Support Continues Through Remote Learning: Online Learning Toolkit Assists Teachers During COVID-19 Closure
The closure of schools due to the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) meant a quick change in how instruction was delivered to students. The training experts on the Western New York Regional Information Center’s E-Team determined the best way to support districts during this transition would be to share their knowledge.
Joseph Roaldi, CSLO/Model Schools supervisor, along with a cross-department team organized those resources into the Online Learning Toolkit, which is aimed to assist districts across multiple platforms and programs. As the situation evolves and teachers have discussions, the toolkit is updated daily to answer new questions.
“I was tasked with initiating and organizing the toolkit, but it has been a collaborative effort across many departments,” Roaldi said. “We worked with Erie 1 BOCES Director of Library School Library Systems Alicia Thompson to add interactive library resources. We also discussed Ed Law 2-D and how protecting students’ personally identifiable information (PII) is not taking a back seat, so we have a note from Scott Przywara, chief Data Protection, Security and Compliance officer, on there as well about student privacy. We have also gotten resources from R-BERN, so this hasn’t just been a collaboration of the E-Team, many departments at WNYRIC have come together to support our districts on this.”
The toolkit provides resources to help districts better utilize the programs they already use. There are also sections to support parents with approaches to learning and social emotional activities.
“We are trying to remind parents that have an integral role in their child’s learning, and we want to support them as well,” Roaldi explained.
Coordinators have had to move their trainings online to provide support for the 102 districts across western New York, as well as internally and at BOCES.
“The way we as coordinators do our jobs has completely changed. We’re used to being in the districts at least 102 days a year, having face-to-face meetings and trainings. We’ve also had to move to remote solutions, just like teachers. We use Teams, Google Meet and WebEx to connect with teachers and provide them with training,” Roaldi said. “We’ve noticed more teachers requesting meeting and districts requesting large group trainings. On any given day we may have a one on one training, a few teachers joining in or I have been in on a school wide WebEx meeting with 60 teachers logging in. Our team has adjusted well to the changing demands.”
For helpful resources, webinars and updates, check out the Online Learning Toolkit. If you would like to request a training, contact: IRT/Content based - Jessica Karches at jkarches@e1b.org; technology based - Joe Roaldi at jroaldi@e1b.org; overarching inquiries/district-wide inquiries - Steve Graser at sgraser@e1b.org.