PDF FILE

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1210223.pdf

https://scholarworks.umt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
referer=&httpsredir=1&article=10441&context=etd

SUPER SAME
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1808&context=doctoral

JOURNALS AND ARTICLES

Last May 5, 2020, the Department of Education announced its Learning Continuity
Plan (LCP) that will be in effect on August 24, 2020 which will also mark the start
of the School Year 2020-2021. This plan is in response with the Covid-19 crisis
challenges.
The Covid-19 pandemic forced school closures last March which affected over
millions of learners and their families, teachers, and school personnel. Most grade
completers and graduates were not able to experience year-end rites due to their
postponements. Some schools get creative by conducting virtual graduations. With
the threat of the disease still present, many learners, families and educators are
clueless still of what is in store for them in the coming months. But through all the
lockdowns and community quarantines, the Department of Education, even though
presented with uncertainties of what’s to come, remains hopeful and accepts the
challenge head on.
In just a few months, the school year will formally start. During the first week of
June, millions of learners enrolled in their respective schools. Public schools
adapted varying systems of enrollment; they were done online, through phone
calls, and in some areas, designated drop boxes for enrollment forms were installed
so parents may enroll their children without having to go to the schools. Even some
private schools were doing remote enrollment and repealed their tuition fee
increases. Enrollment is still ongoing until the end of June. Every learning
institution gives their best effort to ensure that the school year will continue, to not
impede learning.
This news divided the opinion of teachers, school administrations, parents, and
learners. Some people raise their concerns regarding the safety of their children in
the classroom. With many news reports from all over the world wherein
resumption of classes resulted in a second wave of the Covid-19, some netizens
were quick to protest the decision made by the DepEd. Some raised their eyebrows
because they felt that the decision was “elitist”, seeing that if online learning is the
option for learning, then most poor learners will not be able to keep up with the
class due to lack of resources and money for a stable internet access. With this, the
department has responded that there will be different learning modalities each
learner may choose from.
To clarify the issues, the Department of Education firmly stated that there would
be no face-to-face classes unless there is a vaccine for Covid-19. They have
determined various learning options that may suit the needs and preferences of the
learners. The first one is online learning, in which a student may participate in two
modes: synchronous or asynchronous. Synchronous online learning would entail
conferencing of learners and teachers in real-time. Asynchronous online learning,
on the other hand, would let learners work at their own pace with resources that are
available online. Another learning option is modular learning, wherein handouts,
modules or self-learning kits will be distributed to learners. This learning mode
requires the assistance of the barangay or community leaders. The other options
involve broadcast media (TV and radio) wherein learners tune in so they may
gather the information they need for their lessons. It was also suggested that
learners may opt to blend these modalities according to their learning preferences.
This makes this decision of continuing education plausible and attainable.
With the looming threat of Covid-19 still around us, we are bound to uneasiness
and confusion as to what will be our next move, especially as educators. But
whatever is posed to us, as teachers we just do everything we can to equip
ourselves with knowledge and preparation all to better serve our learners. So, with
this, we say, we are ready. We are willing to take risks. We accept the challenge.
Hello, School Year 2020-2021.
--o0o-
The author is Master Teacher I at Francisco G. Nepomuceno Memorial High
School

https://www.pressreader.com/search?query=Experiences%20of%20Students%20in
%20Synchronous%20and%20Asynchronous%20Mode%20of
%20Learning&languages=en&groupBy=Language&hideSimilar=0&type=1&state
=1

● Daily Democrat (Woodland)

