The Owl--Tips for Online Learning
March 25, 2020
Tips and Resources for Parents and Families During Virtual Learning @OECHS
As we continue to refine our transition to online learning, please refer to these helpful tips and resources to support and provide a positive learning environment for students:
Routines
It is good for your student to get into a routine as they are completing online assignments for their classes. This routine includes:
· Working in a designated workspace, centrally located in your home, where they can easily ask you for assistance and guidance, as opposed to working alone in their bedrooms.
· Setting a schedule for the day.
- In the online learning environment, our teachers have scheduled live “office hours” to meet with students and give immediate feedback. Students and parents are encouraged to reference these hours as they create a schedule that best suits their needs.
Mr. Marsh- 9:00-11:00 am
Mrs. Huggins- 9:00-12:00 pm
Mr. Springfield- 12:00-2:00 pm
Mr. Stallard- 1:00-3:00 pm
Ms. Styons- 1:00-4:00 pm
Mr. Walsh- 3:00-5:00 pm
Mrs. Walsh- 3:00-5:00 pm
- Students should also get up early enough to complete their assignments, so as not to be working late at night. Regular sleep is important to physical, mental, and emotional well-being!
- Encourage your student to take a 10-15 minute brain break every 1.5 hours or reward themselves after a major task is complete.
- Students should expect about 4-6 hours of schoolwork (including office hours) per day.
We encourage students to communicate with their instructors when they are struggling on materials, completing assignments, or having difficulty in a class (whether that be with technology, materials, lessons, etc.). Please encourage students to email their OECHS instructors with any academic issues or to utilize the live “office hours”.
Students should also email their CCCC instructor(s) with any academic issues in their college classes or communicate via Blackboard. Mrs. Padilla can be emailed (padillah@coastalcarolina.edu) with any other CCCC-related questions (including scheduling).
Virtual Meetings
Instructors can additionally schedule virtual meetings with students, who express a concern or need additional support in their classes, outside of the live office hours. These can be scheduled through Teams and Zoom. If your student is expressing a concern in a class, please encourage your student(s) to reach out to an instructor for additional support.
Technology Support
· Students should go to an OCS campus and update their laptop every few weeks, to maintain optimal performance levels.
· Shutting computers all the way down once a day, will also help with many technical issues students have been having.
· Encourage students to have patience! There are many students who are using Office365 throughout the school day. There is also a strain on the local bandwidth with the increase volume of traffic due to remote working and learning. Here are some other issues with solutions:
- If Teams will not let students submit assignments, have students share those assignments as SharePoint links where possible.
- If OneNote will not sync materials, please have students use the offline app. This way, they are not attempting to work in OneNote through teams, which is being used throughout the day by other OCS students. Have them sync the materials, and then wait for them to load. If that does not work, tell them to work on other assignments and come back to OneNote in about twenty minutes. Sometimes it just takes a while to load because of Teams.
- Teachers can also use their email! If all else fails, students can email assignment to their teachers.
- Be mindful of streaming games and other video content while working on schoolwork. Home broadband connections are not generally as robust as the connections at school and can have a negative effect on overall online performance.
- If students need their 1:1 device repaired, Onslow County Schools has technology hubs set up to assist in the process. Information on the repair hubs can be found here.
- Students many also call the OCS IT Department with questions about their devices at 910-989-2101.
- The CCCC IT Department can also assist with any Blackboard-related issues. They can be reached at helpdesk@coastalcarolina.edu.
Guidance Support
It is hard to get away from the rapidly changing news about COVID-19 and the changes it continues to cause in our society. With schools currently closed for students, concern over this new virus has increased the questions children and families currently have. Our school counselors and school social workers, a regular source of help in dealing with the pressure of school life, are not as readily available.
OCS school counselors and school social workers understand this and, during this challenging time, are prepared to help our children cope with these questions.
This link will direct you to the OECHS Counseling/Student Services page. There, students can get an appointment to set up a virtual meeting with Ms. Hutsell. Additionally, students can access Ms. Hutsell on the Guidance page on Teams!
These virtual meetings can be for questions or concerns students would normally see their school counselor for (or any additional concerns related to the current school closure.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE GUIDANCE PAGE IS NOT FOR EMERGENCIES!
If you have a medical emergency, contact 9-1-1.
Mental health crisis should contact Integrated Family Services at 1-866-437-1821.
Resources
Additionally, Onslow County Schools has a Learning from Home page that is full of useful information that can be accessed here.
NC State University’s Disabilities Resource Office has also provided high quality advice, tips, and resources for distance learning as well. Here is the link to their page.