It’s a dizzying array of decisions schools will have to continue evaluating as the world faces the complex challenges of defeating COVID-19.
All kinds of technologies have helped save K-12 education from completely collapsing during the pandemic. Videoconferencing tools empowered educators to deliver live instruction and talk with students face to face virtually, many teachers who previously saw no need to use their learning management systems became regular users of them, and digital devices were distributed in record numbers to students all over the country.
Hybrid learning—a mix of in-person and remote instruction—also evolved quickly, with districts putting in place a variety of models. Some teachers, for instance, delivered so-called concurrent instruction, teaching students who were in classrooms and others who were at home, simultaneously.
There is still a lot of uncertainty about what teaching and learning will look like during the 2021-22 school year, driven largely by the COVID-19 Delta variant and large percentages of the U.S. population who remain unvaccinated.
But the commitment to getting kids back in school buildings remains strong and that means schools will have to be creative about how they integrate technology into teaching and learning. They will have to determine how and if they will provide options for students to learn part time or full time at home, what digital tools and teaching approaches they will use to accelerate learning in ways that help kids catch up on academic content they fell behind in during the past year and a half, and what strategies they will use to blend the use of digital tools into regular classroom instruction now that schools are flush with new technologies and the skills to use them.
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Agenda
Evaluating Hybrid Learning Options: Models to Consider
This discussion will examine the different hybrid learning models—a mix of in-person and remote instruction—that schools are using to give students more options for how they learn and ensure students are learning safely as the country continues to face the challenges of a pandemic. Our guests will also talk about the challenges of making the various models work and how they think they will shape K-12 education this school year and beyond. The conversation will be supported by robust reporting about hybrid learning from Education Week as well as survey data from the EdWeek Research Center and other organizations.
Mark Lieberman is a reporter for Education Week who covers school finance.
David Chan
Director of Instructional Technology,
Evanston Township High School (Ill.)
Chan is in his 8th year as the director of instructional technology at Evanston Township High School (ETHS). He taught math and science for 10 years and was the technology integration specialist for 5 years at ETHS. David is an online instructor with Northwestern University’s Center for Talent Development, an adjunct instructor with National-Louis University, the conference coordinator for IDEAcon, and a Google Certified Innovator and Trainer.
Blending Technology Into In-Person Instruction
This conversation will take a hard look at how schools are pivoting back to blended learning, a mix of digital and non-digital learning that takes place mostly in physical classrooms. This approach, which was gaining momentum before the pandemic, suffered during it because huge numbers of students were not in school buildings. But now, most students are expected to return to school buildings, where there is now a much more robust infrastructure of digital tools available and the skills among teachers and students to use them are higher than ever, opening the doors for greater and more sophisticated use of blended learning.
Kevin Bushweller oversees coverage of educational technology and learning environments for Education Week.
Thomas Arnett
Senior Research Fellow, Education,
Clayton Christensen Institute
Arnett is a senior research fellow for the Clayton Christensen Institute. His work focuses on using the Theory of Disruptive Innovation to study innovative instructional models and their potential to scale student-centered learning in K–12 education. Arnett began his work in education as a middle school math teacher in Kansas City Public Schools, has served as an elected trustee and board president for the Morgan Hill Unified School District, and currently serves as the board chair of Compass Charter Schools in California.
Demi Lager
Middle & High School Science Teacher,
Trivium Charter School
Lager (she, her, hers) . She has taught science for the past four years and previously worked on implementing health education programs for US government workers. She is a Modern Classroom expert mentor, distinguished educator and currently teaches middle and high school science in Santa Barbara, California. She received her Bachelor of Science in exercise science from New Mexico State University in 2015 and Master of Science in exercise science in 2017. You can follow her @demilager on twitter.
Khallid Love
Mathematics Teacher,
Washington Leadership Academy
Love is an Algebra 2, PreCalculus, and AP Calculus teacher at Washington Leadership Academy in Washington, D.C. A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, he holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics and Black Studies from Princeton University. Prior to working in Washington D.C., Khallid completed his post-baccalaureate certification in Secondary Math Education in Princeton’s Program in Teacher Preparation. Khallid was a member of Modern Classroom’s Inaugural Black Male Educator Cohort Fellowship in the Fall of 2020.
Accelerating Learning: How to Make It Happen
The issue of students falling behind academically during the pandemic has prompted educators to look for effective ways to help students accelerate their learning during the 2021-22 school year. This discussion will tackle how to put in place innovative instructional and technological approaches to help accelerate learning, especially in reading, math, and science. The conversation will also take a particular look at how schools are training teachers to accelerate learning at all grade levels: elementary, middle, and high school.