● 20 Sep 2020

● By Carlos Guerrero cguerrero@dailydemocrat.com

Distance learning in the Woodland School District has understandably gone off
with some mixed results. While learning is happening, and students regularly
show up to their online classes, teachers across the district have been
struggling.
Tasked with filling up more instructional time, learning new platforms, and
talks of unsustainability, especially at the elementary level, filled up the public
comment portion during Thursday night’s Woodland School Board meeting.
Prominent issues were the use and switch to new learning systems and the
district’s extra instructional minutes.
The state has a minimum for total instructional minutes, which is
asynchronous and synchronous put together. The state also requires live daily
interaction, but that does not need to be a video conference.
At the elementary level, district school schedules exceed the state’s minute
minimum by over an hour. In past meetings, the district has mentioned that
they will not do the bare minimum in terms of those minutes and have to
account for learning loss in the spring.
These issues have some teachers at their wit’s end.
The first public comment read out by Superintendent Tom Pritchard was from
Vicki Fu, a teacher at Dingle Elementary.
“I have tried my best to modify lessons and activities that have been effective
in the past to be digitally appropriate.” Fu’s statement read. “Mornings have
been filled with discourse and participation. The excitement seems to wear
down by lunch as I usually only get 50% of my class logging back in for the
second half of our day.”
“My students are aware of the extra hours I spend every night developing these
lessons for them,” Fu continued. “Dingle parents are, and they have been
flexible and encouraging. I wish I could say that I feel valued and trusted as a
professional by my employers.”
“As we near our first month of total distance learning, I worry that these long
school days and heavy workloads will negatively impact students and staff. I
worry for my colleagues as we teach students remotely during long
instructional days while using new tools and platforms that we have not been
adequately prepared for. I cannot see this current state as sustainable.”
Plainfield Elementary teacher Clara Skaug’s comment came next.
“I teach fourth grade where we are required to provide 325 instructional
minutes per day to students. Over the past three weeks, I have found this to be
a grueling schedule for both students and teachers. By the end of the day, my
class is burned out,” Skaug’s public comment read. “The long daily schedule
has also left teachers little to no time to prepare for the future.”
“Creating effective lessons on this new platform takes more time than we are
currently allocated in our day. I find myself taking hours of work home each
night and over the weekend to feel minimally prepared for the next day of
class. The current WJUSD distance learning schedules dramatically exceed
state parameters for instructional minutes at all grade levels, harming
students, and teachers. WJUSD should nor require a longer instructional day
than is recommended by the state. Making the day
shorter would enable our students to focus on their school work.”
Becca Bernard’s comment, a teacher at Douglass Middle School, was read next.
“As we reach the end of week three, it feels more like the end of month three. I
teach 12-15 hour days while also working 8 hours per day on the weekends.
This is not sustainable,” Bernard’s comment read. “The learning system is less
than functional. We are teaching students remotely during long days using new
tools and platforms. Long school days and heavy workloads are a negative for
students and staff. As teachers, we can see our students are also struggling. It
is challenging to sustain attention and engagement.”
Board members listened to every comment while offering words of support.
“I expect things to run more smoothly as the technology becomes more
familiar to you,” Board President Morgan Childers said. “We are listening, and
we appreciate the hard work. I know you are working hard and working more
than normal.”
While the teachers share major issues, what can realistically be done besides
returning to in-person to ease their burden?
“A lot of elementary teachers are reporting that they noticed their afternoon
attendance goes down, so they have fewer students coming back after lunch,”
Woodland Education Association President
Jen Shilen said. “One thing that could be done is to eliminate live synchronous
sessions with elementary school students in the afternoon. They are better
learners in the morning.”
Trustee Deborah Bautista Zavala brought up concerns over families not having
enough time to pick up student lunches during the break. This would allow
families ample time to travel to a school site to pick up lunches.
“We have an awesome group of professional educators in our district who are
committed to excellence,” said Shilen. “When they can’t provide excellence to
their students, it is troubling. They are putting together high-quality lessons
and experiences for the students, and in order to do that, they are staying up
late at night and working all weekend. The cost of that is our teachers are not
sleeping or taking care of their own families enough. That is what is not
sustainable.”
The feeling with teachers is that a change in the minutes would feel like
gaining a second wind. Having a choice of what learning system to use would
also ease concerns.
Mari Sanchez, a transitional kindergarten teacher at Rhoda Maxwell
Elementary, said that having to learn and teach her students how to use Canvas
has added to her fatigue.
Sanchez has nine years of experience teaching TK at Maxwell and feels she has
a good gauge of what online
system would work for the students.
“I’ve been putting Zoom meetings on Canvas,” Sanchez said. “It’s so hard to
navigate. I feel I do better navigating through Seesaw. It just works better for
younger kids. I feel Canvas isn’t as applicable or appropriate for all the grade
levels.”
During a back to school night, Sanchez mentioned most parents wanted to
keep it simple and basic as well.
“I miss nothing more than 24 four-year-olds being all over the place,”
Sanchez said. “We are going to get through this no matter what, but the Zoom
fatigue is a real thing, and we need to shorten the minutes to make it better for
everyone.”
Sanchez mentions that some teachers say that once you learn Canvas and
Zoom, they can be really valuable, but right now, she notes teachers are in
survival mode and will have exhausted themselves have by the time that
happens.
“As we move together as a community through this global pandemic, there are
many factors that impact our lives which are beyond our control,” Shilen’s
report to the board read. “Schooling has to look different this year in order to
keep everyone safe. What conditions are within our control as a district? The
tools we use to teach and the way our school days are structured are certainly
within our control as an organization.”

