Hit the books, not the slopes!
Snow days cause disruptions in the instructional process. The lost time can severely affect curricular demands and expectations. Perhaps technology can come to the rescue in an efficient and timely manner. Please read the discussion and share your thoughts. Thank you.
While I was reading the discussion, I went back and forth with the idea of using technology (i.e., remotely accessing a virtual online class) to keep up with work. Yes…, I think it is important to keep up with work when school is not in session. Students are not in school enough as it is. We don’t want them to fall behind… No…, kids need time to be kids go play in the snow, sled, sleep… Snow days are a good “natural” break from routine. However, I wondered if students are really going outside and playing on snow days? Probably not. Probably, they are online anyway with facebook, surfing the net, playing video games, and/or texting their friends 88 times per day (the average number of texts a teen usually receives per day). See link: “Americans ages 18-29 send and receive an average of nearly 88 text messages per day, compared to 17 phone calls” (Read more: We Never Talk Anymore: The Problem with Text Messaging | TIME.com http://techland.time.com/2012/08/16/we-never-talk-anymore-the-problem-with-text-messaging/#ixzz2sf1MNeSZ)
ReplyDeleteSo, I’ve come to the conclusion that online learning (not necessarily in real time) during a snow day is okay for 9th grade and above for a short time (perhaps an hour). It could be a type of “flipped” class experience with the teacher recording a video. Then the teacher/s could give independent work/homework if needed for the students to keep up. I would start this as a pilot program only with AP classes, for example. Also, everyone in the class would need to have access to the web (as well as a quiet workspace) and have agreed to do it ahead of time. Let the little kids be little kids and let the high schoolers who will be online anyway, do some work. I’m interested to hear other thoughts on this topic.
Students in America today are faced with more educational pressure than ever before. Between the continuous changes of Common Core and the pressure of APPR on teachers, I can’t imagine the thought of adding additional instructional time on snow days that only occur one to three times during a school year. Many parents prefer homeschooling their children, and although there are components that are beneficial, such as the freedom of a snow ball fight before a math session, is this an accurate portrayal of what the work force will be like in years to come for these students? According to CNN “About 13.4 million people currently work from home in the United States, according to a Census Bureau report out Thursday. That's about four million more Americans since 1999,” which shows that statistics are rising; however, does homeschooling prepare students to go out into the traditional work force? Well, can an editor with a deadline skip a meeting for a snowball fight? Even though the focal point of the article relates to having school in some manner on snow days, I find that parents, teachers, and educational leaders that are in favor of homeschooling may support this idea; however, others may not.
ReplyDeleteAs the snow continues to accumulate, so do the online assignments... http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/14/nyregion/snow-day-thats-great-now-log-in-get-to-class.html?hpw&rref=education&_r=0
ReplyDeleteAs a child I couldn't wait for a snow day so that I could go outside with my brother and just be a kid. These fun filled days riding down the hills a WP High School are some of my fondest childhood memories. This experience is something that I have shared with my own four children and their friends. Unfortunately this winter my two high school aged children did not have the time to play because of the many additional assignments given to them to make up for the lost instructional time.
ReplyDeleteI was excited to see this article as my school just began doing this with the recent snow storms. Here is the announcement sent out to the parents last week:
ReplyDelete“Parents, please be advised that if KCHS is closed because of inclement weather, students will be assigned graded assignments by all subject teachers. These assignments are to be completed at home and submitted to the teachers as per instructions from each teacher. The assignments will be posted on Blackboard students can access the assignments after 8:42 AM on the day the school is closed because of inclement weather. Please check Bb and make sure that your child works on these required assignments at home.”
Before the snowstorms this past week teachers at my school were instructed to prepare full 40 minute lessons/activities for students to complete utilizing our schools Blackboard Learning System. The lessons should be posted at the start of first period at 8:42am. The administration also notified teachers and students in school that assignments given during snow days would be graded and count towards a students GPA.
