 6th grader has almost finished the materials provided by MCPS. I'm trying to find other resources but I also need to work. Plus it would be great for kids to see their teachers and classmates, even if just through a computer screen for a couple of hours a day. Hoping it's in the works...

I know people who work in curricular planning, and they are reporting to work right during the "emergency period" to prepare online materials. So, I think we'll have something by the end of the two weeks. With that said, I think it will be a little bit longer before we see resources for immersion kids, magnet kids in general, or kids with special needs. It makes sense - MCPS is going to hit the biggest swathe of kids first, and then pick up the ones whose needs are outside the mainstream.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem is that if a kid needs a chrome book they probably don’t have internet access at home either. I am not even sure that chrome books work perfectly outside of a school. They are pretty locked down.

If DC can do it, so can MCPS.
If existing chromebooks don’t work, they can buy new ones in bulk to cover those who need it. They can buy wifi hotspots for those who need it.
There is no excuse for failing to educate students.

so I looked at the DC curriculum for elementary school and it's definitely requires kids to be doing it with their parents. Don't pretend you can park your kid in front of a screen for 7 hours.

[Anonymous]

Honestly the trickier part would be configuring hotspot devices to be mcps compliant and FERPA compliant

Honestly, I think the poverty patterns within MoCo make this an easier riddle to solve than it would be elsewhere in the country. I grew up in the South, where poverty is not necessarily urban, and getting wifi to kids in my hometown would have been enormously difficult. However, poverty here in MoCo is more urban and dense (yes, I realize there are poor rural kids in MoCo, but they are in the minority compared to poor kids in apartments). It's going to be a lot easier to run a hotspot if you can hit 1000 kids in one apartment complex.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not that hard! Use zoom to have a class with the kids everyday. What’s the freakin’ problem??

Equity. 1% of students may not have access to this (lack of computer or internet access); or unable to use it (blind, for example).

Way more than 1% of kids in Moco don't have a device or internet or an IEP

Again, hand out Chromebooks for students who don't have access and Comcast is giving free internet access.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If schools are closed the rest of the year, they will have no choice but to go online. There is no way the state will waive that many days.

I can count TEN teachers in MCPS who are properly trained in online instruction.

ain't happenin'

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$100 says that they're just gonna call it and waive the rest of the year.

Nah. it'll be an "accessible" online program:

Packets of work available online, emailed, mailed, or picked up from locations
Return work via online portal, mail, e-mail, or drop off at locations
Non-interactive sessions on the web as videos and reading materials, and perhaps also made available other ways
Interactive sessions via video possible, but also by phone. Some may be small groups.


It's going to be CRAP. Time to reduce Superintendent pay by 50% until he can deliver a proper solution.

How many teachers will want to have delivered to their homes paper packets of materials from homes that could have asymptomatic coronavirus? Many teachers are older, have health issues, or high risk household members. And don’t say leave it out for 3 days. Who is responsible if Larlo’s work gets stolen by dumb-ass porch pirates or rained on (remember Aprils of past years with no sun for weeks)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have a sense or inside information if virtual classrooms with student's teachers will happen if this goes past the two weeks? My 6th grader has almost finished the materials provided by MCPS. I'm trying to find other resources but I also need to work. Plus it would be great for kids to see their teachers and classmates, even if just through a computer screen for a couple of hours a day. Hoping it's in the works...

I know people who work in curricular planning, and they are reporting to work right during the "emergency period" to prepare online materials. So, I think we'll have something by the end of the two weeks. With that said, I think it will be a little bit longer before we see resources for immersion kids, magnet kids in general, or kids with special needs. It makes sense - MCPS is going to hit the biggest swathe of kids first, and then pick up the ones whose needs are outside the mainstream.

Throwing materials up on a website is NOT teaching. You need a scope and sequence, objectives, "chunked" instructional materials that build toward a culminating activity (paper, project, test), etc.

Who's going to do that?

I don't care if the instructional specialists and their supervisors/coordinators are being called in to work. That's their job anyway (until we're under total lockdown, that is).

But guess what? I don't need them to do this for me, as I'm trained in online instruction. I've built frameworks. I can make sense of the mess they post online.

Not everyone can. I am rare.

When MCPS adopted an LMS - whether that was Canvas or Haiku or apparently now - Synergy - TRAIN the teachers in the right way. This is inexcusable where we are!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem is that if a kid needs a chrome book they probably don’t have internet access at home either. I am not even sure that chrome books work perfectly outside of a school. They are pretty locked down.

Comcast is providing two months of free internet. It would be a challenge but it would have been easier if they distributed the chrome books and information while the kids were at school. My kid is in first grade and above level so I don’t really care. But for a lot of kids, it will be tough to recover from this, and the ones who will find it toughest are the least able to solve the access problem themselves.

My DC told me that even before this happened, schools would allow kids to take chromebooks home for a few days, and that it comes with a hotspot readily available on it.

