Special Edition
In light of the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and recent school closures, the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) is issuing a special edition of the Digital Learning Plan Newsletter to help districts better understand eLearning Days and how they could be used during emergency school closures.
For more information about eLearning Days, contact Laurel Ballard at laurel.ballard@wyo.gov or visit the WDE COVID-19 website.
eLearning Days
For the purpose of an emergency school closure, the information provided below is guidance for districts that wish to implement alternative education delivery (eLearning). Assurances to maintain instructional fidelity for ALL STUDENTS remains the responsibility of the individual district/school. For emergency school closures, district/school plans for eLearning Days would not need to be submitted to the WDE.
If a school district provides educational services to students, the school is not considered closed for the purposes of requiring school closure approval from the State Superintendent. Educational services do not include enrichment resources provided to students or parents. Enrichment examples: lessons plans, book recommendations, or optional participation in 3rd party online services like Khan Academy.
The WDE is also offering weekly virtual meetings on Wednesdays from 2 - 3:30 p.m. are open to any district or school considering or working on eLearning Days. Contact Laurel Ballard laurel.ballard@wyo.gov or Ken Reynolds at ken.reynolds@wyo.gov for more information.
Creating an Emergency School Closure eLearning Plan
- The Indiana Best Practices and Considerations Checklist provides a guide to assist districts with preparing eLearning plans for emergency school closures.
- Counselors could also provide additional support with check-ins once a week to ensure students and teachers are successful in online learning.
- Districts need to plan for providing accommodations and services for students with disabilities. Please review this document on special education requirements.
- Districts/schools need a plan for students without Internet access in their homes. Things to consider could include:
- Districts providing hotspots for students.
- Partnering with libraries or other community partners to checkout or provide hotspots for students.
- Preparing educational materials to be downloaded to a device at school for the student to be able to work on at home.
- Schools/districts mailing materials to students.
Taking Attendance
These are the methods for tracking attendance either through virtual education or alternative methods of education delivery.
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Active Time Spent in LMS - This indicates time a student is active in a course that is logged and recorded by a learning management system (LMS) and is used by the district as a method to track participation in the course.
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Student Submissions in an LMS - This indicates required coursework submissions by a student in a course that is logged and recorded by a learning management system (LMS) and is used by the district as a method to track participation in the course.
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Other Indicators in an LMS - This indicates specific feature(s) that are logged and recorded by a learning management system (LMS) and is used by the district as a method to track participation in the course.
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Teacher Tracked Work Time - This indicates time a student is actively working on group projects and/or offline work that is logged and recorded by the course teacher and is used by the district as a method to track participation in the course.
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Teacher and Student Communication - This indicates academic-based communication between a student and the course teacher or the teacher and parent/guardian is logged by the teacher and is used by the district as a method to track participation in the course.
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Other Indicators Tracked by the Teacher - This is a description of student participation activities that are logged and recorded by the course teacher and is used by the district as a method to track participation in the course.
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Synchronous - Synchronous indicates time a student participates in ‘real time’ class or individual activities with the teacher that is logged and recorded by the course teacher and is used by the district as a method to track participation in the course.
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Homework Submission - Submission of homework when school resumes.
Statewide Learning Management System (LMS) Canvas
To help Wyoming school districts, the statewide LMS provider, Canvas, is willing to help any district that is currently without an LMS. Canvas costs $3.74 per student for any district in the state. Canvas is willing to do expedited implementations and delayed billing to help districts with eLearning. In addition, the Wyoming Canvas Adoption Consultant, David Stokowski, is available virtually to help districts and teachers get trained to use Canvas or deepen their knowledge on how to adapt Canvas to support eLearning with tools such as videoconferencing. Canvas also offers online training courses and webinars.
For more information about getting Canvas for your district, contract Robin Grandpre at robin.grandpre1@wyo.gov.
For more information about Canvas adoption and training, contact David Stokowski at dstokowski@instructure.com.
Training
Teachers will need guidance and practice on how to support student learning for eLearning Days.
Resources
The following are resources being offered for free to K-12 Schools during the COVID-19 pandemic:
The following are resources for eLearning instruction:
Stay Tuned
Next month’s Digital Learning Plan Newsletter will focus on state initiatives focused around the Future Ready Framework gear Use of Time and Space.
For more information on the Wyoming Digital Learning Plan or the Future Ready Framework, contact Robin Grandpre at 307-777-5315 or robin.grandpre1@wyo.gov.
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