WHY: We believe that through digital learning, students can acquire skills, knowledge and experiences to develop love for learning and become independent, successful and effective lifelong learners.
HOW: Provide students access to blended learning environments to learn foundational and grade-level expected skills, demonstrate independence by having choice, ownership and voice through authentic learning experiences.
WHAT: We empower young learners to become future leaders and innovators who can adapt, embrace and promote change through technology.
The last few months have been a test of our resilience as a community, as a family, as individuals. It was evident how this pandemic has immensely affected all of us, in every sense of it. In education, it was an eye-opener to realize that as much as we have created the best lesson plans or have boxes of textbooks and shelves of materials available, we were not completely prepared when everything had to shut down and our only option was to go virtual.
As much as we wanted to deliver instruction and services to our students during the public health emergency, the at-home learning setting had its limitations, especially for our early childhood population. The traditional classrooms that typically provide teacher-led activities and use conventional learning tools like paper, pencil, crayons, blocks, or clay were restricted to use digital platforms to teach and learn. This digital learning environment can be effective and successful, if teachers and students alike are trained and are already familiar with its features so they can maximize its use. The reality was, prior to the pandemic, we were not utilizing technology in the classroom as much as we should have been. We were still teaching and learning old-school, so when we had to completely rely on technology during virtual learning, we were not prepared, we struggled to deliver instruction and the students were not always attentive and engaged. As result, significant regression was recorded and now we have to recoup that learning loss.
Now that most of us have resumed in-person learning, with still the fear of the virus, we have to proactively prepare and be involved in ensuring that learning is not interrupted, more so, train our students to be more independent and accountable for their own learning. Integrating technology through blended learning even during in-person will provide our students and even the teachers the opportunities to explore different strategies to enrich or supplement lessons. It can serve as an alternative learning environment where students can also acquire age and grade-level skills and expectations while developing independence and ownership of their own learning. Students will be able to have the ability to decide and choose. It becomes natural for them to be active learners. They become creators of their own knowledge, and learning becomes more student-centered. Our roles as educators also evolve from being lecturers to becoming facilitators, coaches, and mentors. Teaching and learning have gone beyond the four walls of the classroom, it has and can be extended within the comforts of their homes, the community and even worldwide. We are restructuring the educational system to operate in different settings (classroom, virtual, hybrid) and break boundaries. These collective efforts will contribute in honing future citizens who will advocate for change and improve the social, cultural, and economic health of our nation with technology.
As we face the aftermath of the pandemic, the level of optimism overflows, as we have discovered as a community how we can reinvent our schools, and ourselves. We can now offer learning options and address every student’s learning style and needs.
REFERENCES:
Kotter, J. (2011, March, 23). The heart of change. [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NKti9MyAAw
Kotter, J. (2013, August, 15). Leading change: Establish a sense of urgency. [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Yfrj2Y9IlI
Sinek, S. (2014, March, 3). Start with why: Ted talk short edited. [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPYeCltXpxw
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