Online Learning during COVID-19:  Data, Stories and Tips from the School Front Lines

1. The Hidden Impact of School
Closures and E-Learning
The evolving views of
students, parents and teachers
Insights and Ideas from the
Speak Up Research Project
Julie A. Evans, Ed.D.
Chief Executive Officer, Project Tomorrow
@JulieEvans_PT

2. Getting to know each other!
Please say hello in the chat box.
Share your name, your role and where you are from!

3. Round of applause for all educators!
Thank you for your hard work and dedication supporting your
students and families during the school closures!

4. Getting to know each other!
Julie Evans
CEO of Project Tomorrow
@JulieEvans_PT
jevans@tomorrow.org

5.  Nonprofit education organization supporting K-12 education since 1996
 Mission is to ensure today’s students are well prepared for the future
 Programs and research focus on role of innovation and new learning models
within the education ecosystem.
About Project Tomorrow
www.tomorrow.org
Speak Up Research Project: national research to help education
leaders make better decisions about new learning experiences
Professional Learning, Evaluation & Efficacy Studies:
customized studies and experiences that support local decision-
making and implementations of new learning models

6. About the Speak Up Project
www.tomorrow.org/speakup
 Annual research project since 2003
 We provide education leaders with a suite of
online surveys to use to collect feedback from
their stakeholders
 All preK-12 schools and teacher prep
programs – public, private, parochial, charter,
virtual - are eligible to participate
 Participating entities get summary reports
with all locally collected data + state and
national data for benchmarks
 Turnkey service provided by Project Tomorrow
with no charge/fee to participating districts
 National reports inform edu, biz and policy
Since 2003, over 5.7 million K-12 stakeholders have submitted a Speak Up survey

7. Today’s discussion
 Hidden Impact – what has changed?
o Using Speak Up Research data to reflect on the evolving
views of students, parents and teachers
 Observations of the remote e-learning experiences in schools
 The big takeaway from this “experiment”
 Additional resources to share with you
 Let’s talk! Your questions, comments, thoughts and insights.

9. The Hidden Impact of School Closures and E-Learning
The evolving views of students, parents and teachers
 Activities using digital tools and content
 Attitudes about learning experiences
 Aspirations for the future

12. The 3 Phases of Remote E-Learning:
Before, During & After
Before school closures (BSC), what did we
know?
During school closures (DSC), what did we
experience?
After school closures (ASC), what
questions should we be asking?

13. What do you wish you knew on
March 6 that would have
helped you on April 6?
Chat box discussion – share your ideas!

14. Hidden Impact of School Closures and E-Learning:
Using Speak Up Research findings to reveal changes
in activities, attitudes and aspirations
Before school
closures
Data collected from
K-12 students,
teachers and
parents from
September 2019 –
March 16, 2020
During school
closures
Data collected from
K-12 students,
teachers and
parents from
March 16, 2020 –
current
Comparing data results and findings: 137,000 K-12 stakeholders

15. Students’ access to mobile devices for learning
Speak Up Research Findings
Students in Grades 6-8:
 Before school closure = 56%
 During school closure = 80%
“Chromebooks”

16. Students’ experiences using mobile devices for learning:
Speak Up Research Findings
Students’ report on their learning tasks
in school using mobile devices
Before March 16:
Students in
Gr 6-8 who said
they did this:
often
Since Mar 16:
Students in
grades 6-8 who
said they did this
often
Take online tests 52% 59%
Created docs to share with classmates &
teachers
29% 37%
Watched edu videos found online 23% 33%
Create content using multi media 17% 27%
Email with teachers with questions 13% 18%
Watch a video made by my teacher 12% 30%
Text teachers for schoolwork help 4% 14%

17. Students’ preferences for learning experiences:
28%
40%
22%
41%
54%
37%
21%
39%
18%
36%
52%
31%
Schoolwork reading: prefer a
screen to a book
Learn more from video than book Would like learning in an online
class
Students Gr 6-8: 2018/19 Students Gr 6-8: 2019/20
Students Gr 9-12: 2018/19 Students Gr 9-12: 2019/20
Speak Up Research Findings

18. Impact of digital tools on students’ learning
Speak Up Research Findings
“Increased communications between students and teachers”
% that
agree
Before
school
closures
During
school
closures
Gr 6-8
students
agree
35% 48%
Teachers
agree
37% 52%
Parents
agree
33% 53%

