How will virtual learning look different in School Year 2020-2021 than in Spring 2020?

In virtual learning, students will feel loved by their school community, challenged by a joyful and rigorous curriculum, and prepared to take the next steps in their learning. We spent the spring and summer working with over 200 teachers and staff to transfer our curriculum to an online learning management system, which will allow for a more user-friendly, efficient and organized approach to virtual learning.

The major changes for next year include:

⦁ Students will be more engaged and connected with their teachers and peers through frequent, live instruction. All students will have content to focus on every day. Teachers will be presenting content through live instruction and there will also be supporting materials for independent work. On most days, our youngest learners will have shorter bursts of learning in small groups; elementary students should anticipate 2-3 hours of live content; and older students should anticipate 4-5 hours of live content.

⦁ Technology will be easier to access. All students will have access to the devices they need to be successful.

⦁ Our main platform will be Canvas. DCPS will use Canvas, our virtual learning platform, as a launching pad for all coursework. Students will log in, see assignments, submit work, and receive feedback – all in Canvas.

⦁ Other learning tools will be linked through Clever. The Canvas courses will link learning applications through Clever which will ensure students can access relevant grade and content-specific resources.

⦁ Live instruction on Microsoft Teams. Students and teachers will utilize Microsoft teams to interact directly. Links to joins these live lessons will also be on Canvas.

⦁ Schedules will be more predictable. Students can expect to engage in synchronous lessons with their classmates that follow a predictable schedule weekly. These schedules will include time with their class, small group time, and independent work time.