At the heart of a continuity of learning plan is the delivery of instructional content to students who are out of school for an extended time. While some content may be distributed as hard-copy packets or on digital storage devices (CDs, DVDs, flash drives), a variety of technology tools provides many options for putting instructional content online. Putting instructional content online allows it to be easily updated and accessible to many students at any time. Answering the following questions will help you form your plan:
What content can be given to students in hard-copy? How will hard-copies be delivered (pick-up location)?
What content can be given to students in digital form (CDs, DVDs, flash drives)? How will digital copies be delivered (pick-up location)?
What content is available in digital format to provide to students at home?
Do or should you have an online repository of all district curriculum offerings?
Do or should you have emergency lessons prepared for students for short-term absences? How will students receive the lessons?
How is digital content/curriculum created or selected?
How is digital content managed, housed, updated, and delivered?
What happens if a student is absent during mandatory testing periods?
What tools will be needed to deliver instruction in the short term? Long term?
Should online curriculum mirror what is being taught in the face-to-face classroom?
Should educational activities be sustained for all courses or limited to core courses?
Are any of your textbooks available online or in digital format?
Are teachers aware of what their team members are teaching in the event that they must temporarily take over a class?
How will you deliver instruction to a student who is quarantined?
How will teachers deliver and collect student work?
How will you decide what lessons to make available for an immediate continuity need since you will not know where you are in your teaching plans if a disaster strikes?
Deliver Instruction
At the heart of a continuity of learning plan is the delivery of instructional content to students who are out of school for an extended time. While some content may be distributed as hard-copy packets or on digital storage devices (CDs, DVDs, flash drives), a variety of technology tools provides many options for putting instructional content online. Putting instructional content online allows it to be easily updated and accessible to many students at any time. Answering the following questions will help you form your plan:
Consider using the following tools to help you deliver instruction online:
Blogs
Blackboard or Moodle
Google Docs & Calendar
Ning
Podcasts
Weebly
Wikis