I know we are all a little “Zoom”ed out right now. In all parts of our life the novelty of the video call, and the Brady Bunch style screens has worn out. And I think the reviews around video in classrooms are mixed. But beyond teaching and learning, there are some changes that video has made in the last several months in our schools that has actually been long promised, and now will probably never go back. Video has opened our schools to the community in ways we have often promised and now are finally delivering.
Connecting With Teachers
The parent-teacher conference has gone virtual and that is a good thing. We have all seen how email can go wrong, and how quickly intentions can be misconstrued and a question from a parent to a teacher or a comment from a teacher to a parent has escalated. The advice from seasoned colleagues is always to pick up the phone. Now, the advice is to get on a video call. I have spoken to several teachers who highlighted how quick video calls with parents have helped resolve situations – it really helps humanize our connections. And traditional parent meetings at the end of the term, done virtually allow working parents to attend who might not normally be able to take time from work to come to face-to-face sessions at the school. It is a good example of how little is lost by the change of format. And for teachers who may be uncomfortable with a particular parent alone in a meeting, the virtual format creates a safe place for everyone.
Information Sessions
You know how these work. You rush home from work and then figure out how to get your kids to their evening activities so you can get to the school gym to listen to the principal explain the programs for next year at the school. And then you come home to try to re-tell the key items to your partner and child. So, now as these events are created and posted online families can watch and re-watch at their convenience. And then time that would normally be for hosting the sessions can be dedicated to answering the questions online of parents and students about particular programs. So many times I hear about the need to host these events on multiple nights because of various conflicts, now they can all take place on demand.
Live Events
The most recent example of this was Remembrance Day. Our schools shared out links to students and often parents of their Remembrance Day Ceremonies. These important ceremonies are always welcoming of the community, but again, often hard to attend in-person. More and more of these events are being streamed for families. Last month I was at Eagle Harbour Montessori School to see their Historical Halloween live streamed to families. And on a call with principals this week, plans are already underway for Holiday concerts. It really started last spring with our grad ceremonies. There was great disappointment that these rituals could not be held in-person, but overwhelming positive responses to the virtual alternatives that were created. And while there is power of having people come together in-person for events, we seem destined post-COVID to stream more from our classrooms, our assemblies, our sporting competitions and arts showcases to our parents and larger community.
These ideas are not groundbreaking. And we could have done many of them twelve months ago – but we had no urgency. And the technology was seen as a great mystery. We just couldn’t possibly figure out the technology. But emergencies push you forward. The technology has got better and easier, and we have got more comfortable with the tools. There will be great discussions around lessons of the COVID era for schools, but I think one of the impacts is that we will forever be thinking about the use of video and how we can open up events to those who cannot attend in-person. And a side benefit for many is that they can do all of this on a more flexible schedule. I know these digital shifts have changed things for me – as a parent and superintendent I am more connected now than I was before to so many important school rituals.