As a proponent for technology in the classroom I believe this is a great idea. My school has already created and utilized a Blended Learning environment in our building. Half of our students currently have school issued iPad devices, and the entire student body will have them beginning next school year. All of students have access to the Blackboard Learning System where teachers routinely post content, assignments, and exams. While it does not substitute the quality of education and instruction a student receives while physically being at school, it is an excellent way to continue the learning process when school is closed. During the past snow storm I was able to utilize the Blackboard system to create a virtual class day. My lesson began by posting the answers to the previous night’s homework assignment. I then posted two short You Tube films related to my lesson which I asked students to watch. Students were then given a series of discussion questions to answer, and then required to post their answers on the class discussion board. In order to encourage conversation and discussion I required students to respond to three of their classmates posts. To my surprise nearly every student completed the assignment. The discussion was thoughtful and productive, and it reminded me of an actual discussion we could possibly have had while in the classroom.
As technology and internet access has become more affordable and widely available I believe this is a move in the right direction. I know some of you will disagree and argue that students should have time to play in the snow and/or help their parents shovel. I too am nostalgic of the traditional childhood snow day, however I believe that students can still enjoy the snow and fulfill their shoveling duties with proper time management. As educators we must teach our students to become responsible students and citizens. We must prepare them for the real world. Although school may be closed many businesses and corporations remain open and it's business as usual. According to: http://norberthaupt.com/2012/04/20/school-days-around-the-world/ there are 21 countries that require more than 180 school days a year. If our students are going to compete in a global world we must make every day count.
While snow days can be disruptive to education, in a typical season I believe they are not common enough to warrant a need for a revised curriculum and structure. As I was reading, I found myself going back and forth between whether or not this would be beneficial. On one hand, technology can certainly solve the problem we are experiencing this winter where we have had several snow storms that have caused school to close. Many colleges have already implemented online classes and even degrees and have found that model of learning effective. On the other hand, as others have stated previously, as children we were all excited about snow days, they were an opportunity to relax, play in the snow and experience things that we didn't have the chance to do normally and was also an opportunity to learn in an non traditional manner. The other issues that should addressed is that if students are expected to do work from home using technology, there is an expectation that all students have access to a computer, the internet etc. It also does not deal with the issue of power outages that may occur and prevent a student from being able to complete their school work.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of using the internet during snow days so that there is no disruption to instruction sounds pretty good; however, I wonder if the following have been considered: loss of electricity during storms, internet problems resulting from loss of server service, students who may not have a PC or internet service (no matter how small the percentage per district), which classes would be conducted - all or only core, and then there is the attention piece on the part of the student - how many distractions will he/she be around, and finally, what happens in an household with multiple students in multiple grades?
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ReplyDeleteI believe that more schools should try to implement technology into the classroom. Students and teachers should be having classroom discussions online; not just during a snow day. If this is not part of the classroom culture students might be hesitant to try this. Taking time to introduce new initiatives in the classroom is key; especially when it deals with technology. Also, we cannot assume that all students have access to technology. Educators would need to find this information out before assigning this type of assignment.
ReplyDeleteI believe that technology needs to become a more integral part of the school day and, ideally, would love to see that extend to out of school assignments that are internet based moving toward more of a flipped classroom. However, I know in my district and with my current students, that there are several students without internet access at home. I know some will scoff at this statement but, depending on the district, it is a reality and it only serves to penalize the same students who are already struggling to complete classwork or paper based homework. Over the past few snow days, I used the Remind 101 text app with parents and students so that I could update them on what to expect upon their return and ask them to complete assignments at home that I hadn't shared with them prior to the days out. Overwhelmingly, students completed those assignments and parents were happy to have the communication. I think that I could assign extra credit assignments for students on these days, but woud not feel comfortable assigning required computer/internet dependent assignments just yet. So, for now, I say let them hit the slopes (or the highschool hill) and enjoy the respite from the typical day.
ReplyDeleteCan we afford NOT to make instructional pursuits part of our snow days? Here is some data (and its implications) to consider.
ReplyDeletehttp://norberthaupt.com/2012/04/20/school-days-around-the-world/
I agree with many of the posters above, that, on first glance, my instinct would be to celebrate the idea of bringing the leanring into children's homes and further bolstering the school-home connection. However, other factors come to mind that prevent me from agreeing with the concept wholeheartedly. First, as Carleen mentioned, we work in a district that already suffers from the bold line between the 'haves' and the 'have nots;' a requirement to complete work at home would further that issue for students without computers or internet access. Additionally, it sounds like the idea would be more responsibility on teachers, which would not be so bad if there was also added responsibility on parents to work with their children on this at home. I imagine a scenario in which I wake up extra early to design a lesson and activity for students to complete on the snow day, and the following day, some students did it, some did not, and I have no way of utilizing the material in that day's teaching because half of the students didn't do it. I am also a firm believer in the idea that nature, play, family interaction, and other opportunities offered by a snow day are the stuff that lifelong learning is made of. I try to instill that in my students, and I'd hate to see that taken away by this Common Core push to have students engaged in constant 'rigor' and 'academics.'
