10 Ways to Make Online Learning Work
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 12/07/20
While
there's not anything new in, "10
Ways to Make Online Learning Work,"
the
report
is a good reminder that education quality shouldn't go by the wayside
even during a pandemic.
Among
the topics: connecting all learners with devices and high-speed
internet, supporting teachers by providing the professional
development they need and then recognizing their efforts with
"credits and compensation," following best practices for
online programs from sources such as ISTE, SETDA and the National
Standards of Quality and rethinking the use of instructional time "to
take advantage of the strengths of both synchronous and asynchronous
learning."
The
report was developed by the former (bipartisan) directors of the
Office
of Educational Technology
in the U.S.
Department of Education
and published by the "COVID
Collaborative,"
which includes the Council
of the Great City Schools,
the Council
of Chief State School Officers,
the National
Governors Association
and the American
Enterprise Institute.
The collaborative is working under the auspices of UNITE,
self-described as a "national collective for united Americans
around shared challenges we can only solve together."
Each
topic provides advice with data and evidence, including examples of
successful approaches by schools. The
purpose of the project is to acknowledge that online learning "will
likely make up part or all of student learning for most schools for
the foreseeable future" and to "improve the quality"
of that learning for both students and teachers.
Ultimately,
the report noted, even as the pandemic "has disrupted nearly
every facet of education," it also serves as a "runway"
for rethinking the learning experience that will serve "the
needs of all children, not just a lucky few."
"10
Ways to Make Online Learning Work" is openly available on
the COVID Collaborative website.
About the Author
Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.