Distance Education: Learning through Technology

 

    Distance education wasn't something teachers thought about until we had no choice. In 2020, when COVID 19 hit, many teachers, including myself, were not prepared to teach students at a distance. At the time, I was a kindergarten teacher and only had five Chromebooks to use at a center. My students, nor myself, were prepared to go digital for our teaching and learning. 

    The pandemic forced teachers to think outside of the box and teach their students from their homes. In my case, the kindergarten teachers I worked with were in constant communication and sharing ideas and resources to help our students get as much instructional content as possible. Unfortunately, I worked in a Title I school and many of our students did not have access to the internet or a digital device to use while learning at home. Simonson and Zvacek (2024) state, " Even where the Internet is available, many potential students do not have ready access to powerful, modern computers, and if they do, they may not know how to use Internet resources" (p.114). The digital component of distance learning was a struggle for our students because even if they had access to internet, they did not have devices they could use to complete the assignments or even the knowledge of online platforms. 

Growth Opportunity

    This experience gave teachers the opportunity to learn about distance education. Many teachers took the opportunity to introduce their students to online learning platforms in the classroom. The year following COVID, our school went one-to-one with Chromebooks and it gave us the opportunity to teach our students how to use Internet resources. Particularly, we focused on using SeeSaw . Students learned how to upload pictures, complete assignments, and turn in assignments while completing their classwork or their center activities. SeeSaw solved the problem of students not having desktops or Chromebooks at home because "the mobile application can be downloaded at any time from any location with an internet connection to any smartphone or tablet device" (Kusmaryani et al, 2022, p. 55). 

Positive Experience

    Through the chaos of COVID came opportunities to learn. In my district, we were all part of a Blended Learning professional development that was delivered through Google Classroom. Teachers got to experience learning the same way we would expect our students to learn. Simonson and Zvacek (2024) state "The effective utilization of distance education classrooms requires a new set of skills for most educators and learners" (p. 128). By participating in this online professional development, teachers were able to learn how to utilize online-learning platforms to best serve their students.

Conclusion

    Even though teachers were not prepared for distance learning, it forced us to learn how to teach students in the event that something similar happens again. I have learned so much over the last five years to support and teach my students technology etiquette, internet resources, and how to use different platforms. The pandemic was hard for everyone, but I think it made schools think about how technology was being used within schools and change for the better.

References.

Imoogi Graphic. (N.D.). Teenagers Distance Learning Online Education 3D Character
    Illustration. Canva. Retrieved 2025, from https://www.canva.com/p/imoogigraphic/?
    utm_medium=referral&utm_source=creator_share&utm_campaign=creator_share.

Kusmaryani, W., Arifin, & Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Borneo
    Tarakan. (2022). PENGGUNAAN APLIKASI KELAS SEESAW SEBAGAI MEDIA
    PEMBELAJARAN DALAM PEMBELAJARAN BERBASIS PROYEK DIGITAL
    [Journal-article]. JURNAL BORNEO SAINTEK, 5(2), 54–62.
    https://www.jurnal.borneo.ac.id

Seesaw. (2024, August 29). Experience 5 powerful ways to use Seesaw [Video]. YouTube.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYJAW1FTc0A

Simonson, M., & Zvacek, S. (2024). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of
    Distance Education 8th Edition. IAP.

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