{"id":32685,"date":"2020-04-09T13:25:34","date_gmt":"2020-04-09T18:25:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=32685"},"modified":"2020-04-09T13:25:34","modified_gmt":"2020-04-09T18:25:34","slug":"oklahoma-school-districts-conduct-distance-learning-without-the-internet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2020\/04\/09\/oklahoma-school-districts-conduct-distance-learning-without-the-internet\/","title":{"rendered":"Oklahoma school districts conduct distance learning without the internet"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_32686\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-32686\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/04\/IMG_4403-1920x1440.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/04\/IMG_4403-1920x1440.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/04\/IMG_4403-672x504.jpeg 672w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/04\/IMG_4403-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/04\/IMG_4403-150x113.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/04\/IMG_4403-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/04\/IMG_4403-620x465.jpeg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/04\/IMG_4403-1440x1080.jpeg 1440w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/04\/IMG_4403-1832x1374.jpeg 1832w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/04\/IMG_4403-1376x1032.jpeg 1376w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/04\/IMG_4403-1044x783.jpeg 1044w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/04\/IMG_4403-632x474.jpeg 632w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/04\/IMG_4403-536x402.jpeg 536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Courtesy Tiffany Ballard<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Zoom meeting between Pryor Public Schools assistant superintendent Tiffany Ballard and teachers.<\/p>\n<\/div><p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.simplecast.com\/18f46a2a-84f7-4a4c-ae0c-b6c3d860a62b?dark=false\" width=\"100%\" height=\"200px\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p><p>Monday was a new kind of first day of school in Oklahoma: the first one back since schools shuttered after spring break to combat the spread of COVID-19.<\/p><p>Tiffany Ballard had hundreds of paper packets to print off for the occasion.<\/p><p>Ballard, assistant superintendent of Pryor Public Schools, prepped packets for students who for whatever reason couldn\u2019t complete their semesters through online learning.<\/p><p>Pryor is a small district northeast of Tulsa with about 2,700 students.<\/p><p>\u201cWe have right now, I think it\u2019s about 500 students we\u2019re printing for, for sure,\u201d Ballard said. \u201cAnd then we know we\u2019ll get phone calls after that.\u201d<\/p><p>The packets are individualized by grade level and have been carefully curated by the district\u2019s teachers, Ballard said.<\/p><p>But this isn\u2019t just an issue faced by small, rural districts like Pryor. Tulsa Public Schools superintendent Deborah Gist said in a conference call with local leaders led by the Tulsa Regional Chamber that she estimates between 30 and 40 percent of students in her district don\u2019t have reliable home internet access.<\/p><p>\u201cAnd maybe even more have inconsistent access to the internet,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re not able to solve all of those problems.\u201d<\/p><p>So district leaders are asking teachers to get creative without using the web.<\/p><p>Ballard said teachers in her district have been meeting regularly to talk about their plans. And without assessment tests to worry about, they had free license to try any method of teaching.<\/p><p>\u201cI wanted to stress to our teachers that this is the time to do out of the box thinking with your students,\u201d she said. \u201cSo what are some engaging, wonderful, smart, fun activities that our students can do that would push learning forward?\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_32689\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-32689\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/04\/Monroe-Demonstration-Academy-2-1920x1440.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/04\/Monroe-Demonstration-Academy-2-1920x1440.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/04\/Monroe-Demonstration-Academy-2-672x504.jpg 672w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/04\/Monroe-Demonstration-Academy-2-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/04\/Monroe-Demonstration-Academy-2-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/04\/Monroe-Demonstration-Academy-2-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/04\/Monroe-Demonstration-Academy-2-620x465.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/04\/Monroe-Demonstration-Academy-2-1440x1080.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/04\/Monroe-Demonstration-Academy-2-1832x1374.jpg 1832w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/04\/Monroe-Demonstration-Academy-2-1376x1032.jpg 1376w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/04\/Monroe-Demonstration-Academy-2-1044x783.jpg 1044w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/04\/Monroe-Demonstration-Academy-2-632x474.jpg 632w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/04\/Monroe-Demonstration-Academy-2-536x402.jpg 536w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/04\/Monroe-Demonstration-Academy-2.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Courtesy Tulsa Public Schools<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tulsa Public Schools staff members hand out paper packets and laptops at Monroe Demonstration Academy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3><strong>A coverage gap<\/strong><\/h3><p>The internet is the most valuable resource teachers have at their disposal to teach remotely.<\/p><p>Joy Hofmeister, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, said the best way to educate students while their schools are closed is through online learning,.<\/p><p>\u201cAnd that can\u2019t happen without connectivity so let\u2019s make it happen for all kids and be prepared for the summer or the fall with or without a pandemic,\u201d she said.