IMO, I think it's important to bring some structure and normalcy as much as possible to kids' lives, plus they will be a whole quarter and a bit behind going into next year. That's a lot of material. Not a big deal for ES students maybe MS students, but that's a lot for HSers, especially those who plan on taking AP/IB exams.

[Anonymous]

Article with some details of what some other schools are doing.

https://wamu.org/story/20/03/18/as-classes-move-online-what-happens-to-students-without-internet-or-computers/

[Anonymous]

Throwing materials up on a website is NOT teaching. You need a scope and sequence, objectives, "chunked" instructional materials that build toward a culminating activity (paper, project, test), etc.

Who's going to do that?

I don't care if the instructional specialists and their supervisors/coordinators are being called in to work. That's their job anyway (until we're under total lockdown, that is).

But guess what? I don't need them to do this for me, as I'm trained in online instruction. I've built frameworks. I can make sense of the mess they post online.

Not everyone can. I am rare.

When MCPS adopted an LMS - whether that was Canvas or Haiku or apparently now - Synergy - TRAIN the teachers in the right way. This is inexcusable where we are!

So, what's your plan? Other than bragging about how qualified you are, what are you doing to contribute to our community in this time of crisis?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If schools are closed the rest of the year, they will have no choice but to go online. There is no way the state will waive that many days.

I can count TEN teachers in MCPS who are properly trained in online instruction.

ain't happenin'

If PG and DC can do it, so can MCPS. And PG and DC have waaay more low income students than MCPS does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Honestly the trickier part would be configuring hotspot devices to be mcps compliant and FERPA compliant

Honestly, I think the poverty patterns within MoCo make this an easier riddle to solve than it would be elsewhere in the country. I grew up in the South, where poverty is not necessarily urban, and getting wifi to kids in my hometown would have been enormously difficult. However, poverty here in MoCo is more urban and dense (yes, I realize there are poor rural kids in MoCo, but they are in the minority compared to poor kids in apartments). It's going to be a lot easier to run a hotspot if you can hit 1000 kids in one apartment complex.

Can a thousand people share one hotspot?!

[Anonymous]

By Superintendent Jack R. Smith

It’s Sunday, March 22, and we are a little more than a week into this new world we are in. With all but a few states having closed all schools, we are experiencing a cataclysmic shift in how schools, communities and our society function. And the fact is, we do not know what’s going to happen or how it’s going to happen. We do not know how this will unfold. What we do know is that we are all in this together and we are better together.

It’s been an extremely rough week for every member of the school community—parents, families and staff— many of whom are also parents. It’s been especially difficult for students. Here’s how Steve Snyder, editor ofThe 74, an education-focused website, describes what’s happening:

“Students are dislocated. Educators are scrambling to conceive the classroom as a virtual daily gathering. Parents have been deputized overnight as homeschoolers. Advocates are surveying this foreign landscape and raising urgent concerns surrounding issues of equity, inclusion, curriculum, safety, standards and … well … everything else that shapes the functioning of a school community.”

{Read his article}. https://www.the74million.org/article/letter-from-t...haos-closings-and-reinvention/


While it has not yet been announced by the state, it is becoming more apparent to us all that students and staff will not be returning to school buildings on March 30. Given that, what will the remainder of the school year look like? This is yet another question that will need an answer.

So, let’s focus on what we do know now. On March 30, we will launch the first phase of a distance learning system so that students can begin to have structured school experiences. A system that will provide multiple ways to access learning for a variety of students. Such a system must include learning that allows for that much needed human connection between staff and students, albeit through different means than what we're used to. A system that will bring some degree of normalcy to the lives of our 166,000 prekindergarten-Grade 12 students.

Even before Dr. Karen Salmon, the state superintendent of schools, declared a two-week emergency closure just over a week ago, we were busy working to chart the course for the largest school system in Maryland. We created meal distribution systems; we have more than 55,000 students who receive multiple free meals on regular school days. Cleaning and sanitizing regiments were put in place for our 208 schools and about 30 other MCPS sites, as well as more than 1,500 buses. We have worked closely with our local and state governments on how we can be helpful around questions of childcare for medical and emergency personnel and the provision of the ongoing healthcare needs of students.

Simultaneously, a few weeks ago we started pulling together our many learning tools and assets—we have a lot of them; they were in no way, however, organized to launch as a structured learning system the day the announcement was made to close schools for two weeks. Because we had begun to organize our resources during the weeks before the emergency closure, we were able to provide students with paper resources and through the web site. As it has become increasingly apparent that two weeks out of school buildings was just a first step, we have spent our time working on a more structured system and are continuing each day to build it out. Our employee associations have joined in the work as collaborative partners.

Our 24,000 employees are experiencing this situation just like everyone else. Some have children and other family members they are scrambling to care for. Others have had to report to job sites and have worked tirelessly to create the food distribution and other systems that are up and running now. Each support professional, teacher and administrator is worried about their students. Many have reached out to students. Here’s the wise message Chris Lloyd, president of our teachers’ association, sent to his members earlier this week.

