by Heidi Weber
Hello! I am responding to your request to hear from teachers about Loveland Online learning. (Tell Us: How is remote learning going in the Loveland District)
I am teaching 3rd grade through our online academy. I want to share that I am having a great deal of success because of the training opportunities made available through the district instructional technology coaches for years. While these coaches were lost due to cuts from the levy failure, our coaches offered training in many tech skills including the use of Google tools. They even offered support becoming certified as a Level 1 Google educator.
I was able to take advantage of the training offered by the district for years and I earned this certification. The training helped me be highly skilled in the use of Google tools and applications in my classroom prior to COVID. This has made online teaching smoother for myself and my students. My skill with the tools has helped me teach these skills to my students and after 4 weeks, they are confident and capable learners!
I am also supporting several children on IEPs. Between myself, an intervention specialist, and one of our paraprofessionals working remotely, my students have access to an adult all day long. I’ve created a schedule that links every meet into it for ease of access for families. I believe that all of my learners are thriving because technology lets me adapt for their needs in many ways such as providing audio recordings of directions or videos that students can pause or review again. You can’t put a live teacher on pause or listen again! So in many ways, I find the environment more supportive.
It has been about re-imagining what we do as educators. There hasn’t been anything that I would have done in person that I haven’t figured out how to adapt to remote learning.
My goal has been for students to be independent so that all I need parents to do is make sure there is a strong solid connection and devices that work at home (and if they don’t, we work with the district to help figure that too). If a child struggles with a task, then I figure out how to adapt it or support them more. I wouldn’t expect a parent to come to school and ‘teach’ their child under normal circumstances, so why would I ask them to ‘teach’ at home?
I am excited for my 3rd graders and the amazing skills we are learning! I think we are ROCKING it!
Sincerely,
Heidi Weber
