Teachers Want to Improve Online Learning Skills, but Training Uneven

The COVID-19 crisis caused public schools in the United States to shut their doors in March. But that did not mean the school year ended early. Instead, educators quickly developed, trained for and established emergency distance-teaching operations, many employing e-learning elements. Most school systems restarted operations within a few weeks and completed the year by late June.

But the change to virtual learning settings was difficult for many teachers and produced mixed results for students across the country.

Aimee Rodriguez Webb, a teacher in the state of Georgia, was among those who had a rough transition to online education. So, like many other teachers, she is working now to improve her e-teaching before the new school year opens in the fall.

Rodriguez Webb bought camera equipment and a large new writing board. She set up a room in her house for broadcasting lessons.

And, she recently started three weeks of training in online teaching along with other educators in the Cobb County School District.

As COVID-19 continues to spread in the U.S., distance learning efforts are being included in a growing number of plans for the coming school year. Many school systems are facing pressure to improve after the educational losses of last school year. But investment in training is uneven¹ across school systems. Some have offered new guidance on distance teaching. But many educators feel unsupported.

Richard Ferdig is an education technology researcher at Kent State University in Ohio. He told the AP that wealthier areas have used the summer to train teachers both on technology and on how to get the best performance from students who are learning at least partly online. Teachers in those areas will do well, he said.

But, he worries about teachers in poorer areas.

"They've either been given nothing or they've been told, ‘Here's the tools we bought for you, with very little support," on how to use them, he said.

Linda Mullen is Communications Director for the Washington Education Association, a union of teachers in the northwestern state. It recently carried out an opinion study involving 1,500 of its members. Mullen said 79 percent of them said additional training is necessary if distance learning operations are required in the new school year. Another 23 percent reported they would need major career development or training.

In New York, recent public opinion studies show that parents grew increasingly dissatisfied with distance learning as the school year progressed last spring.

Dia Bryant is deputy director for The Education Trust-New York, which did the studies. "We kind of just threw them out there and gave them a Zoom² link or gave them a Google Hangout or a Google Classroom," she said of the state's teachers.

She added: "We need better professional learning for them."

Some school systems are ending summer break for teachers earlier than usual so they can get more training in distance learning. Cobb County, Georgia, is among them.

Teacher Rodriguez Webb said the school system ordered teachers back to work two weeks earlier than in past years.

A statement from Cobb County Schools says the administration will make sure "teachers have the tools, resources, and training to help students succeed, no matter the classroom setting."

Keisha Redd-Hannans is head of Instructional Leadership for New Haven³ Public Schools in Connecticut. She said officials know that teachers were not prepared for the sudden changes in education this spring. Early on, she said, no one knew how much work to give students or how long they should spend on computers.

Redd-Hannans said the school system has agreed to pay a private company almost $270,000 for online training and support services.

Some parents have asked for schools to reopen fully⁴. They argue that distance learning cannot equal the quality of an in-school experience.

Christina Higley, a mother of three in Webster, New York says education will suffer if teachers do their jobs online.

She added, "They can train them all that they want. They could give them the millions of dollars and tools ... for online learning. They could do six weeks of intense training. There is still going to be children who can't learn that way, and the teachers aren't going to be able to change that — no matter what they do from afar."

I'm Jonathan Evans. And I'm Caty Weaver⁵.

Words in This Story

virtual – adj. existing or occurring on computers or on the Internet

transition – n. a change from one state or condition to another

1 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。

2 zoom   

n.急速上升；v.突然扩大，急速上升

参考例句：

• The airplane's zoom carried it above the clouds.飞机的陡直上升使它飞到云层之上。
• I live near an airport and the zoom of passing planes can be heard night and day.我住在一个飞机场附近，昼夜都能听到飞机飞过的嗡嗡声。

3 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

4 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

5 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。