Wednesday, February 21, 2018

“Snow Day” Does Not Necessarily Mean ‘No’ Day


Salas-Morera, L., Arauzo-Azofra, A., & García-Hernández, L. (2012). Analysis of Online Quizzes as a Teaching and Assessment Tool. Journal Of Technology And Science Education2(1), 39-45.

Snow days are seen by students, and some teachers, as a nice one-or-more-day break from school in the middle of winter. So many times snow days have interrupted unit plans or school activities and they in turn need to be made up at the end of the school year. In this day and age, this ‘problem’ might soon no longer be an issue.

I recently read an article titled, “Snow Days Turn into E-Learning Days for Some Schools,” by Lorenzo Salas-Morera, Antonio Arauzo-Azofr, and Laura García-Hernández. The article begins by addressing the pressure put forth by schools to keep the momentum of education moving forward even when students cannot attend school due to inclement weather. The article gave specific examples of school districts in Ohio needing to close due to snow and cold weather for multiple days at a time. Of the 614 regular school districts in Ohio, 95 had already submitted school plans for what they call “e-learning” days.

E-Learning days allow teachers to post notes, assignments, homework, and even tests online for students to complete when they cannot be present at school. Many teachers have even chosen to post videos of themselves teaching in order to continue the education.

The article discussed many positive benefits to e-learning. One such benefit is that e-learning days are counted as school days, and students will not need to make up a day at the end of the year when the weather is nicer and students start to lose focus with summer approaching. Another positive is that teachers are able to still interact with students on e-learning days, whether that is through assignments, instructional videos, notes and more. The article also talks about how lessons need to be designed so that students can independently complete their assignments and do not need to seek additional help from parents. With e-learning, as long as students have access to the Internet, they will be able to access their assignments from any device.

Another benefit discussed in the article was that Advanced Placement teachers are able to stay on-track with e-learning days. AP teachers often worry with many snow days in the forecast because they need to keep on-track prior to AP exams. E-learning would greatly benefit the teachers that need to prepare their students for set test dates.

Students will learn how to access online material easily so they not only have access to content during snow days, but also if a student is absent or ill. This will help students to stay on-track so they do not need to make up a great deal of missing work when they return to school. With e-learning, students have the ability to email teachers with questions and see their grades in a location other than just in the gradebook. Students also have the ability to use these online resources to interact with classmates as well as collaborate with their teachers prior to completing and submitting an assignment.

One last benefit that the article discussed, which I thought was very interesting, was that one school mentioned the vast amount of money the district is saving by not having to make up the snow days in May. School buses do not need to pick up students on additional days, maintenance and janitorial staff do not need to be in the building during the day, heating and cooling costs are lower, and even the small things like soap, toilet paper, paper towels, etc. are not being used in the amounts of a normal school day.

Although there were many benefits to having e-learning school days when the weather causes the building to be closed, there were a few negatives as well. One potential downside to e-learning is if there is a power outage due to bad weather. This would limit student access to the resources and lessons posted by teachers, and the content would need to be covered again, potentially during the following school day. Another downside to online learning during poor weather is if the students do not have Internet access at home.

My personal recommendation would be that if schools are considering online learning days, or e-learning, in order to eliminate snow days, then they should first discuss this idea with their employees to get an overall idea of how teachers feel about this change. If the change will take place in a school or district, having teachers take time out of the beginning of the school year to explain the protocol to students would be a must. The article did not talk about e-learning days lasting the length of a class period or entire school day, but that would be another important aspect to consider and discuss.

There are vast amounts of benefits to e-learning, however there are a few negative aspects that I have personally thought of, especially when introducing this idea to teachers for the first time. Teachers already do a lot of work throughout the school year, and having to develop an online lesson for a potential snow day could be a drawback for teachers. In order for e-learning days to be fully beneficial, there needs to be a large teacher buy-in and support system from the district.

Overall, I believe that eliminating snow days and using online or e-learning days can be a very favorable tool that schools implement. There are many benefits and a few negatives, but technology is advancing and can be a large factor in increasing education outside the classroom. Personally, I enjoy a snow day every once-in-a-while, and I make the most of a break in the middle of winter. However, in the long run, e-learning might soon be the way to go!

1 comment:

  1. I do agree that having to spend more time creating another lesson is probably not in the best interest for many teachers. However, if technology is already integrated into the classroom, then there shouldn't be much of a need to create a brand new lesson but merely adjust a current one. I'm nowhere near that stage for myself, but I like the idea that one day I will be.

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