It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

... it was remote learning. Several teachers that I have worked with have been resistant to embracing technology and digital resources. They each have their excuses. "I've been doing it without technology so far, and I'm fine." "Old dogs can't learn new tricks" "Bringing technology in the classroom will just be a distraction" and of course "I'm not comfortable with that type of change". Well, if our last few months of the 2019-2020 school year taught us anything, it would be that you need to be comfortable with being uncomfortable and educators are more resistant than they give themselves credit for. Remote learning during COVID forced many educators to join the rest of us in the 21st century. Baptism by fire for some, a time to suck it up and stop the excuses for others. I saw this experience as a chance for guided discovery and shift roles to facilitator of knowledge as opposed to sole content of delivery. Students in my district where given choice in how/when/and where they learned. Digital Learning can create a smoother transition to embracing the COVA Model (Choice, Ownership, Voice, and Authentic Learning). We saw remote digital learning allow students a voice and ownership in their learning as well as make giving and receiving personalized feedback much more accessible.

On a recent This American Life Podcast, titled Alone Together, psychologists discussed the effect of the quarantine on relationships. One of the guests on the show explained how the quarantine was an accelerator for relationships and how what was bound to happen (whether good or bad) came true faster in these "alone together" times. The relationship between educators, students, and instructional technology is not an exception to this accelerating force. Embracing the tools and possibilities of instructional technology and digital learning with an emphasis in the COVA model was bound to happen and these trying times are leading us there faster.

Resources:

COVA. (2017, July 20). Retrieved from http://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=6991

This American Life. (2020, June 05). Retrieved from https://www.thisamericanlife.org/697/alone-together