'Just the beginning': Teachers, parents reflect on eLearning as schools remain closed

Usually, LeeAnn Reymann is telling her daughter Ali, a sophomore at Avon High School, to use her locker and stop carrying all her books and everything else around. 

It’s bad for her back.

But when the district moved to eLearning overnight after a student tested positive for COVID-19, it turned out to be a good thing that Ali had everything with her — she was all set to get started.

Students at Avon Community Schools started eLearning on March 9 and were the first in Indiana to make the switch as districts closed buildings to stop the coronavirus from spreading.

Many of the districts that previously announced plans to do eLearning had hoped to return to in-person classes in April. But that all changed on Thursday when Gov. Eric Holcomb announced that all schools will remain closed until May 1, with the possibility of being closed longer.

State officials said it will be up to district leaders whether their schools will continue eLearning beyond current plans.

Now students, parents and teachers are facing longer closures as they wait to hear if plans will include eLearning or not.

What parents need to know:Schools are closed in Indiana until at least May 1

But how did the first days of eLearning go for districts that used it?

It seemed that the more experience that their students had with the technology, and the better the communication between teachers and families, the better that parents and educators felt. 

At Purdue Polytechnic High School, where technology and online learning are already a regular part of the school day, it's like they have barely missed a beat, said Ronni Moore, a teacher at the school's Broad Ripple campus. 

"It hasn't felt like a huge shift," Moore said.

Many told IndyStar that during the first week they were cautiously optimistic. 

And experts, teachers and parents alike stressed the importance of flexibility and keeping a schedule.

It’s a mentality of step-by-step. After all, that’s all there is to do.

From teaching in-person to digital

Victoria Lowell’s first piece of advice is this: Take a deep breath and remember that everyone — teachers, students, parents — are anxious right now.

Lowell, a clinical associate professor at Purdue University’s College of Education, said it was her advice for teachers. But it works for everyone.

Educators can’t expect online lessons to be exactly like in-person ones, Lowell said. Teachers should make adjustments to keep students engaged and include different formats from video to audio. 

At Westfield High School, freshmen were about to start reading “Romeo and Juliet” when the district closed their buildings starting March 16 and moved to eLearning on March 17.

“It’s the hardest thing we read all year,” said teacher Angie Torvik of her students, "I didn’t think it was fair to ask them to do it on their own."

So she and four fellow English teachers came up with a plan: What if they co-taught Romeo and Juliet and did it as a podcast?

They recorded themselves reading it and added commentary where they would have paused in class to discuss.

Torvik said she’s cautiously optimistic about the extended period of eLearning.

“You just have to have an open mind,” she said, "and grace with yourself and with the kids."

'I’m missing the human connection'

Many teachers who spoke to IndyStar agreed that students are using digital tools at home that they are already using in the classroom. Plus, teachers are collaborating to adapt lessons and taking their own advice to create schedules and stick to them.

For Lisa Finn, a music teacher at Riverside Intermediate in Fishers, the biggest challenges at first was comforting the kids whose musical was canceled. Another big challenge was not seeing her students.

“I’m missing the human connection,” Finn said. “I found myself emailing them and asking them to tell me more (about their assignments).”

At Prairie Trace Elementary in Carmel, Rachel Green said she and her fellow first grade teachers tried to stick with digital tools that students are already experts on.

Green said all the first grade teachers worked together to co-teach lessons online and to make sure each one is engaging and meaningful for students.

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Carly Davis, a fifth grade teacher at Prairie Trace, added that she reminded her students that she expected to hear from them if they had questions and talked about what their day will look like during eLearning.

And she challenged them: Make a schedule of your own.

Davis did the same for herself, setting office hours from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and then responding to students as she can outside of that.

In for the long haul

For many Indianapolis-area parents, the approach has been to do what they can, which varies from district to district.

At the Reymann house in Avon, there were bumps along the way as the family adjusted to having both parents and three kids at home.

Fifth grader Levi misses his friends.

Caleb, an eighth grader, would rather sleep in or be going to jazz band.

And Ali, who has honors and advanced placement classes, is still doing school work long after her brothers are done with eLearning for the day.

Overall, Reymann said her kids don’t like eLearning days. 

