We are three weeks into the school year and work is being assigned, assessments are being collected, and reminders are being sent. With 8 or 9 different teachers and multiple tech platforms, this can all become overwhelming for students and for parents who are trying to support their children at home.
Virtual school compounds this complexity with the removal or reduction of time teachers spend with students to provide individual support or just to recognize that a student is confused.
Technology ends up being a double-edged sword providing great opportunity for communication, while also creating an overload of messaging. Schools then have the challenge of consolidating communication to single platforms, but then struggle when better instructional technology exists outside that platform. This is where we are currently in the middle school – straddling two platforms of Google Classroom and PowerSchool Learning.
While it has been our practice over the years to isolate communication to PowerSchool Learning (PSL), the reality is that the pedagogical benefits of Google Classroom have left PSL behind. Teachers are relying on Google Classroom more and more because it allows for more flexibility of instructional practices and less organization from students. Google Classroom is designed to work within the Google Workplace where students work, email, and interact with peers and teachers.
We know that this can cause confusion for parents and students as they look for assignments and question why there are multiple platforms in use. This year is a transition year for us, because we recognize the benefits for learning of a shift to Google Classroom, but still have resources and past practices in PSL.
That said, we understand from parent feedback that more scaffolding and support needs to be in place. The MS will engage in the following steps moving forward:
- Meet with students in all grades to understand their tech and online class experience
- Teachers working with students to provide clarity on how to find assignments
- Additional work with students on organizational skills as appropriate
- Parent tech training on key tools and ways to support your child
- Future migration to a single platform
Next week, we will be working with students and teachers to audit our current tech use, so that we can tailor the parent training to specific needs. We will communicate next week about parent tech training for the week of Sept 13-15.
In the meantime, teachers will consolidate communication methods and continue helping students stay organized.