<\/p><p>So as the state scrambled to prep for distance learning, it surveyed districts across Oklahoma.<\/p><p>Districts are going to use online learning wherever possible.<\/p><p>More than 80 percent of the state\u2019s districts say they have access to online learning platforms that students can use at home.<\/p><p>But there are too many students who don\u2019t have access to the internet to get online instruction to everyone.<\/p><p>At least 167,000 of Oklahoma\u2019s 700,000 students don\u2019t have home internet access and the state would need at least 177,000 mobile hotspots to get internet access into homes of students with none or unreliable internet access.<\/p><p>The numbers might seem startling, but they weren\u2019t surprising to state leaders.<\/p><p>Hofmeister says she wants to leverage the lessons learned during the pandemic to pivot Oklahoma toward a future where connectivity is more common.<\/p><p>\u201cI want every one of our Oklahoma students to have access to a computer and internet access at home,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I won\u2019t rest until that\u2019s done.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_32691\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-32691\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/04\/oeta_learning_at_home_16x9_2020_v3-1920x1080.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/04\/oeta_learning_at_home_16x9_2020_v3-1920x1080.png 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/04\/oeta_learning_at_home_16x9_2020_v3-672x378.png 672w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/04\/oeta_learning_at_home_16x9_2020_v3-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/04\/oeta_learning_at_home_16x9_2020_v3-150x84.png 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/04\/oeta_learning_at_home_16x9_2020_v3-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/04\/oeta_learning_at_home_16x9_2020_v3-620x349.png 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/04\/oeta_learning_at_home_16x9_2020_v3.png 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Courtesy OETA<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">A promotional photo for OETA&#8217;s learning at home programming plan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3><strong>Turn to television<\/strong><\/h3><p>If you\u2019ve got the internet, there are a ton of resources available from local institutions.<\/p><p>The Oklahoma Aquarium in Jenks has daily activities on its website, the Oklahoma City Museum of Art is connecting students and families to various art projects and the Oklahoma City Zoo is giving daily behind-the-scenes tours on their Facebook page.<\/p><p>But for folks without reliable internet access, they can turn to broadcast airwaves for educational enrichment.<\/p><p>OETA, the state\u2019s public television network, cleared all of the programming on one of its supplemental, over-the-air channels and is airing educational content from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Polly Anderson, OETA\u2019s executive director, said the model is based on what PBS SoCal did with Los Angeles Public Schools to provide programming for students.<\/p><p>\u201cThis is over-the air broadcasting,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cIt\u2019s free. You don\u2019t have to have a computer. You don\u2019t have to have internet access. Anybody with a TV and an antenna can access this.\u201d<\/p><p>Almost 70,000 students in Northeast Oklahoma would need mobile hotspots to access the web at home &#8211; the highest need in the state. So Rogers State University Public Television has stepped in there. Four days a week, that channel will air telecourses taught by teachers from Tulsa Public Schools and Sequoyah Public Schools in Claremore.<\/p><p>The courses are based off of similar televised classes designed to teach the Cherokee language to viewers.<\/p><p>\u201cExactly what we\u2019re supposed to do as public broadcasters is to be helping to educate our kids on a grassroots level,\u201d said Royal Aills, RSU TV\u2019s General Manager.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>What this means moving forward<\/strong><\/h3><p>Will COVID-19 be handled by the fall?<\/p><p>Right now, it\u2019s difficult to speculate. And school districts are prepping as if they won\u2019t re-open while hoping they can.<\/p><p>There will be problems with distance learning. And educators acknowledged Oklahoma students will be negatively impacted by the massive school closures.<\/p><p>But the best way to mitigate the challenges created by closures is to create as much normalcy in their lives as possible. And that\u2019s through schooling using whatever method is available.<\/p><p>In Pryor, no matter what gets thrown at teachers they\u2019ll be able to handle it.<\/p><p>The three week scramble was difficult, Ballard said. But taking care of students is what teachers do best.<\/p><p>So, they were ready to rise up to the challenge.<\/p><p>\u201cThis is nothing new for public education,\u201d Ballard said. \u201cI think people are just starting to realize how important public education is to the community and to families.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Monday was a new kind of first day of school in Oklahoma: the first one back since schools shuttered after spring break to combat the spread of COVID-19.Tiffany Ballard had hundreds of paper packets to print off for the occasion.Ballard, assistant superintendent of Pryor Public Schools, prepped packets for students who for whatever reason couldn\u2019t [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":209,"featured_media":32672,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[1231,1238,855,731,983,174],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32685"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/209"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32685"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32685\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32693,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32685\/revisions\/32693"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}