Re-imagining schools after COVID-19

My son started ninth grade with remote learning. He seems comfortable with continuing to take classes remotely. Of course, he grew up with this technology and has been distance-learning since the spring.

 

No one knows when we’ll be able to have in-person classes again, but we can see the possibilities of remote learning to come:

 

Recorded lectures and presentations. Teachers will record their lessons, from outside the classroom if they choose, and embed other videos, music, and other information. Students will review lectures if they have difficulty with the assignment, and record their own presentations in turn. Teams of students could be assigned as the class “videographer” and edit the day’s recorded lecture or presentation. This means that schools will need enough storage and bandwidth to save and access the videos.

 

Virtual field trips and tours. Many museums, parks, and historical landmarks already offer virtual field trips, as well as lesson plans available for teachers. Businesses, nonprofits, and governments may begin offering virtual tours as well, to show students what they do (and why it would be a good career choice for them). This could change the way companies and the military recruit job candidates; and help declining arts and traditions flourish.

 

In fact, Hawaii has an opportunity to promote Hawaiian culture and sustainability practices around the world, by creating education modules and making them available to teachers at little or no cost (or alternately, turning it into a revenue stream that pays for itself).

 

Staggered school schedules. When we are ready to return to the classroom, there are a lot of models that schools could follow. Students might have staggered school days, going to class 2-3 times a week, so that only half the students are on campus at any one time. To make that easier, schools may switch to a six-day school week. Or students might have school “shifts,” going to class either in the mornings (9 am to 12 pm), afternoons (1 pm to 4 pm), or, for high school and college students, evenings (5 pm to 8 pm).

 

Longer-term, we can imagine a shift in the way we view teachers and schools:

 

Biometric logins. To prove the identity of a student, online schools could require a fingerprint scanner when students submit homework or take exams. Passwords, voice recognition, and even facial recognition may not be enough to verify that students are who they say they are.

 

Self-guided learning. Intermediate and high school could become more like college and graduate school. Students could be empowered to design their own learning plan. Instead of daily classes, they could turn in final projects and then have question-and-answer sessions with their teachers. Instead of standardized tests, students could have written and oral competency tests to prove that they mastered a subject.

 

Choice of teachers, not schools. Instead of being limited to teachers at one school, parents may be able to request a specific teacher for a specific course. More effective teachers would be in greater demand. They could also collaborate with co-teachers, allowing them to accept more students, and mentoring teachers to teach more effectively. In fact, parents might be able to request any accredited teacher, regardless of where the teacher lives. And schools would be able to address the teacher shortage by recruiting teachers worldwide.

 

Entrepreneurial teachers might decide to teach “freelance,” with schools and parents paying for classes on-demand, with a mix of live classes, recorded lectures, and one-on-one or small group advisory meetings. Teachers might create a network or “pod” of teachers, essentially creating their own independent “school” that could meet the needs of specific cultures or families. This would require teacher accreditation to become national or even global, rather than regional.

 

Virtual student internships. With disclosure and consent, students could gain business experience by participating in virtual staff meetings, board meetings, sales meetings, presentations, and healthcare appointments. They could be sent to a “waiting room” if confidential or proprietary matters need to be discussed.

 

All of this is based on the growing need for every student to have access to a computer, a webcam, and Internet access. It will require subsidies from schools, governments, and nonprofits to enable every student to learn from home.

 

How has your perception of K-12 and college education changed? If you are a student, what has been your experience with remote learning? If you are a parent or kupuna, how we can make remote learning better?

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Tags: Distance Learning, Education, Re-imagining schools, Remote Learning, School

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