“They think it’s harder,” she said. “But I’m thankful they already knew how it worked.”

She’s also been impressed with teachers who have stayed in touch and even organized a group video conference so Levi and his classmates could check in with each other. 

Other parents agreed that they were grateful for past eLearning. Tammi Mitchell has two kids in Franklin Township schools and said both Willem, a fourth grader, and Hazel, a kindergartner, knew how to use tools through Google Classroom.

Chelle Smitson said she was glad Zionsville Community Schools already did eLearning yet she knows it will challenging for her two high school sons to do it long-term. "It's just the beginning," she said.

Balancing working from home and school from home can be tricky for parents. Houses are full. Schedules don’t match up. Trying to stay healthy is important. 

For Lyndsey Maldonado of Zionsville, she’s out of work right now while schools and other businesses close to prevent COVID-19 from spreading. Plus, her two kids are at their dad’s house in Noblesville for the week.

Since they were there for their regular visit on the weekend, Maldonado said she decided it was best to keep them there rather than take them back and forth between cities.

While 8-year-old CJ and 4-year-old Harper are with their dad, Maldonado is doing what she can from her apartment — like reviewing CJ's eLearning. She added that she’s grateful for online educational resources like ones from NASA and the Cincinnati Zoo.

Brandy Coffman, who has four kids at MSD Decatur Township Schools, doesn’t mind having her kids home or doing school work with them, but wishes that the technology worked better that she had more resources to rely on. Coffman said it's hard and she hopes it gets better.

“My main concern is their grades," she said, "my kids are here and putting in the effort.”

'It’s one day at a time'

Several parents stressed the importance of their schedules. Smitson has a schedule made out of Post-it notes on a pillar in her house. For Kelly Coker of Westfield, the daily plan is on a chalkboard wall.

So far, Coker said eLearning is going well because third grader Jackson and first grader Letty are excited about something new.

But the challenge has also been trying to keep them on task while their parents try to work from home. And there’s 4-year-old Nora who has a packet of optional things to do from preschool, but no assignments like her siblings.

“She likes to do homework when the big kids are doing it,” Coker said, “But after that, she’ll have to be entertained.”

Lauren Spillman, a former teacher and mom of three in Zionsville, agreed that for now, it’s a novelty for her kids.

“It’s one day at a time,” she said. “My kids are, at this point, extremely excited to do this. We are still in the happy honeymoon phase.”

To find activities, materials and resources to keep them all occupied and engaged, Spillman made a Facebook group for parents to share ideas. It’s called "Blessings in Disguise."

“It’s a hard time but to be able to see how your kids learn and what they enjoy or struggle with first hand is such a blessing,” she said. “You need a community to successfully get through the day.”

Advice for eLearning

The changes and shifts to adapt to eLearning will likely change teaching going forward, experts told IndyStar.

Converting face-to-face lessons to online is a lot of work, said Daniel Hickey, professor at the School of Education at Indiana University.

“We’re currently much more prepared than we were 10 years ago,” Hickey said. “There are more online resources, and multimedia textbooks that aren’t bad.”

However, he added that the outcomes will vary by district, grade level and subject.  

“There are some outstanding instructors out there," he said. "This will be a chance for them to show off.”

Below, Hickey and Lowell, of Purdue University, offered their tips for success for both teachers and parents:

For teachers:

• Communication is key. Be honest and authentic with students.
• Consider different ways to teach online vs how you would in the classroom.
• Remember kids don’t have more time than usual to learn just because they are at home.
• If you’re planning an activity, factor in resources and supplies available to students.
• Adjust for different learning styles.
• Offer multiple resources for one lesson.
• Share resources with each other and build community.
• Modify quizzes and tests so students can’ just google the answers.
• Rethink your expectations for student engagement.

For parents:

• Know you’ll take a larger than usual role, but it’s a team effort between parents, teachers and students.
• If possible, take time to be with your child as they learn.
• Reach out to others and build community support.
• Share resources and ideas with other parents.
• Remember that you aren’t a teacher, but you went to school and have things to share with your student.

IndyStar education reporter Arika Herron contributed to this report. 

Call IndyStar education reporter MJ Slaby at 317-447-1586 or email her at mslaby@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @mjslaby.