An online curriculum seems like a natural fit for Distance Learning - and indeed it is. However, teachers and schools should think through all aspects of the student experience, not just access to course material. In this post, we'll show how CompuScholar's online system meets the needs of distance learners and review each course to identify any accommodations that might need to be made for students working from home.
Communications Tools
How are you going to communicate with your virtual students? Do you need live, face-to-face video conferencing infrastructure? Many school districts already provide some sort of standard solution like Zoom, so the odds are you're all set with this kind of communication.
In addition, you may just want to use a simple messaging system for class announcements or other student communication. Our online system has built-in messaging between teachers and students.
Online Course Material vs. Local, Hands-on Projects
OK, once you know how you're going to communicate with your students, it's time to look at how students will actually learn. CompuScholar's courses contain instructional material that can be accessed online, from anywhere. So students can easily log in, watch videos, read lessons, and take quizzes and tests from any web browser on any device.
Our courses also contain plenty of hands-on projects. In a normal face-to-face classroom, these projects can be done on lab computers. Teachers can pre-install any required software like an Integrated Development Environment (IDE), if required by the course. An IDE is a software package that lets programmers write, build and run programs. For example, a Java student might use Eclipse and the JDK while a Unity student would need the Unity IDE. Students forced to work from home by distance learning won't have access to those lab computers, so what do you do?
If a CompuScholar courses relies on 3rd party software, that software is always completely free to use, and the course will contain detailed download and installation instructions. So, students with sufficient home computers can always simply install the IDEs at home and make normal progress. However, we know that not every student has a capable device. Districts may send students home with Chromebooks, which don't support the local installation of any software. So, let's review each CompuScholar course and see if and how students can successfully complete the hands-on projects from home.
Hands-on with Python Programming
We'll start with the easiest course, Python Programming. This course was built from the ground up to support a completely online, browser-based experience. All hands-on coding can be done using our online Python engine, so students can complete the course from any device and any web browser with no local installation requirements. That was easy! This course also features a full auto-grader, so you don't have to worry about manually managing student files or grading individual projects.
Hands-on with Digital Savvy
Similarly, our Digital Savvy course can also be done 100% online with no local installation requirements. We teach students to use a variety of software applications like word processors, spreadsheets, database, image editors, etc. If you have locally installed software like Microsoft Office that you want to use, great. However, in all cases there is a free, online option like Google Docs that teachers can select to complete each hands-on activity with no local software installation. So, this course is straightforward to do in a distance learning environment.
Hands-on with Web Design
Next, let's think about our Web Design course. The activities primarily revolve around students editing local HTML files with simple text editors. Therefore, any Windows or Mac OS computer can support these activities using the built-in Notepad or TextEdit apps; nothing more needs to be installed. However, if you are using a Chromebook, text editing isn't as easy. Fortunately, there is a great option - use Google Docs instead. Yes, you can create your .html, .css and .js files in Google Docs and just download them as plain text when you are ready to test your web page on your device. With just this minor modification, our Web Design course is very distance-friendly.
Hands-on with Java Programming
OK, let's talk about Java Programming course. This course presumes that students will have access to locally installed JDK and Eclipse (or similar) IDEs, and that projects are done on local computer using these 3rd party packages. Fortunately, if students don't have a device capable of IDE installation, there are a variety of online IDEs that have cropped up in recent years. You can consider using Repl.it or similar IDEs that support the kinds of activities that our students will create. This means teachers will provide some alternate guidance for students in a couple of chapters where we normally focus on the nuts-and-bolts of using a local IDE. But, otherwise, the course runs pretty smoothly in a purely online environment.
Hands-on with Unity Game Programming and Windows Programming C#
I've saved the hardest courses for last. Both Unity Game Programming and Windows Programming C# use locally a installed Unity IDE and/or Visual Studio Community IDE to create intensely graphical projects. These IDEs aren't really replaceable by some 3rd party, online service, so students will need access to a Windows PC or Mac OS computer to complete the hands-on projects. We have recommended that districts consider setting up Remote Desktop or similar remote-access software on their lab computers. That way, students at home with any web browser can "drive" a lab computer just like they were sitting in the lab. Naturally, your IT staff will need to buy into this approach!
For More Information
For a more detailed walk-through and discussion of Distance Learning with CompuScholar courses, please see our September, 2020 Professional Development webinar. Thanks for reading; please Contact Us if you have questions!