True or False: Remote Learning Failed

Barbara Radtke That remote learning failed is a truism of pandemic analysis. Often it refers to K-12 education, but I would not be surprised to hear that those involved with higher education might say the same thing.

Having spent the last chapter of my career in virtual adult faith formation, this assertion is somewhat painful to hear. It is not that I want to contest the experiences of those who have been engaged in virtual education during the pandemic. It is that my experience has been different. It prompts me to ask: has online learning been tried and failed or has it not been tried at all?

Remote learning, which comes in all shapes and sizes, is an umbrella term for any learning that takes place away from the physical plant of an educational institution. For example, an “old fashioned” correspondence course fits under this umbrella. “Virtual learning” or “online learning” implies a digital context. Everyone thinks of Zoom, but there are other virtual classrooms, e.g., Google, Webex, etc., and there are software packages that create sites for learning content and activities, e.g., Canvas and Blackboard. Virtual learning can take place in real time or tuning in when convenient for the learner. A “hybrid learning experience” formerly meant a course of study partially in person and partially online. Now, it also means that some students are in person and some online at the same time the teacher is instructing. Like any approach to instruction, each virtual setting evokes an instructional skill set. Just like every environment is not optimal for a certain learner, not every setting is the best for a specific teacher.

Virtual learning confronts a teacher with more than understanding how to use the technology or the software, although this in itself can be an issue. The deeper challenge has to do with pedagogy. How does one creatively introduce content? Connect with and engage students? Build a learning community? Prior to the pandemic, did our teachers have opportunities to tackle these pedagogical questions? It is now time to incorporate such considerations in teacher preparation and in professional development.

We also need to explore the learners. Age, grade, type of learning style, and access to technology are high on a list of considerations too numerous to mention completely. I don’t know, and I don’t know if anyone knows, the answer to questions like: What is the youngest effective age for virtual learning? How do we address different learning styles virtually? You extended family members and friends – parents, grandparents, siblings, neighbors -- who have helped someone learn the foundational skills for reading and math virtually probably have valuable insights to shape this investigation. Let’s hear from you here – and at PTA and in school board meetings. Schools of education need to research these issues.

These questions still have an immediate impact on the education of our youngest generation. With the rise of the omicron variant, some schools like those in Flint, MI had to return to remote learning. A recent New York Times article by Dana Goldstein says much of the federal funding available to bring students up to grade level is being used for virtual tutoring, sometimes only using artificial intelligence or “help forums.” We all know their limits and our frustrations with such aids. The pandemic showed us we were underprepared to use digital tools effectively not that they were inferior learning tools. We don’t know what circumstances might emerge in the future when virtual learning will need to be an option or a solution. Let reset and work at giving virtual learning another try.

A response from Kathy Hendricks

This has indeed been a challenging time for educators, parents, and students. Once again, I appreciate your insights, Barbara, as you have been engaged with the process of virtual learning for so many years. This is one of a long line of technological challenges that we have had to meet and respond to. I recall how you steered me toward William Powers’ 2011 book, Hamlet’s Blackberry: Building a Good Life in the Digital Age. It is a fascinating look at how we learned to adapt to technological advances as they came into play. And so we are again facing a big challenge when it comes to virtual learning. Perhaps the pandemic is a kind of “kick in the pants” that is forcing us to look at various educational models that fit a variety of learning styles. Your point about doing more research into academic online learning is well-taken. I, too, am interested in hearing from our readers about how they have experienced the online learning challenges and what potential they see arising from it.