Monday’s first day of virtual learning for Owensboro Public Schools came with a few technical issues and learning curves, but overall the start of the new academic year went about as smoothly as anyone could hope for.
Kristin Mikulick, who is teaching both Emerson Academy and Virtual Academy students, said her biggest concern going into the fall semester without in-person classes was, “What are the kids missing?”
Mikulick also asked herself how students were going to interact with each other as she prepared for a semester of unknowns. By using online resources that allow her students to collaborate and share their work with each other, Mikulick hopes tools like Google Apps will help bridge the physical gap between classmates.
OPS students are currently operating on a four-block schedule, taking four classes at a time for the entire semester rather than rotating their schedules between red and black days. For Mikulick, tightening up the number of classes has been beneficial.
“Virtually, that is easier to manage,” she said. “I think, getting started, it’ll be easier in the long run, but who knows. I will be asking for parents’ and students’ feedback along the way. We learned a lot last spring, and we’ve improved a lot since then.”
High school students have adapted to online learning a little easier than those in pre-K classes, according to Hager Preschool teacher Wendy Wright. She spent Monday teaching a class of 15 young students via pre-recorded videos on her laptop.
Juggling a roster of preschoolers proved to be more difficult online than in-person, Wright said. Working through a number of technical issues, Wright spent Monday morning and afternoon getting her students acclimated to the basics — going over their daily schedule together, learning each other’s names and reading a book. The students also watched online videos that accommodated Wright’s lessons.
But convincing 15 preschoolers to sit still and pay attention through a laptop screen could be a daunting task, Wright said.
“Because preschoolers are so hands-on, it’s very hard to do something like that through a computer,” she said. “A lot of times, you’re working with groups of kids and things are constantly happening spontaneously, and you’re dealing with that.”
Preschool isn’t required for students, so Wright said a lot of OPS parents had to make tough choices between sending their youngest children to preschool or keeping them home, especially because so many of them have older children learning from home who need the attention and guidance of their parents as they navigate the virtual learning environment.
Wright said she has her lesson plans prepared ahead of time, but that her plan is to record instructional videos each day so that parents and students can watch them at whatever time works best for them.
“The parents are the ones we’re relying on because they have to help them with the app, they have to help them stay on target, on track. They have to help them keep their attention,” Wright said. “I laugh and say, ‘I’m trying to teach a dog a trick through a computer screen,’ and it’s hard. But [all of our staff] are here in the classroom, and we’re trying to be as lively and creative as possible.”
