An unprecedented wave of school facility closures is pushing millions of students and tens of thousands of unprepared teachers into online classrooms, as the nation struggles to contain the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.
“While some districts have successfully scrambled to get into place the devices needed to reach students now stuck at home, effective online instruction doesn’t magically happen once we surmount the technology hurdles,” said Dr. Shawn Smith, Modern Teacher’s CEO and author of Wisdom and Influence: Mastering the Digital Convergence Framework. “And for those districts that have not solved the technology gap, it has to be about equity and scale.”
Starting Thursday, March 19, Modern Teacher will be unlocking a full set of resources to help teachers prepare to provide effective, rigorous and engaging online instruction. The resources, available at ModernTeacher.com/virtual-learning, will include:
● Daily webinars on best practices and challenges to anticipate
● Free organizational tools
● Digital e-learning activities that leverage free content
● Collaboration and engagement strategies for students in an online environment
“We are facing the professional learning challenge of the century, and we are here to help equip teachers to succeed in a completely different educational environment,” said Dr. Smith.
All lessons and materials have been developed by Modern Teacher in partnership with more than 100 districts around the country that have worked together to overcome the challenges associated with creating and scaling modern learning environments.
“During more normal times, the process of transitioning to technology-enabled personalized learning takes time, community vision, organizational buy-in and a commitment to a better future for kids,” said Dr. Smith. “Unfortunately, at the present moment, time is a luxury we don’t have, so we are also pledging that any districts that need our help can have virtual classrooms up and running in 48 hours, whether or not they are part of our network.”
District leaders can contact Kelly Jones, Modern Teacher’s Vice President of Marketing, to learn more: kelly.jones@modernteacher.com
About Modern Teacher
Modern Teacher partners with districts to support the transition from traditional classrooms to modern learning environments. The educational technology company is designed to provide a research-based methodology for Digital Convergence in education to include a technology-enabled solution to support districts’ organizational change. Modern Teacher has established a network of similar thinking professionals dedicated to supporting teachers in today’s highly connected, digital world. To learn more, visit modernteacher.com.
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