19. Social emotional well-being of students in school
Speak Up Research Findings
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
School cares about me
Feel emotionally safe @school
Feel physically safe @school
Engaged in learning
Adult I can trust @school
Student I can trust @school
Feel stress at school
Gr 6-8 Students in Majority White Schools Gr 6-8 Students in Majority Minority Schools

20. Teachers’ engagement with digital tools within instruction:
Before school closures
 Keep class information on our portal current
– 51% of K-12 teachers
 Using an online curriculum with my students
– 36%
 Implemented a blended learning environment
in my classroom – 34%
 Creating videos of my lectures or lessons for
students to watch – 21%
 Using social media to communicate with
students – 12%
 Maintain a class blog or student discussion
board – 9%
Speak Up Research Findings

21. Teachers’ engagement with digital tools within instruction:
 Using an online curriculum with my
students – 36% before school closures
48% during school closures
 Creating videos of my lectures or
lessons for students to watch – 21%
before school closures
 43% during school closures
 Using social media to communicate
with students – 12% before school
closures
 23% during school closures
Speak Up Research Findings

22. Teachers’ engagement with digital tools within instruction:
Speak Up Research Findings
Frequency of digital content/tools
usage within instruction
Teachers reporting
this as a weekly
experience – before
school closures
Teachers reporting
this as a weekly
experience – during
school closures
Google apps 63% 75%
Online videos 64% 72%
Online curriculum 60% 74%
Software/apps to develop skills 48% 57%
Digital content subscriptions 38% 27%
Online textbooks 34% 43%
Videos I create myself 9% 24%

23. Impact of teachers’ experience with remote e-learning
Speak Up Research Findings
53% of teachers now say that online classes should be part of the
ultimate school
… only 39% of teachers said the same before school closures

24. Impact of teachers’ experience with remote e-learning
Speak Up Research Findings
But 68% of teachers now say that they need confidence that all
students have access to devices and the Internet outside of
school – an increase of 51% since school closures

25. Teachers’ interest in professional learning:
Speak Up Research Findings
Topic or tool
% of teachers interesting in new
professional learning in this topic or
tool
Before school
closures
During school
closures
Using Google apps 29% 40%
Implementing a blended or flipped
classroom
27% 41%
Creating videos of my lessons or labs 27% 47%
Taking an online class 15% 33%
Facilitating an online discussion forum
for students
15% 23%

26. Parents’ views on digital learning:
 Before school closures: 42% of parents say the best way for their child’s
teacher to communicate with them is via text messages
 After school closures: 68% of parents say the same now
 Before school closures: 68% of parents say that they are very comfortable
helping their child with homework that involves online and digital tools and
resources
 After school closures: 59% of parents say the same now
 Before school closures: 37% of parents say that online classes would be an
optimum way for their child to develop the skills they need to be successful
in the future
 After school closures: 52% of parents say the same now
Speak Up Research Findings

27. Parents’ views on digital learning:
Speak Up Research Findings
75% of parents now say that the effective use of technology in
school is very important for their child’s future success
… an increase from 55% of parents before school closures

28. During school closures (DSC): what did
we experience?
Three waves of attention in this DSC environment:
1. Responsive support: health and well-being of staff
and school families, providing meals, offering
childcare and resource information
2. Remote learning: facilitating the continuity of
learning to the best of our abilities and capacity
3. Recovery – readjustment – reinvention: building
upon what we know and what we are experiencing
The 3 Phases of Remote E-Learning:
Before, During & After

29. What was your greatest lesson
learned during this experiment with
remote e-learning?
Chat box discussion – share your ideas!

30. What I am hearing, seeing, observing
… in the moment of being here with districts nationwide
1. The trauma of uncertainty
2. The readiness of our teachers: competency, confidence, comfort
3. School at home or something else?
4. Re-evaluating and re-defining purpose
5. Reality is.
6. Birth of new innovative thinking
Project Tomorrow Insights

31. What I am hearing, seeing, observing
… in the moment of being here with districts nationwide
1. The trauma of uncertainty
Project Tomorrow Insights
Coronavirus and School Closures (2020, March 6). Education Week. Retrieved May 6, 2020 from
https://www.edweek.org/ew/section/multimedia/map-coronavirus-and-school-closures.html
Multiple levels of uncertainty
Relationship with stress,
anxiety and decision-making
Varied impact on students,
families, staff, community
Importance of social and
emotional supports

