Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 37, Number 8, 1 August 2020 — Remote Learning [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Remote Learning

By Kalani Akana, Ph.D. During these troubling times of the COVID-19 epidemic, people are worrying about the safety of the children should schools reopen. And if they are opened, the manner of set-up will be different given the guidelines of the CDC, namely, six feet between students. If so, eaeh student will need at least a six-by-six square foot area. Twenty students will need 720 square feet. This is not possible in an average classroom. Therefore, State of Hawai'i leaders are considering halving schools; open for onehalf for half of the week and the other half on the other. When not going to school, students will be at home learning through Zoom or similar remote learning programs. While teaching hula during this pandemic, I utilized Zoom for live interaction. Students then recorded their hula on Flipgrid. I appreciate this program because the teacher ean see eaeh student and ean record specific feedback. Other students ean also view and give feedback. The instructor ean contruct a grading matrix where grades are kept on Google Classroom (GC). Google Classroom is what I utilize for announeements, homework assignments and compiling material - songs, stories, etc. - things that support the student. GC is also good for eommunieahon and maintenance

of grades. The teacher ean collaborate and track the progess of sevaral classes on GC and Flipgrid. Should teachers or a team of students need to develop a lesson, they ean utilize the program, Padlet. Malia Nobrega01iveira explained this program on "Lei Ānuenue: Episode 5." If interested, you ean search for it on YouTube. All programs are stored there. Seesaw is another good program for students, teachers, and parents. The students ean take pictures, draw, write and leave their work within his/her learning portfolio. Although I haven't used this, I did watch Kumu Kaleialoha Kanī'aupi'o Crozier on "Lei Ānuenue: Episode 19," explaining how she uses Seesaw. Because of herenergetic, enthusastic and interesting presentation, I was inspired to investigate this program. It is program of great help. Mueh appreciation goes to my hula student, Kūkaho'omalu Souza, a teacher at 'Iolani, for his assistance with GC, Flipgrid and Zoom. We are not, teachers and students, accustomed to these technologies. Therefore, he became our IT person. I thought, if teachers employ these technologies for the students, then several IT persons willl be needed to support the teacher, the student and his/her family. There is a need to teach these technologies and that is an interesting prospect. This is the time of remote learning. ■ Kalani Akana, Ph.D., is the culture specialist at OHA. He is a kumu ofhula, oli and 'ōlelo Hawai'i. He has authored numerous articles on indigenous ways ofknowing and doing.