Coronavirus leaves SLO County teachers connecting with kids through a screen
Many San Luis Obispo County school teachers already were using some online tools when campuses closed March 13 to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
But since then, it has been a whirlwind of adjustments for educators as they navigate the reality of having to teach fully remotely, while learning the best ways to reach students.
The experience, they say, has come with challenges to make sure students are staying on top of assignments, and remaining motivated and connected.
During this period of coronavirus upheaval, however, they’ve embraced new learning platforms and encouraged parent support, while some underprivileged students have received new technology for instruction.
“It has definitely had its challenges, but I am so thankful our district was proactive for our kids and teachers,” said Anna Bates, a San Luis Obispo High School agriculture teacher. “They are definitely continuing to learn and engage.”
Bates added: “The organizational piece has been the part we are trying to nail down. Every family has different things going on at home, so keeping all kids connected, organized, and on track is a goal our whole staff is aiming for.”
James Brescia, SLO County’s superintendent of schools, said it has been a massive organizational effort to shift from the traditional in-person classroom model.
The transition has included numerous training sessions for teachers and collaborative meetings using the online conferencing system Zoom.
“I’ve been very impressed with faculty and staff and their efforts to adjust during this time,” Brescia said. “They’ve been mixing and matching technologies and really working well to help students get what they need.”
Some of the teacher challenges
Amanda Lake is a Laguna Middle School music teacher who posts pre-recorded instructional videos for her 125 students of lessons on instruments such as guitar, flute and drums, assigning other homework online.
“It’s been crazy,” Lake said of the adjustment. “I’m luckier than most because I had Google Classroom (an online class management tool). I’m not that savvy about technology, but I’m not afraid to learn new things.”
Lake said that while some students are responsive and excelling, others aren’t answering her communications regularly.
“That has been the most challenging part,” Lake said. “And what I’m noticing is the most disenfranchised are having even less. … We know the kids who are already struggling are going to struggle even more.”
Students who don’t have computer access are being given Chromebooks. And schools are working with telecommunications companies to provide internet connectivity for free in homes to students who need it, Brescia said.
Lake said for youths already facing struggles at home — whether it’s parents using drugs, the lack of reliable internet or income disparities — teaching has become that much more complicated.
“For some it’s easier, but for a lot it’s hard to stay motivated,” Lake said. “It’s hard to keep the structure they need.”
Fellow Laguna Middle School teacher Mila Vujovich-LaBarre said she strives to maintain a supportive, “family-like” feel in the classroom, and remote learning makes a personal feel more challenging.
“I’ve called 40 of the 150 students I have on the phone, and I plan to call each of them,” Vujovich-LaBarre said on Monday. “The personal connection for me and the students is very important. It has been a huge adjustment. I miss the banter and laughter of the students on a day-to-day basis.”
Jeff Mount, Paso Robles High School English teacher and school newspaper adviser, said he’s learning how best to mix and match tools such as Google Classroom, Google Meet, WordPress, email, class websites, and more. He’ll be using Screencastify for online classroom conferencing.
“(Online education) is really showing students, ‘I have to have integrity. And if I don’t get up in the day, and if I don’t get things started, I might not finish by the digital deadline,’” Mount said. “The trust and independence is something college online experiences will require.”
Mount said he has had good responses from some, but also about a 25 percent drop-off overall on students turning in assignments on time.
“Some are still late or no reply,” Mount said.
Arroyo Grande High science teacher uses YouTube channel
Katie Boos teaches science at Arroyo Grande High and the downside of distance learning has been not being able to do labs, which her students are missing.
“The students have expressed how much they miss the labs and all of the fun activities we do in class,” Boos said. “I try to only do notes about once a week, the rest of the time the students are doing experiments and activities. Now the students basically only take notes and then are asked to do a worksheet.”
Boos said she has created labs students can do at home, which aren’t mandatory because she can’t assume they have all the materials.
She also has created a YouTube channel where she records lectures.
“I work through problems so the students can listen to me and look at their slides while they take notes,” Boos said. “I also include supplemental videos on my channel in case someone else explains it in a way they better understand. Students have commented that it is very helpful.”
Making it work and finding success
SLO High computer science teacher Jan Fetcho said that her biggest challenge is not being able to offer hands-on computer repair and networking in person. Fetcho said similar issues are being experienced by automotive, woodshop and welding teachers.
But she has been pleased with responsive outreach for help from local computer companies such as CIO Solutions, Secure Pro, and Clever Ducks.
“Those companies have done (or are going to do) presentations online, for my repair and networking classes,” Fetcho said. “The students really like this. Also, iFixit gave me a bunch of tool kits last year for the classroom, and I was able to get an old laptop and toolkit into each of the computer repair students’ hands. I am looking forward to seeing what they produce.”
Fetcho said that “Zoom, Zoom, Zoom” has been the greatest asset to maintaining face-to-face virtual communication.
“Everyone is using Zoom,” Fecho said. “Other than that, I’m still using the tools I have always used, but then, I do teach computer science.”
Mount, who gets 60 to 80 student emails per day, said some students are even “enthusiastic and hungry.”
“Some teachers have even said, ‘I think they’re glad to be back’ (after spring break),’’ he added.
Mount’s Paso Robles High journalism students have been reporting on the school’s Crimson News site about humanitarian efforts and daily life during a pandemic, frequently using the group messaging tool Slack.
Pamela Blakeman, a San Gabriel Elementary kindergarten teacher in Atascadero, said that she had a two-week crash course to learn many of the Google suites and provided students with art-related toolkits for at-home projects.
She hosts online office hours with parents and, after a terrifying learning curve, she’s successfully reaching her youngsters. She just posted her first pre-recorded video about learning the calendar.
“At first it was shock, then panic, and then how do I teach online?” Blakeman said. “And now, it’s really positive. It is sad that students aren’t coming back to school this year, it looks like.”
No official announcement has come on the closure of school campuses for the rest of the year, but teachers say they’re not expecting classes to resume.
They’re holding out hope for holding graduations, if it’s safe enough to do so.
“If we can, from a health standpoint, we’d like to see these seniors graduate, properly and well, with honor and glory,” Mount said. “That’s why we do school, to get this generation launched. That’s big on people’s minds — can we open for at least a football field on one afternoon?”
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