Online and Hybrid Learning Strategies: eSN Innovation Roundtable

We cannot talk about online and hybrid learning without acknowledging the role the COVID-19 pandemic played in forcing districts to move entirely to virtual online teaching, then paving the way for hybrid learning as classrooms slowly reopened for small groups of students. But simply teaching and learning through a device is not enough, and moving teaching online requires approaches and resources to ensure students have tools that enable deeper learning and active student engagement.

During an eSchool News Innovation Roundtable focused on online and hybrid learning, moderated by eSchool News Chief Content Officer Kevin Hogan, district edtech innovators discussed their experiences with online and hybrid learning before and after the pandemic, how they’ve made these approaches work for teachers and students, and what they think this learning modality will look like in the future.

Participants included:

• Susan Moore, Director of technology for Meriden Public Schools, Connecticut
• Misty SheaEducational technology Facilitator, Keller Independent School District, Texas
• Jeffrey Bradbury, a teacher of technology Education and Digital Media at the New Milford, Connecticut Public Schools

One of the most important conclusions: the pandemic forced a revolution in online and hybrid learning.

“Prior to the pandemic, Meriden was already getting into online learning, so we had some tech-savvy teachers doing things with Moodle or Schoology,” Moore said. Some teachers had started with Google Classroom, but it was still in its infancy and didn’t have a lot of features at the time. It was primarily used by early adopters looking for a way to flip their classes. The other way we used it was for personalized learning experiences. If a student had an interest in learning about something and we didn’t have a teacher who was qualified to teach that or had experience teaching it, we allowed students to self-design curricula around an area of ​​interest through a MOOC or Coursera. We had some experience with online learning.”

Then came the pandemic.

“We really did a lot to make sure everyone had access to the internet. The easiest access point for us was using Google Classroom. We did everything we could to support teachers with our technology integration specialists,” Moore added. “Today, I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a teacher in the district who DOESN’T use Google Classroom, and we have teachers who use more advanced models, like a very robust Moodle course, but it’s rare that a teacher doesn’t have some type of online content available to students. It became a huge game changer in making resources available to students when they’re not in the classroom.”

“Getting some kind of learning management system in place is a success. I talk a lot about that innovation curve — making sure there are always some people in the district who understand it, get on board with it, and get to work on it,” Bradbury said. “How do you take that innovation and start spreading it throughout the district? How do you get those early followers and overcome the hurdles so that every teacher who is there not only sees it, but learns from it, experiences it, and is able to pass it on to their students? I’ve been able to help people create that vision for edtech. When you walk into that classroom, what do you want to see, what do you want learning to look like, how do you want classrooms to be innovative?”

Creating a vision based on a strategic plan is one of the first steps in bringing innovation to life.

“Start with (the districts’ strategic plan)…take the district vision and through instructional training, through educational technology, help form a vision that shows what students can do in the classroom to help them be successful,” he said.

“Before the pandemic, we had small groups of teachers doing amazing things. We’ve always told our teachers that it would be a lot easier for them if they had some sort of online aspect. We were always trying to help teachers with a process to make things easier, so technology was that equalizer,” Shea said. “Then the pandemic hit and wow! We went into overdrive; our curriculum coordinators went into overdrive. We talked about pedagogy, how to really engage students online, making sure (teachers) weren’t just creating surface resources, but going deeper online. We were designing courses and teaching together,” she said. As the pandemic eased, teachers had more freedom to incorporate online and hybrid resources.

“All those cool things we taught them before the pandemic, they’re now using them on an individual device. You can gamify learning a little bit easier because students have devices. Are there issues with that? One hundred percent. We’re always looking forward: How can we use pedagogy, use what we have online, and convince those teachers that the amazing things they’ve done in their classrooms aren’t going to change? They’re still going to give that amazing instruction, they’re still going to collaborate in the classroom, they’re going to have great discussions, but now we have this really cool tool that can take it further and make it more global and impactful,” she said. “I’m excited that schools were forced to do this because it really opened doors that we were opening, but we weren’t ready to throw open. The pandemic forced us to do that. I see more amazing things than I see pain points.”

Watch more eSN innovation roundtables exploring critical educational issues

Related:
Why Blended Learning Is One of the 12 Best Ways to Help Those Most in Need
Where does blended learning fit into post-pandemic classrooms?
For more news on online and hybrid learning, visit eSN's digital learning hub

Laura Ascione is the editorial director of eSchool Media. She holds a degree from the prestigious Philip Merrill School of Journalism at the University of Maryland.

Latest posts by Laura Ascione (see everything)