In Response to Quarantine, Long-View@Home Launches
The banner photo on this page was taken on what we now realize was the last day of school for the 2019-20 school year. It was an idyllic spring day in which we enjoyed time outside, skyped with an archaeologist, celebrated the writing of a group of our young poets, worked on mathematics in groups at whiteboards, presented biomimicry design challenges to a panel of scientists, ate lunch by the creek, had a discussion about what we learned about magical realism during a field trip to UT’s Harry Ransom Center, and ended the day all together talking about some of the things we really appreciate about our community at Long-View.
Like so many schools in the world, Long-View had to pivot to ensure that our students continued to learn during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nothing can replace what happens when we are together at school. The “last day” of school was not unique…every day at Long-View is marked by rich experiences that could never be truly captured in an on-line school format. Still, we are an optimistic and innovative team of educators, and we quickly moved to ensure that our kids would continue to learn in the same joyful and deep way that is quintessentially Long-View. Our virtual learning launched on March 23 and is called Long-View@Home.
Long-View@Home mornings are filled with live Campfire discussions and Math Team Meetings, pre-recorded videos, live Book Club gatherings, and cool activities. Afternoons feature live office hours, optional Drive Your Own Learning activities, and independent work time. Every week we post a schedule so our learners can get ready for what’s ahead. We are not focused on “filling the day,” but aiming to provide meaningful learning opportunities for children. The physical and emotional well-being of learners, teachers, and families are the priority at this time so EVERYTHING is subject to flexibility.
The key to the virtual schooling solution offered through Long-View@Home is that Long-View teachers are creating the content themselves. This is typical of how we teach, as we do not use off-the-shelf textbooks, online platforms, worksheets, or that type of thing. We want our kids working on high-level content that is above grade-level, and we want that content to be unique and engaging. The constraints of teaching kids at home — without supplies like shared books, science lab equipment, whiteboards, and even something as simple as graph paper — meant that we had to get really creative as a teaching team to consider how to produce content within these constraints. We also wanted to continue to engineer agency into the Long-View@Home experience, ensuring kids had the flexibility to engage as deeply and ambitiously as they want.
Our answer was to to plan Long-View@Home to feature Content Streams and Opportunities that offer our 2nd-8th graders a chance to create a home-learning experience that works for them.
“Content Streams” focus on science, math, literacy, and computer science. Within the literacy and computer science content streams, there are two choices. Thus, most Long-View learners are participating in at least 4 content streams; a few ambitious ones are jumping into all 6!
Science: Backyard Ecology
Math: Plane Figures Have Never Looked So Interesting
Literacy: Imaginary Worlds - Fantasy
Literacy: Imaginary Worlds - Dystopian
CS: Functions in Python
CS: HTML, CSS, & JavaScript
“Opportunities” are both one-time and regular occurring learning opportunities, and a mix between social and independent activities.
Campfire Bundles
Drive Your Own Learning Opportunities
Imaginary Worlds - Cross-Disciplinary Integrations
History Club
MakerSpace@Home
A Virtual Cardboard Boat Regatta
Book Clubs
Embedded within this blog you can see images of Long-View@Home in action. Teacher-created videos, live lessons, small group and one-on-one office hours, and a rich variety of learning opportunities are a part of the experience so that families and Long-View learners can take advantage of this unexpected adventure until we are back together again.
