Remote learning is not the same thing as online learning.
That’s one piece of advice for parents from Anna Smith, an assistant professor of teaching and learning at Illinois State University’s College of Education. She teaches education-and-technology courses.
As Unit 5, District 87 and other school districts start the fall 100% remote, Smith said it’s important for parents not to conflate “remote” with “online.” Online typically means all of the learning happens while your eyes are glued to the screen. Remote learning may have some online components, such as “synchronous” (at the same time) class meetings, but it’s those assigned activities that students do in the real world—like counting their toys, or diagramming their neighborhood—that are critical to learning.
"Learning is not reserved for school. And this might help us see that in a way that we haven't seen as a society."
“All of that activity, even though it’s not facing your computer or your screen, that’s the remote learning,” Smith said. “When we mix those two (terms) together, we’re looking for all the learning to happen in those class sessions that are being held online. Whereas, that’s a place for some other things, like connection and relationship-building. That needs to happen, but that’s not the only place where the learning is going to happen this year.”
Smith, a parent herself, acknowledged the child care dilemmas that come along with remote learning. But she expressed optimism that this grand experiment with remote learning might be the disruption that finally dislodges the concept that school is “kids in desks for six hours a day.”
“We’ll see new images of what learning could look like," she said. "New tools we can use to get us there. And really, I’m hoping, we start to see that what we do during the school day should mirror what we’re doing outside of school. The ways we communicate, the way we produce knowledge—all of that is radically different than what we see (in schools). Curricula really hasn’t changed much. Standards haven’t changed much in many years, in terms of adding in what’s now possible with the technologies that we have.”
The truth is, Smith said, that children are always learning. They’re learning at church, while playing at home, or in “pods” with other kids.
“Learning is not reserved for school. And this might help us see that in a way that we haven’t seen as a society. And that would be a good reminder for us when we think about what school could be moving forward,” she said.
Smith has one other bit of advice for parents: Don’t obsess over the amount of screen time your child is getting between all that remote learning and their downtime (YouTube, TikTok, etc.).
It’s what they’re doing with their screen time that matters, Smith said. If they’re spending the bulk of their screen time during the day creating or interacting with others, that weighs very differently than passive scrolling or TV-watching, Smith said.
“The quality of the interaction is what matters. Not the amount of time,” she said.
WGLT depends on financial support from users to bring you stories and interviews like this one. As someone who values experienced, knowledgeable, and award-winning journalists covering meaningful stories in central Illinois, please consider making a contribution.