32. What I am hearing, seeing, observing
… in the moment of being here with districts nationwide
2. The readiness of our teachers: competency, confidence, comfort
How comfortable are our teachers with new remote learning work tasks?
What percentage of district leaders say their teachers are very comfortable?
• Communications with students and parents – 44%
• Engaging students in purposeful learning – 41%
• Google classroom operations and apps usage – 26%
• Facilitating an online curriculum – 19%
• Managing a remote or virtual workflow – 10%
Project Tomorrow Insights
53% of districts say the readiness of their teachers to implement remote
e-learning has been a significant challenge with school closures

33. What I am hearing, seeing, observing
… in the moment of being here with districts nationwide
3. School at home or something else?
Project Tomorrow Insights

34. What I am hearing, seeing, observing
… in the moment of being here with districts nationwide
4. Re-evaluating and re-defining purpose
Evidence of school district leaders’ current DSC mindset:
 52% of district leaders say they are looking to purchase/license
digital content for core curriculum right now
 42% say they are seeking curriculum for enrichment purposes
Project Tomorrow Insights
How are you defining the purpose of school today during a
physical building closure? What is the same, what has changed?
Where is your school or district on the continuum of
enrichment – remediation – new learning?

35. What I am hearing, seeing, observing
… in the moment of being here with districts nationwide
5. Reality is.
What outdated assumptions or myths informed our approach
to school closures? What do we know now?
 Homework gap evidence :
o 87% of districts say they need to buy WiFi hotspots now
o 31% of districts now say 15-30% of their students do not
have access at home for remote e-learning; 47% believe
that it is more than 30%
 Teacher usage of digital resources ≠ effective usage
 School for students is intrinsically motivating and engaging
Project Tomorrow Insights

36. What I am hearing, seeing, observing
… in the moment of being here with districts nationwide
6. Birth of new innovative thinking
Project Tomorrow Insights

37. After school closures (ASC), what
questions should we be asking?
Other considerations:
When is the right time to start
thinking about the right questions?
When is the right time to start asking
these right questions?
What will you need to answer or
address those questions?
The 3 Phases of Remote E-Learning:
Before, During & After

38. Some proposed questions to think about and discuss:
 What have we learned from this experience?
 What would we do differently back in March based upon what we know
today?
 What aspects of this experience will we carry forward? What will we
“strategically abandon?”
 What do our people need to reflect deeply and thoughtfully on this
experience?
 What do we need to know to leverage these insights effectively?
 What will the future look like for our district because of this experience?
Project Tomorrow Insights

39. What new questions do you think
education leaders should be
asking now?
Chat box discussion – share your ideas!

40. Project Tomorrow Insights
What have we learned from these
experiences that we can use to create
greater equity in learning opportunities
for all children?

41. What have we learned from these experiences that
we can use to create greater equity in learning
opportunities for all children?
Three considerations for you to think about:
1. Teacher quality and competency to create new learning
experiences is essential in the quest for equity for all
children
2. Engaging with parents and education guardians in ways that
work for them is critical for student engagement in learning
3. All students deserve learning environments that are
personalized for their needs, leverage their strengths and
address their challenges so that they are prepared for future
success

42. Today’s discussion
 Hidden Impact – what has changed?
o Using Speak Up Research data to reflect on the evolving
views of students, parents and teachers
 Observations of the remote e-learning experiences in schools
 The big takeaway from this “experiment”
 Additional resources to share with you
 Let’s talk! Your questions, comments, thoughts and insights.

43. Online surveys available for:
o K-12 students – individual + group in
English and Spanish
o Parents – in English and Spanish
o Teachers
o Librarians/Media Specialists
o School Site & District Administrators
o Technology Leaders
o Community Members
o Communications Officers
Want to learn about the views of your stakeholders?
Participate in the Speak Up Research Project
www.tomorrow.org/speakup
 Surveys open from August through June
 Pick the surveys you want to use – no limit on participation #s
 100% free: use the surveys and get full data reports

44. New Speak Up surveys
Learn more: www.blog.tomorrow.org

45. New Speak Up Infographic
New infographic
about students’
readiness for
e-learning at
home
https://tomorrow.org/speakup/speakup-2019-20-Student-Readiness-E-Learning-
March-2020.html

46. New Speak Up Infographic
New infographic
about teachers’
evolving needs
as a result of
remote e-
learning
https://tomorrow.org/speakup/SpeakUp2019-
20_TeacherRemoteELearning.html

47. Let’s talk!
Your questions,
comments, thoughts
and insights.
Julie A. Evans, Ed.D.
CEO of Project Tomorrow
949-609-4661
@JulieEvans_PT
jevans@tomorrow.org