“I know this time is producing anxiety for us and for families and for the young scholars in our care. We entered this profession because we are relationship builders, and we care. And so this time is a test in many ways of our humanity. I am convinced we will get instruction right, no matter what the circumstances, but we must lead with relationships – because the social and emotional well-being of our students and our community is the very foundation of who we are.

“So while we work on how to best instruct tens of thousands of students, we can take this opportunity to do what we always have done … to let children and families know that we are thinking of them and that we care for their well-being. It’s the human thing to do, and in this time, we know our humanity is what makes us whole.”

Many others in our county, the state, and indeed, across the nation have spent the past week trying to figure out how to serve the learning needs and contribute to the well-being of students and families while dealing with their own anxieties and life circumstances. What we know is we will get through this together as a community, and we are better together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:By Superintendent Jack R. Smith

It’s Sunday, March 22, and we are a little more than a week into this new world we are in. With all but a few states having closed all schools, we are experiencing a cataclysmic shift in how schools, communities and our society function. And the fact is, we do not know what’s going to happen or how it’s going to happen. We do not know how this will unfold. What we do know is that we are all in this together and we are better together.

It’s been an extremely rough week for every member of the school community—parents, families and staff— many of whom are also parents. It’s been especially difficult for students. Here’s how Steve Snyder, editor ofThe 74, an education-focused website, describes what’s happening:

“Students are dislocated. Educators are scrambling to conceive the classroom as a virtual daily gathering. Parents have been deputized overnight as homeschoolers. Advocates are surveying this foreign landscape and raising urgent concerns surrounding issues of equity, inclusion, curriculum, safety, standards and … well … everything else that shapes the functioning of a school community.”

{Read his article}. https://www.the74million.org/article/letter-from-t...haos-closings-and-reinvention/


While it has not yet been announced by the state, it is becoming more apparent to us all that students and staff will not be returning to school buildings on March 30. Given that, what will the remainder of the school year look like? This is yet another question that will need an answer.

So, let’s focus on what we do know now. [/b]On March 30, we will launch the first phase of a distance learning system so that students can begin to have structured school experiences.[b] A system that will provide multiple ways to access learning for a variety of students. Such a system must include learning that allows for that much needed human connection between staff and students, albeit through different means than what we're used to. A system that will bring some degree of normalcy to the lives of our 166,000 prekindergarten-Grade 12 students.

Even before Dr. Karen Salmon, the state superintendent of schools, declared a two-week emergency closure just over a week ago, we were busy working to chart the course for the largest school system in Maryland. We created meal distribution systems; we have more than 55,000 students who receive multiple free meals on regular school days. Cleaning and sanitizing regiments were put in place for our 208 schools and about 30 other MCPS sites, as well as more than 1,500 buses. We have worked closely with our local and state governments on how we can be helpful around questions of childcare for medical and emergency personnel and the provision of the ongoing healthcare needs of students.

Simultaneously, a few weeks ago we started pulling together our many learning tools and assets—we have a lot of them; they were in no way, however, organized to launch as a structured learning system the day the announcement was made to close schools for two weeks. Because we had begun to organize our resources during the weeks before the emergency closure, we were able to provide students with paper resources and through the web site. As it has become increasingly apparent that two weeks out of school buildings was just a first step, we have spent our time working on a more structured system and are continuing each day to build it out. Our employee associations have joined in the work as collaborative partners.

Our 24,000 employees are experiencing this situation just like everyone else. Some have children and other family members they are scrambling to care for. Others have had to report to job sites and have worked tirelessly to create the food distribution and other systems that are up and running now. Each support professional, teacher and administrator is worried about their students. Many have reached out to students. Here’s the wise message Chris Lloyd, president of our teachers’ association, sent to his members earlier this week.

“I know this time is producing anxiety for us and for families and for the young scholars in our care. We entered this profession because we are relationship builders, and we care. And so this time is a test in many ways of our humanity. I am convinced we will get instruction right, no matter what the circumstances, but we must lead with relationships – because the social and emotional well-being of our students and our community is the very foundation of who we are.

“So while we work on how to best instruct tens of thousands of students, we can take this opportunity to do what we always have done … to let children and families know that we are thinking of them and that we care for their well-being. It’s the human thing to do, and in this time, we know our humanity is what makes us whole.”

Many others in our county, the state, and indeed, across the nation have spent the past week trying to figure out how to serve the learning needs and contribute to the well-being of students and families while dealing with their own anxieties and life circumstances. What we know is we will get through this together as a community, and we are better together.

MCPS elementary teacher reading about this distance learning system that will begin on March 30th for the first time, here on DCUM. Since I’m sure I will have some part in this, I would REALLY like to know more about this please! What do teachers need to do to prepare for this? Parents will no doubt have strong opinions shared here about teachers not getting this right. Please remember that teachers haven’t heard anything about what this will look like. I’ll keep checking DCUM because I feel like I read about things here before they are shared with staff