Silver Linings of Online Learning

One of the many jarring changes inspired by COVID-19 was the switch to online classrooms. For many, it is good news that we have transitioned back to fully in-person learning this past school year. This is particularly true for young people who have been disadvantaged by the online learning environment.¹ But before we walk away completely from this time of online learning, it might be useful to recognize examples of how educators have been able to use technology to increase interactivity and enhance learning opportunities.

One example is described by Becky Cary, a biology instructor at Duke University, who shared on the APM podcast Educate that using features in video meeting apps to ask students multiple choice questions mid-lecture has given her insight into which concepts students are and aren’t grasping.² She discovered that students who raised their hands in class were not representative of the class as a whole, as they were the ones who best understood the material. She realized she was sometimes moving on from concepts too soon, leaving some students behind. Because the Zoom polls are anonymous, Cary reported that they’ve greatly improved engagement and helped alert her to gaps in understanding.³ These strategies are being used in high schools as well: Thomas Aberli, principal of Atherton High School, shared that his teachers have been integrating engagement questions and quick quizzes into their lectures and also finding them to be helpful.⁴

In addition to giving teachers insight into their students’ understanding of the material, these brief check-ins might also benefit students’ learning. The testing effect is a well-supported phenomenon in educational psychology which suggests that being tested on information promotes better retention than just studying the information outright.^5,6 Educators might continue these quick and anonymous knowledge check-ins in-person using student engagement systems.

Another interactive tool that has helped some students stay engaged and teachers in the know are digital online white boards. Leslie Gonzalaz, an English teacher at Jimmy Carter Early College High School, describes how she uses it in her lessons: “So if I have a question, then each [student] can go ahead and use a sticky note and write their answers, or write suggestions, or ask questions… [Back in the classroom] I would only have one student answering. Now, I can have all of them [answer].”⁴

Learning management systems (LMS) also allow for collaboration between students. Patrick Gannon, the communications and community engagement coordinator of the Pleasanton, California Unified School District (PUSD), explained that “Those side conversations in the past have been considered cheating. When you bring that into the LMS, then those discussions become evidence of collaboration, which is one of the key skills we want to prioritize among the students.”⁷

The switch to online learning has also prompted educators to reconsider traditional testing strategies, and instead assess learning outcomes through alternative methods like discussions and student-led lessons.⁸ These methods of assessment may reflect real-world applications of knowledge better than multiple-choice tests, and can be easily translated to in-person classroom settings.

It should be noted that these examples come from well-resourced high schools that serve higher-income students. There is compelling data to suggest that the online experience has not been as positive nor productive for youth from under-resourced backgrounds, and has exacerbated learning challenges for those already educationally behind. Perhaps one of the main takeaways from this time of distance learning is the positive impact that technology can have on learning– particularly when it is equally accessible and distributed to all youth.

I would like to thank Allison Salter, who was a key contributor to this blog.