Anonymous wrote:Zoom is not approved for instruction in FCPS. Any FCPS teacher using it faces a reprimand.

Could you PLEASE lay off until the end of the week? FCPS has 190,000 students. They are doing the best that they can. Many teachers didn’t even have their *laptops* until principals allowed them back into the building for literally 10 minutes today. Buildings have been ordered closed. Instructional devices provided 2 weeks’ worth of work on Blackboard. Have you done it all? And if your child misses classmates so much, why don’t YOU organize a Zoom play date among children?

There was zero content on Blackboard for my first grader. When was it provided?

My 1st grader is doing a zoom meeting Friday with his FCPS class/teacher.

Anonymous wrote:Zoom is free but my children’s privacy matters more than anything. Teachers can send material but should not expect students and parents to post videos and pictures online.

Agree.

Zoom is free but my children’s privacy matters more than anything. Teachers can send material but should not expect students and parents to post videos and pictures online.

^^^^
This!

It has nothing to do with technical security.

Anonymous wrote:DP. I think that changed when the schools were closed for the rest of the year. I think that schools are working now to get some sort of distance learning started before spring break. But we'll see.

Yes. Distance learning from teachers will begin after spring break (as was communicated numerous times). Teachers are being trained next week on how to use approved distance learning tools such as Blackboard Collaborate. Admin and technology specialists were trained this week. We just had our first Blackboard Collaborate faculty meeting to start getting comfortable with the tools. At my school. grade level teams are meeting this week and next week to plan instruction using these new tools. Many of us just go access to our own laptops and chargers on Monday. Many teachers at my school have posted check-ins and non-graded assignments to Google Classroom only to hear crickets back.

DP. I think that changed when the schools were closed for the rest of the year. I think that schools are working now to get some sort of distance learning started before spring break. But we'll see.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you elect a bunch is social justice warriors to the school board - many of whom who don’t have children - this is the crap sandwich our kids receive. Bravo FCPS.

If it’s so hard to cope with your own children, perhaps you should have remained childless as well.

My beef is not with my kids. We have schedules, our own chromebooks, and a great situation. I'm just irritated about the people being paid to do nothing. So stop generalizing about that reason, and realize that we would like to see action because it's your JOBS. Many of us will lose our jobs. Also, this inaction now is going to make the mutual masturbation about how hard educators work even more unbearable during the next teacher appreciation week..

You are both missing the point. FCPS is not doing anything because the Governor of the State of Virginia closed all the schools for two weeks. In that order, he said there would be no work allowed. Teachers were not allowed to go to the schools. Schools were not allowed to pass out laptops or wifi spots. Parents were not allowed ot go to school to pick up their kids medicine.

FCPS has focused on the few things it could, like food distribution, because that was not off limits.

Teachers are not setting up exercises, chats, and any type of work because they were told that is off limits.

My schools teachers planned a driving parade where they drove around the local neighborhood and waved at the kids. It was cancelled because it violated the Governors initial closing order.

This has nothing to do wiht the FCPS Board, Superintendent, your local Principal or your Teacher.

Stop blaming the wrong people. Blame the Governor and how he worded his initial closure.

FCPS will be able to start addressing things next week, when the initial two week closure passes. It will probably take a day or two to let parents know what the plan is because they have to let the Principals and Teachers know.

Deep breaths.

As for Zoom, we have been having virtual playdates/lunches with friends on Zoom. Set it up, play with it a bit, and set up some virtual play time. You don't have to wait for the school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you elect a bunch is social justice warriors to the school board - many of whom who don’t have children - this is the crap sandwich our kids receive. Bravo FCPS.

If it’s so hard to cope with your own children, perhaps you should have remained childless as well.

You've missed the point there. My kids aren't the issue. The issue is FCPS not having a plan to get our children educated when they have plenty of resources to do so. I'm not looking for a babysitter. We are doing other things. But my high schooler is very concerned about missing content. This is a kid who already has to work really hard for good grades. These kids understand what they will be missing and how it will impact the rest of their education. So please keep your snide comments to yourself.

Zoom dad is going to be in a rude awakening when he realizes that online learning does not mean the teachers entertaining his kids via screen for 6 hours per day.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you elect a bunch is social justice warriors to the school board - many of whom who don’t have children - this is the crap sandwich our kids receive. Bravo FCPS.

If it’s so hard to cope with your own children, perhaps you should have remained childless as well.

My beef is not with my kids. We have schedules, our own chromebooks, and a great situation. I'm just irritated about the people being paid to do nothing. So stop generalizing about that reason, and realize that we would like to see action because it's your JOBS. Many of us will lose our jobs. Also, this inaction now is going to make the mutual masturbation about how hard educators work even more unbearable during the next teacher appreciation week..

Your 6 year old does not need screens to learn.

It has only been a little over a week.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the note of laptops for every kid, in almost all normal circumstances, the elementary kids should not be 1:1 with laptops.

Those should be an occassional activity, not a primary means of teaching.

That is why many of us voted against the meals tax. Early elementary students should not be looking at a screen all day. It is bad for their development.

Even in this quarantine situation, traditional paper work is better than laptops. I really hope fcps does not try to get 1:1 laptops for the little ones.

I teach third grade. We have no Chromebooks. I have 5 laptops in the classroom for 23 third graders. Each classroom has 5 computers (one classroom has 5 desktops). The grade level shares 2 mobile lab carts that hold 16 hand me down laptops (if they are available and not pulled for testing or the Global Awareness Project). That’s 62 computers (57 laptops) for approximately 145 students.

And that is how it should be.

Early elementsry kids should not be getting their education from compjters as a primary tool.

Computers should be used only occassionally in 4th grade.and below.

And this attitude is precisely why schools and students aren’t prepared to deal with a situation like this.

Umm...no.

That is part of the science of child brain development.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the note of laptops for every kid, in almost all normal circumstances, the elementary kids should not be 1:1 with laptops.

Those should be an occassional activity, not a primary means of teaching.

That is why many of us voted against the meals tax. Early elementary students should not be looking at a screen all day. It is bad for their development.

Even in this quarantine situation, traditional paper work is better than laptops. I really hope fcps does not try to get 1:1 laptops for the little ones.

I teach third grade. We have no Chromebooks. I have 5 laptops in the classroom for 23 third graders. Each classroom has 5 computers (one classroom has 5 desktops). The grade level shares 2 mobile lab carts that hold 16 hand me down laptops (if they are available and not pulled for testing or the Global Awareness Project). That’s 62 computers (57 laptops) for approximately 145 students.

And that is how it should be.

Early elementsry kids should not be getting their education from compjters as a primary tool.

Computers should be used only occassionally in 4th grade.and below.

And this attitude is precisely why schools and students aren’t prepared to deal with a situation like this.

Anonymous wrote:When you elect a bunch is social justice warriors to the school board - many of whom who don’t have children - this is the crap sandwich our kids receive. Bravo FCPS.

If it’s so hard to cope with your own children, perhaps you should have remained childless as well.