Online learning & COVID19 — lessons from the field
By: Nidal Khalifeh
Tags: Covid Learning, Covid 19, Online Learning, Lessons Learned, Edtech

We have been working for years in providing educational technology solutions to the MEA region. I myself trained almost 10000 teachers within the last 15 years on how to use both hardware & software technologies in education. Yet what COVID-19 taught us is something we would never learn in our lifetime.

It felt like a dream at first. We were rushed by schools to complete our regular teachers’ training on educational technology, as rumor has it, a lockdown is near. We did all we could to complete the training, but we only managed to do so for 5 schools. Lockdown came mid of March. Yet 1 day before I managed to pick up my studio recording equipment and bring them back home.

During lockdown I recorded 8 videos offering tips on online learning, and hosted 9 sessions interviewing teachers from different schools, public and private, to share their experiences with online learning. The number of views on the channel grew to reach 50k within 2 months. The topic was a hot item and everyone was looking for guidance and advice.

School principals & superintendents called almost everyday looking for answers to this new situation. I tried as much as possible to help. Yet I didn’t have all the answers. After all this is new and we are all learning.

Yet I believe one story can conclude our experience with schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. It started when a school requested a presentation for online learning solutions, in case a lockdown occurred.

The entire school management gathered for the presentation and we started by focusing on asynchronous learning and how teachers need to give more time on assignments and less on online live sessions. We clearly stated that:

There are no classes in online learning No need for teachers to record sessions. They can find content on the internet Teachers must focus on giving more assignments and feedback Reflections, presentations, projects, and essays are recommended as assignments rather than multiple choice questions Weekly lesson plans should replace daily lesson plans For KG to G5 the school must use a homeschooling approach rather than an online learning approach. Parents must get heavily involved

The feedback we received from the school management team was shocking. They first said that they don’t understand. Then they said: What should teachers do! Nothing! The teacher’s job is to lecture.

We tried to explain that teachers facilitate and work to plan lessons and give feedback on assignments. Students still can reach their teachers during online office hours, but only when they need help. This offers proper differentiation and encourages students to learn on their own style and speed.

The feedback we received is a big NO and that teachers must lecture. But where did that all come from! For years we were working with schools and all we hear is that teachers are facilitators and we need individualized learning, growth mindsets, innovations, and all the buzz words. Yet to achieve this we need less lecturing. Why with COVID-19 we want more lectures.

What about parents? They must know that this is not the right way to go. We talked to parents and all they wanted to hear is online lectures, from 8AM to 2PM with short breaks in between. Even parents wanted online lectures.

When people face stress and uncertainty they go back to the most solid & mature of their skills. Because they know it is guaranteed to work. In education this skill is lecturing. Same thing for parents. Most of them were brought up in a lecture based learning environment and this is what they know.

This thinking is what made Zoom popular in the educational space during the pandemic. Teachers are on laptops or smartphones lecturing to students on laptops or smartphones watching. This is what they used to do and this is what they will continue to do digitally. It is a lecture digitization process.

We all had to go through a learning curve in order to stop and think that this cannot be the right way. Students are tired from daily lectures in closed rooms with monitors on, all the time. Even a recent research published in 2020 by JAMA Network shows that too much screen time is bad for students’ outcomes even if the content is great.

Today schools are calling us back asking for guidance. We needed this time to learn and reflect. Even what we recommended in the first month of the pandemic is now different. We are also learning from our mistakes and no one knows everything.

What did we learn?

Be learner centric: Each time ask yourself: How can it benefit the learner? It is all about teacher training & professional development Build support channels for teachers, students, and parents Even if there is no internet, you still can use paper, books, and phone. It works with parents support Schools are not only a learning space. They are a social space. We need schools Online learning is not a one-size fits all solutions Parents are to be heard & informed Education leadership needs to lead the change and not to be lead by parents demands or fear of the unknown Change is not something people welcome. Change needs to be managed

In conclusion we need to have agile minds and be open for change. We need to try different solutions and build experience in order to find the right fit to meet learners’ needs to excel.