The debate about whether or not snow days will be ending isn't over. Some are unhappy about snow days. Others believe that they are a good tradition to keep. This article will examine the effects of snow days on low-income families as well as the cost of moving to remote learning.
New York City's plan to abandon snow days
New York City Department of Education has changed its policy to prohibit students from staying home during snow days. They will instead offer remote learning and virtual classes. The change will take effect in the 2021-22 school year. It is not without challenges. Extreme weather could cause disruptions to the city's power grid. Also, schools could lose Internet access.
This was criticized by the entire country as an extreme measure. Snow days were a time when people would stay up late and play in the snow. This year, though, the snowdays will become rare. David C. Banks, NYC School Chief, stated that this policy will make sure that students can still learn in the snow.
Alternatives to remote education
Remote learning is becoming a more popular option in school districts. The New York Department of Education published a note this year regarding remote learning. Many school districts have made the transition to online classroom instruction. However, many aren't sure how remote learning will work when it snows.
Some school districts have opted out of traditional snow days altogether, while others have opted to use flexible instruction days. For the 2019-20 school year, the School District of Philadelphia didn't have traditional snow days, noting that inclement weather shouldn’t be a reason for cancelling classes. Neshaminy superintendent Mark Reilly stated that snow days are an important rite for children, but he did not support permanent switching to remote learning.
Impact on lower-income families
Many families with lower incomes have struggled to pay their basic needs due to the recent Northeast snowstorm that closed schools. In addition to the cost of supplies and fuel, three to four days off from school can throw a wrench in budgets already stretched thin. A family's inability to attend school could mean they miss three or four meals each day, increasing their risk of food insecurity. This is especially true if you are a lower-income family that relies on food assistance to get by.
Researchers from the National Bureau of Economic Research concluded that many children don't attend school when it is raining and miss out on important lessons. Although students returning to school from a snow day miss the same lesson, teachers make up the difference by revising their lesson plans.
Cost to switch to remote learning while on a snow day
Schools should consider switching to remote learning during snow days. Schools should offer this option for many reasons, according to Connecticut. The internet can be cut off during a snowstorm, which can affect school learning. Remote learning can prove to be a viable solution in such situations. Some districts like Old Saybrook are contemplating a move to this type of learning. Remote learning gives students the option of choosing their time and place. This allows school districts to avoid expensive and time-consuming scenarios for parents.
Although the cost of switching to remote education on a snowday can be high, it allows schools to avoid additional expenses that could result from closing their doors. Schools have cancelled classes on snow days in the past to meet their 180-day mandate. Switching to remote learning on a snow day will allow schools to meet this mandate, which is something that some people don't like.
FAQ
How do I choose which eLearning platform to use?
There are many eLearning platforms today. Some are free while others are more costly.
Ask yourself some questions when choosing between these options.
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Do you want to make your own learning materials. If you do, there are lots of tools that can help you create your own online courses. These include Adobe Captivate, Articulate Storyline, Lectora, iSpring Suite, and Camtasia.
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Are there eLearning courses that can be purchased pre-packaged? There are many companies that sell pre-packaged courses. These courses range in price from $20 to $100. Mindjet and Edusoft are the most well-known.
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Or do I prefer a combination? Many people find that they get the best results by combining their own materials with those provided by a company.
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Which option is best for me? It all depends on your circumstances. You might want to create your own materials if you're new to eLearning. You may also want to consider buying a pre-designed course once you've gained some experience.
Is an Internet connection needed in eLearning?
It depends on what you want to do. It doesn't matter if it's an online course. However, if you are going to use any kind of interactive features such as quizzes etc., then you need access to the web.
What is eLearning?
E-learning is a time-consuming process that requires significant effort. E-learning requires an understanding of the learning process. The learning experience should focus on what learners are looking to accomplish.
The content should be engaging and pertinent. Visual aids should include images, videos and animations.
E-learning needs to be entertaining and fun. It should have a strong focus on learner motivation. This includes providing feedback for learners working hard to reach their goals and encouraging them.
What are the various types of e-learning available? Which are their purposes
There are three main types of e-learning.
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Content delivery – This type is e-learning that provides information to students. Some examples include lesson plans or textbooks.
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Instructional design: This type e-learning helps learners to develop their skills. Examples of this include simulations and tutorials.
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Learning management: This type of online learning allows instructors to plan and manage student activities. These include virtual classrooms and discussion forums.
What should my eLearning course be like?
Your eLearning course needs to be interactive and encourage learners to engage with it.
This means the design must be simple to navigate and the content should be clear.
It also means that the content needs to be interesting and engaging.
To ensure that your eLearning course meets these requirements, you need to focus on three things:
Content
You must decide what content to include in your online course. You must decide how long each section should be. If you are teaching someone how to write letters, you will need to determine how long you want each topic to take.
Navigation
The second important decision you need to make is how you want your learners to navigate around your course. Do you want them clicking through each page one by one? Or do you want them to jump directly to specific parts of the course?
Design
Finally, decide how your course will look. This includes deciding how long each screen will take to load and how big the font size should be. You will also need to decide whether graphics should be included (such pictures).
Once you have made all of these decisions, you need to test your course to see if it works well.
What is your biggest challenge when it comes to online education?
The greatest challenge is keeping students engaged during the course. If they are not interested in what you're teaching them, then how do you expect them to learn anything? Giving students many options is the best way to keep them focused. This means giving them options like choosing which modules they want to study first, which chapters they want to read next, which exercises they want to try out, which tests they want to take, which assignments they want to start working on, and which websites they want to visit, which videos they want to watch, which games they want to play, etc.
What are some eLearning tools?
Interactive media, such audio, video, and animation are the best ways to present learning content.
These media allow learners to interact directly with the content. They can also be used to increase learner engagement.
Online courses often include video, text, audio, and interactive features.
These courses can be offered free of charge or at a cost.
The following are examples of eLearning tools:
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Online courses
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Virtual classrooms
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Webinars
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Podcasts
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Video tutorials
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Self-paced eLearning modules
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Interactive
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Social networking websites (SNS)
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Blogs
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Wikis
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Discussion forums
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Chat rooms
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Email lists
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Forums
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Quizzes
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Polls
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Questionnaires
Statistics
- The UK sample was relatively balanced in terms of gender (56% male) compared to the Gambian group (77% male). (sciencedirect.com)
- However, e-learning courses that are engaging, well-designed, and interesting are likely to be perceived as useful by e-learners (Roca & Gagné, 2008). (sciencedirect.com)
- Hedonism incorporates intrinsic motivation, including novelty, challenge, excitement, and pleasure (Schwartz et al., 2012), which is likely to predict user perception of e-learning enjoyment. (sciencedirect.com)
- In the 2017 ATD research report Next-Generation E-Learning, 89% of those surveyed said that changes in e-learning require their staff to update or add new skills. (td.org)
External Links
How To
What technology should eLearning use?
There are many options, depending on which type of device the learner has.
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Computer-based courses should be delivered on a computer.
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Mobile devices like smartphones and tablets can be used to deliver eLearning classes.
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It is possible to use both mobile devices and computers to deliver courses.
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Some organizations offer eLearning courses on DVD discs which can be viewed on any computer.
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It is a popular choice to create web pages so that users can access the material online.
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There are also some hybrid solutions where part of the course is delivered through a website while another part is delivered through a CD or DVD.
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A few organizations also offer free eLearning classes over the phone. These can be recorded by the student and played back later.