What a difference a month makes!
When the Literacy Alliance shut its classroom doors at the end of March, the staff immediately went into action to implement distance learning plans. Time away from instruction erodes learning gains, and we want our students to maintain their momentum! Over the past month Literacy Alliance instructors and program staff have transitioned 100 students to online learning platforms. That includes 8 online classes, 30 students in self directed learning, and 13 tutor/student pairs meeting online or over the phone. We’ve also been making personal calls to assist students with filling out their Census 2020 information and to answer health literacy questions related to Covid-19.
Distance learning has been such a success for our organization that we intend to keep online classes as an instructional option once restrictions are lifted. Thank you to our students and teachers for being open-minded and adventurous enough to step outside of their comfort zones. This experience has brought into sharp focus the disadvantage suffered by our students (and their families) who are not digitally literate. Expect to see more from us soon on formal digital literacy instruction as part of our Life Literacy series.
Partners who have been instrumental in our distance learning efforts include CSX Transportation, whose donation of refurbished laptops allowed us to provide devices to students at home, and ProLiteracy’s Mobile Learning Fund for donating licenses to online learning resources.