ReplyDeleteFor me it's a much simpler argument than trying to discern whether it's a good idea or a bad idea. Or that it's good for one age group and not another. Adding to Sara's point, well over 50% of my students are on free or reduced lunch. The majority of them have computers and internet access at home, but I think it's fair to say that about 5% of my kids don't have computers or internet access at home. Do we simply write them off in this scenario? Would you write a lesson plan that was GUARANTEED to not be able to reach just one kid in your class before you even started? What about two kids, or three kids. I know our lessons aren't successful for every kid, every day, but none of us has ever written a lesson in which we knew certain kids could not, not would not, be successful.
ReplyDeleteNow this scenario may be different in more affluent districts. In that case I support this idea so long as it is used to excuse snow days, not as a supplement to the school calendar. In response to Ahava, my feelings are mixed on keeping kids in school more/longer. I think there's value in it, but in the summer. Not in the extension of the school day or by increasing the density of learning opportunities within the confines of the current calendar. I think a lot of state level administrators have forgotten what it's like to be a kid. Maybe they need to look at kids faces during endless state testing, or watch kids literally break down in tears, year after year as a result of the testing. Kids need breaks. If snow days are taken away, they have to be given back somewhere else. Extend the school year to the summer, but kids need weekends and vacations to just be kids and unwind. A small minority of kids might be able to handle constant bombardment, but not most.
Coincidentally, this was on the news last night! http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/02/26/n-j-district-tries-to-get-around-snow-days-with-virtual-school-days/
ReplyDeleteIt's a district that provides students with laptops, so the playing field is somewhat more leveled. And, I can infer from the gym class assignment that many, if not all of the students, probably live in single-family homes, given that part of their phys ed assignment was to shovel snow....I'd imagine kids in apartment buildings or rentals would not be shoveling the walkways or driveways....
I agree with Sara and Brian; unless we are certain that every student has equal Access to the internet, “teleschooling” is not going to be the best approach. Furthermore, as a parent, I know that when my daughter is school aged and is required to use the internet, for her safety, I’m going to be very active in supervising her. With that said, another question that can be taken into consideration (especially for the younger children in the district) is: are all of our students’ parents tech savvy enough to guide their children when using the internet? What if an assignment requires some research and not just word processing are ALL parents equipped to deal with internet safety? What if there isn't a parent present until late hours (which is the case for many of our students), who will be supervising them?
ReplyDeleteI think that snow days should remain snow days. Children are forced to grow up too quickly these days and soon enough they will be working in a world where snow days don't exist. Even if we had the kids working from home, the districts are not going to allow those days to count as legal days and they will have to make them up anyway. In my son's class, there are still a few parents who are not computer savvy and panic at the idea of having to use their computers do do anything. If it became a requirement for a full day of work, they would not have a clue.
ReplyDeleteI feel conflicted about this because the snow days this year have really been disrupted. For high school students, I think there comes a point when I will never fully recover those instructional days and I need an alternative. My students know that they need to check my webpage on snow days. I also know which students may not have access (out of 135, I only have 2 who do not), but we discussed what to do and how to make it up. There is a lot of time for students to be kids and go sleigh riding and there is also time for them to get work done. This is essential for my AP class where we have out test in May and even more material to recover. I am not sure if it makes sense for elementary school and middle school, but I think it is logical for high school students.
ReplyDeleteI also want to make clear, that I post assignments regularly on my webpage and I use screencasts regularly to deliver lectures. This is not new for my students. I think a lot of this has to do with training. I would most definitely feel different if I had not used this before in my classroom.
I also wanted to speak to Sara's post about waking up and some students having done the assignment and others have not. For my screencast program, I already have my PowerPoint, all I take is 10 to 15 minutes to film the lecture and then it is uploaded. I think the technology exists to address some of that. Also, having students do work online is not different than any other day. I have a group of students that always do there HW and a group that does not. I think the key is having them aware of how to use the technology.