post pandemic education and technology

As the world begins to emerge from the Covid19, more and more people are emerging from their seclusion to attend sporting events, go out to eat, and gather with family and friends. Life is beginning to return back to its pre pandemic routines, and it feels good. But as this happens, let's not forget some of the valuable lessons that were learned during the past two years.

Education leaders need to be watchful of what school looks like since we've returned from remote learning.  Are teachers returning to pre-pandemic practices, or are they integrating the tools and skills that they used during remote learning to create an opportunity for students now that is better than ever? It's a pivotal time that will have great influence on what school looks like going forward.

So what should we see? Let's look at a few ideas:

1. Less is more. Now is not the time to add new initiatives, platforms, or duties onto any school personnel. We'll never know (or understand) all of the stressors that people have endured over the past 2 years. In many cases, people are just doing what they can to survive or maintain sanity. Some of our students have endured a devastating circumstances due to family illness, parent loss of work, and isolation from other children. So let's keep the first thing first and take care of each other and not make things more complicated or overwhelming.
2. Focus on teaching and learning and not tools. This is always good advice, but never more needed than now. Talking tools without them having a purpose is often a very inefficient process, and for many teachers may seem like a waste of their time.
3. While we're on the subject, let's talk about time. How much time and your timing for training and PD are crucial. In my experience, large "sit-n-get" sessions are very ineffective. A coaching model that is embedded during the day can be much more beneficial. This model provides teachers with plenty of accessibility to a tech coach during their planning times, or during class time for non-evaluative support. Co-teaching can even happen within this model, which has been very helpful for our teachers and me.
4. Incorporate the tools that you learned during the pandemic to make in-person instruction better than ever before. Look to embrace a blended model whenever possible in order to maximize interaction during class time.
   
5. Eliminate long lectures from your repertoire!! FOREVER!!!

These are just a few ideas that may help keep things going in the right direction, and produce an even better experience for students as we emerge into a new and better normal. If you have ideas or feedback, email me at matt@soita.org