Hardships in Remote Learning

Tomorrow my school district officially begins remote learning. The teachers have been given time to plan with teams to ensure the work posted is consistent and quality review materials. However, as everyone is home today and we hear about the "what-if's" to come, we are quickly learning there are roadblocks we will all face in the coming days (as teachers, parents, and students).

From a former IT professional and now a Fourth Grade teacher, I want to give you a heads up on some of the hardships I think we will face as we all adapt to Remote Learning:

1. Not everyone is iPad savvy. This goes for students, parents, and teachers. 
   1. My school has done a great job getting the teacher's Apple Certified, which means we can fluently use the applications. This does NOT mean we are all experts on how the apps work with Google Classroom and out-of-network environments (like your home).
   2. Please be patient as some "how-to" questions will take a team. I do know this, we are #BetterTogether so my advice is this: If you are struggling with something, ask. Someone in your class, your grade level, or your community will know. We got this! 
2. Not everyone has devices or Wifi.
   1. If you do not have a device, ask your school. This is hopefully not an issue for my school, as all students went home with iPads last Thursday. However, I know that not just Bath Elementary families are reading this so I am trying to be broad-minded. 
   2. If you do not have wifi in the Northeast Ohio area, Spectrum has offered free broadband and Wi-Fi access for 60 days to households with K-12 or college students who do not currently have service.  It will be available for 60 days.  You must call 1-844-488-8395 to enroll. Installation fees will be waived for new student households.
3. Apple files and Google Classroom / Drive do not talk the same language.
   1. My district is posting assignments to Google Classroom for grades 3 through 12. However, when you post an Apple file, it ...
      1. Does NOT open immediately. See https://youtu.be/QUEzNVXAMWI to understand how to open the Keynote, Pages, or Numbers file from your iPad. 
      2. Does NOT save back to Google Drive. It is an Apple doc, not a Google Doc. It DOES save automatically but to your iCloud. Therefore, if you need to get the file back to your teacher, you need to post it back to Google Classroom. See https://youtu.be/xajRq98ouOc to understand how to do that. 
4. Other Stuff
   1. Yes, other stuff that I cannot even fathom right now but it's going to happen.  
   2. Remember, if you are struggling with something, ask. Ask someone in your class, your grade level, or your community. Give it time, be patient, and it will get figured out. We got this!