Teaching K-12 Online: Resources from Saint Joseph’s Experts

Saint Joseph University’s Department of Educational Leadership is hosting a series of virtual webinars on “Conversations on School Technologies in Challenging Times.” The series features educators and experts from the Philadelphia region, and examines the technological challenges schools are experiencing in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and considers practical recommendations for educators and parents.

The first session, “Lessons Learned, Challenges Ahead,” focused on how schools can prepare themselves for the new technological demands of this upcoming academic year, and featured guest speakers from local school districts:

• Byron McCook, Ed.D., ’09, former director of technology at Radnor School District.
• Paul Sanfrancesco, MEd., adjunct professor and director of technology at Owen J. Roberts School District.
• James Cummins, M.S., ’04 director of technology at Jenkintown School District.
• Marcia Hill Rivera, digital literacy teacher and technology teacher leader at Samuel Gompers Elementary School, Philadelphia.

Encarna Rodríguez, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Educational Leadership at Saint Joseph’s, served as the moderator. Watch a recording of the webinar.

We asked the guest speakers to share some additional resources for teachers prepping for the upcoming school year:

“The International Society for Technology in Education is a great resource for teachers, administrators, students and parents. Its membership provides deeper access to a host of resources available to all stakeholders. Weareteachers.com also provides free resources for teachers and school leaders, including COVID-19 guidance. And the Maryland Department of Education has plenty of resources for parents, as well as resources for teachers.” – Byron McCook, Ed.D. ‘09

“For remote learning, parents and teachers have to become more proficient in using learning management systems (LMS), and we should be providing more professional development. There are many great YouTube videos for parents and teachers on the use of Canvas, Google Classroom and Schoology which are the three main LMS products that are in use in the K-12 environment.” – Paul Sanfrancesco, M.Ed.

“Common Sense has a full K-12 Digital Citizenship curriculum. Nearpod also has a full Digital Citizenship pack that can be purchased if the district is a Nearpod user. These are full lessons with built-in activities and feedback tools that could be used as assessments. I believe they integrate some Common Sense curricula as well. Google has made a game (Interland), and a curriculum called Be Internet Awesome. It is more of an overarching digital citizenship program, not necessarily built for specific grades. The curriculum and activities are free. It has been my experience that the best way to teach these topics is to embed and model them with regularity and purpose. The more teachers exemplify and provide opportunities to practice these skills, the more we will actually see them in practice with the students. These materials are great, but I would encourage any group to develop a curriculum integration plan so digital citizenship is weaved throughout the students’ learning experience.” – James Cummins, M.S. ‘04