https://www.pressreader.com/search?query=Experiences%20of%20Students
%20in%20Synchronous%20and%20Asynchronous%20Mode%20of
%20Learning&languages=en&groupBy=Language&hideSimilar=0&type=1&sta
te=1

“We would be able to pivot very quickly to fully remote” if need be, Leaman
said Only 5 percent of classes overall require face-to-face work, he said, and
those are mostly clinical.
When the pandemic first began to make itself truly felt in the United States in
midto late-March, most universities quickly moved to online instruction only.
Sydney Hendricks, 21, is a Wright State junior who hasn’t been to campus yet
but plans to visit soon.
Online classes have been somewhat tricky so far, she has found. As of Sunday
night, class schedules had not been posted online, leav- ing her wondering
when to log on for online study. Class schedules were listed online Monday
morning, however, Hendricks said.
“We’re kind of playing it by ear,” she said.
“The problem for me as an individual is that I’m defi- nitely not an online
learner,” the elementary education major added. “It’s very hard for me. I’m a
very hands-on and in-person learner, so that makes it 10 times harder to
figure out what’s going on.”
Another challenge: At the moment, students can’t meet face-to-face with
instructors.
A spokesman for Wright State cautioned that having classes online does not
necessarily mean a static, asynchronous experience. “Asynchronous,” in this
con- text, means that instruction is not delivered live, at the same time as a
student watches and listens to that instruction.
“There will be some of that, but a lot of it will also be different kinds of
dynamic, synchronous course delivery that is time-dependent like in a
(physical) class,” Bauguess said.
Even before the pandemic, the population of traditional students had been
declining for Wright State and other institutions.
There has been a 12% fall in enrollment from 2017 to 2019, administrators told
Wright State trustees in June. About 10,700 students were expected in the fall
semester of 2020, on a main Fair- born campus built for about 20,000
students.
As of Monday, however, Wright State has a projected fall enrollment of 11,960.
An official count will be taken in two weeks.
At Sinclair Community College, there has been a 30% increase in online enroll-
ment for the fall term, with 85% of Sinclair courses being offered online, while
about 15% of classes to be delivered in traditional face-to-face set- tings,
“with significant safety measures in place,” the college said.
Adam Murka, Sinclair vice president of advancement, said school is going well.
But then, it never really stopped.
“One thing to remember about us is, we offered summer classes,” he said
Monday. “It’s not that we opened up. We never stopped offering classes.”
“None of this is what any of us would ever choose, but I think we’ve done a
good job adapting to it,” he added.
He was unable to offer precise fall term enrollment figures, but said online
enrollment has clearly “skyrock- eted.” Exact numbers will likely be available
later in the semester, he added.
“Sinclair Community College is committed to providing a safe and welcom-
ing learning environment for our entire student body and to providing access
to high quality education for our entire community,” Sinclair President Steve
Johnson said in a statement Monday.
At Central State University, classes will begin Sept. 8, spokeswoman Sabrina
Pritchett said.
Miami University
Nearly 20,000 undergraduate and graduate Miami University students opened
their fall semester last week in their homes as the Butler County school delayed
the start of in-person learning to Sept. 21.
By the end of the first week of remote-learning classes, 10 Miami students
living off campus in Oxford — and two school employees — had tested positive
for the coronavirus, university officials said.
School officials said it remains to be seen if Miami will conduct in-person
learning at its main Oxford campus and its regional schools in Hamilton and
Middletown.
“The health and safety of our students, faculty, staff and communities are our
paramount concern,” Miami University President Gregory Crawford said in a
statement. “The coming days and weeks will provide us with much more
information to determine if we can still proceed with our planned residence
hall move in beginning on Sept. 14, and the resumption of in-person courses.”
https://www.pressreader.com/search?query=Experiences%20of%20Students
%20in%20Synchronous%20and%20Asynchronous%20Mode%20of
%20Learning&languages=en&groupBy=Language&hideSimilar=0&type=1&sta
te=1