LEE COUNTY, Fla. — The School District of Lee County will soon start online learning.
It's part of the district's 'Distance Learning Plan' to help students interact virtually with teachers during this Coronavirus pandemic.
This week, teachers began training to prepare for the virtual learning set to start on Monday, March 30, 2020.
Students and families also received an 'I Can Checklist' to make sure they have what they'll need to begin the online learning.
Lee County School District teachers will use programs like Google Classroom and Zoom Video Conference to teach their students virtually.
Teachers will upload school work to Google Classroom at the beginning of the week, and students are required to submit their work by the end of the week.
"It's not about what the kids need to learn in the next few weeks, or even months if this is prolonged, but it's about continuing that friendly face, that calming voice of a teacher for our students and families in need," said Shane Musich, Principal at Villas Elementary School.
Students, kindergarten through 12th grade, can access these programs using their home computer or Chromebooks provided by the district.
Any household without at least one computer is asked to contact their child's school.
"I miss them dearly, that's why I had to do this," said Marylin Prysi, a teacher at Villas Elementary School.
Marylin Prysi has she's already begun virtually teaching her kindergarten class using Zoom Video Conference.
"I plan on doing a few of the Zoom sessions with them. I'm trying to find a time because some parents are still working, so I'm going to do one in the later afternoon," said Prysi.
Teachers anticipate classwork will take students no more than two hours a day to complete.
"We don't want to overwhelm the families, we don't want to have them to stress or worry about 'oh this one more thing to complete,' this is just to give the kids some routine," said Jennifer Margi, a third-grade teacher at Villas Elementary School.
Margi says this workload is also to be considerate of those families that have more than one child sharing one Chromebook.
Students are be expected to check-in with their teachers regularly, and teachers will be available to answer questions during office hours.
Teachers will respond to questions outside of office hours within 24-hours.
"As scary as this is, I think it's going to be a valuable tool, especially moving forward in this situation," said Musich.
The School District of Lee County will be hosting a Facebook town hall meeting on Wednesday at 1 p.m for parents who have more questions.
To participate, you can visit the district's Facebook page.
Questions can be posted in the comment section or emailed in advance to DistanceLearning@leeschools.net.
To learn more about Lee County School District's 'Distance Learning Plan,' click here.
