Thunder Bay – NEWS – The first day of online learning for students is over.
Through the day those loud screams you may have heard were frustrated parents. Reports of parents and their children having problems connecting, or confusion over how the system worked.
The Lakehead Board of Education has announced:
After careful consideration, and in consultation with numerous school boards who have successfully implemented this new model across the province, a decision has been made to change the model for course delivery in our secondary schools. Beginning Monday, February 1st, classes will be taught in a HYBRID MODEL.
A hybrid class is comprised of students attending class in person as well as students attending virtually. The two groups of students are taught in unison by the same classroom teacher.
For students continuing with in-person instruction, courses will continue to be taught in the same manner but will now include students joining virtually from home.
These students attending virtually will receive the same live instruction in real-time as the in-person students are receiving.
This hybrid model has numerous benefits, including:
-Keeping virtual learners connected to their home school and with their peers. Previously virtual learners could have a timetable consisting of courses from all three secondary schools.
-Offering a seamless transition from in person learning to virtual learning for students unable to attend due to self-isolation/illness.
-Greater ability to offer a variety of courses. This is especially important for senior students who may need required courses for post-secondary programs.
-The ability to pivot between provincially mandated virtual-only to a traditional day without changing student timetables.
If parents/guardians wish to transition their child from in person to fully virtual learning or vice versa, they must still contact the school during the designated windows to do so. Please continue to monitor Edsby for more information, and note that while most classes will comprise of an in-person teacher with students attending both in person and virtually, some schools will have a few entirely virtual classes in order to accommodate if there is a larger number of virtual learners.
TRANSITION DAY: As per the original school calendar posted in September, Wednesday, January 27th is a Professional Activity Day, and Thursday and Friday January 28th and 29th are designated fully virtual classes for the start of Quadmester three. In order to allow teachers to prepare to offer the best possible instruction and experience for students in the hybrid model, Friday January 29th will be designated a fully asynchronous activity day. Students will receive work from their teachers, but there will be no live instruction on that day.