Alyson Klein is an assistant editor for Education Week.
Bailey Cato Czupryk
VP, Practices, Diagnostics & Impact,
TNTP
Cato Czupryk leads TNTP’s practices, diagnostics, and impact teams, ensuring that the organization measures and continuously improves its impact; develops tools to help schools understand the quality of their students’ experiences; and shares important lessons from our work internally and externally.
Cory Epler
Academic Officer,
Nebraska Department of Education
Epler is the academic officer for the Nebraska Department of Education. As the academic officer, Epler provides strategic leadership, support, and coordination of activities, resources, and programs related to teaching, learning, and assessment in order to lead and support the preparation of all Nebraskans for learning, earning, and living.
How to Make Tech Decisions in a Volatile and Complex World
Making technology decisions in an environment full of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) is very difficult, but that is likely to be the decision-making environment for the foreseeable future. This discussion will examine decision-making about what technologies to use and how to use them during the 2021-22 school year, based on three key audiences: district leaders, principals, and teachers. How, for instance, are educators deciding on what technologies to integrate into teaching and learning and which ones to ditch?
Arianna Prothero covers technology, student well-being, and the intersection of the two for Education Week.
Mark Breen
Chief Technology Officer,
Vail Unified School District
Breen serves as the CTO for the Vail School District where he oversees and implements IT and EdTech initiatives in the District. He was awarded the AzTEA Technology Director of the Year award in 2015 and was recently named as a 2020 Leader to Learn From by Education Week for his work in improving Technology in Education. Breen also recently served as President for the Arizona Technology in Education Association (an ISTE affiliate).
Christine Fox
Senior Director of External Relations,
Consortium for School Networking (COSN)
Fox is the senior director of external relations for the Consortium for School Networking (COSN) where she is responsible for corporate partnerships and professional learning programs. Prior to her role at CoSN, she served as the Deputy Executive Director, for the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) where she collaborated with the executive director in charting strategic direction of the organization and facilitated the members’ professional learning opportunities. In addition, she managed product development from conception to publication including Navigating the Digital Shift reports 2015- 2019, the Broadband Imperative Report Series and Guide to Quality Instructional Materials. Fox’s background includes experience in education and consulting. She has worked as an educational consultant and curriculum developer, ESOL Coordinator and 3rd grade teacher. Fox has a Masters of Science in Teaching English as a Second Language from Florida International University and received her Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from the Florida State University.
Kelly Pinkerton
Director of Assessment & Innovative Learning,
Vail Unified School District
Pinkerton serves as the director of assessment and innovative learning for the Vail School District. She oversees all of the blended and online learning options in the district including Vail Virtual Live, Vail Blended Learning and Vail Virtual Self Paced. She also oversees Civano Community School and the Vail Microschool. As the director of assessment, Pinkerton coordinates the administration and data connected to all formative, benchmark and state assessments across the district.
Content Provided by Class
Technology to Ensure Learning Continuity: Reimaging Remote Instruction
Across the country, K-12 schools and districts are again considering how to ensure effective continuity of learning in the face of emerging COVID variants, politicized debates around masks and vaccines, and more.
Hear from Class’ Director of Community and Advocacy, Dr. Kim Oppelt and Jason Bedford, VP of K-12 and former teacher, about how to reimagine a more equitable and resilient K–12 education system to withstand future disruption and improve flexibility for all learners and teachers. They will also discuss how virtual classrooms can be both rigorous and engaging if supported by the right technology, people, and processes.
Hear from Class’ Director of Community and Advocacy, Dr. Kim Oppelt and Jason Bedford, VP of K-12 and former teacher, about how to reimagine a more equitable and resilient K–12 education system to withstand future disruption and improve flexibility for all learners and teachers. They will also discuss how virtual classrooms can be both rigorous and engaging if supported by the right technology, people, and processes.
Dr. Kim Oppelt
Director of Advocacy and Community,
Class
Dr. Oppelt leads education, research, and engagement initiatives at Class. She has spent more than 13 years in the field of educational technology, including roles in training and consulting, product development, marketing, and outreach. She holds a master’s degree in school counseling from the University of Wisconsin Stout and a doctor of education from St. Mary’s University.
Jason Bedford
VP K-12, Class
Bedford brings twenty years of experience in education having held executive leadership positions with leading education technology companies. Previously, he has served as Chief Customer Officer at eSpark Learning and as Vice President of Global Sales at Blackboard, supporting educators in their practice and focused on equity and student achievement. Before embarking on his journey in edtech, Bedford was an educator in the Wake County Public School System for 5 years.
