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#On-line learning gets tryout at summer school

Greenwich High School rising senior Zeik Dume works on his Algebra II course in Odysseyware Thursday at Central Middle School.

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For seven Greenwich high school ers, there would have been no summer school this year without new software.

Among them, they are taking five “credit recovery” classes to earn credits for courses they did not pass during the school year. With just a handful taking those classes, there were not enough students to meet enrollment minimums to staff them.

In the past, the lack of numbers would have meant those classes could not be run. Students would have to make up the courses another time, likely during the school year. For some, the delay in catching up could have meant having to spend another year in high school.

Administrators did not want to see that scenario, so they came up with an alternative: The students would become their own teachers, by doing the coursework with Odysseyware, online academic software.

“We’ve canceled these classes in the past, and the kids were out of luck,” said summer school co-coordinator Lori Mulligan. who is also a math teacher at Greenwich High School. “This is a first step in making sure they’re always offered. This is a way to keep the kids on track and moving forward.”

The use of Odysseyware is a two-week-old pilot summer program, so there is little data about local success. But students and teachers said they are encouraged by how the initiative has gone so far. There is a growing popularity and use of online platforms in Greenwich, where digital learning has become a crucial part of the curriculum.

Online — but not alone

Online coursework has become more common in the past two years throughout the district at all levels, as the school system has rolled out its digital learning initiative giving students their own iPads or Chromebook laptops.

After months of studying, administrators decided to try Odysseyware. It was piloted during the past year at Greenwich Alternative High School and it has been used with homebound students, as well.

In summer school, students work through Odysseyware via a series of video tutorials, written lessons and assessments. Greenwich educators adapted the prepackaged curriculum so it meets district standards.

Grading of Odysseyware courses is a combination of automated scoring and teacher marks for assignments and essays.

Students have to come to Central Middle School to do the online work on school computers, but they have flexibility in when and for how long they attend. Once they log a minimum number of hours in class, they can get passwords so they can use Odysseyware on their own devices off-campus.

“If you don’t put in the hours you need to do it, it will take much longer than it should take,” said rising senior Brandyn Warburton. who is taking a civics class with Odysseyware. “Last week, I’d come in an hour a day, and I’d only be doing half a unit. But then when I started coming in two hours a day, I’d be finishing like a unit a day.

“It really sticks because I’ll read it. I’m a visual learner,” he said.

While students do the online work independently, they still have a teacher in the same room whom they can ask questions. Warburton, for instance, sets up in the back of the classroom where social studies teacher Anthony Duncan is teaching a history class.

“He seems to be managing it very well,” Duncan said. “He seems to be quite engaged with the program. When I go in and check on him, he’s on task.”

Zeik Dume. a Greenwich High rising senior who is taking Algebra II and civics classes, said he thinks he has more teacher acces than he gets during the school year.

“In the classroom, you have different people on different levels,” Dume said. “If I’m taking the class online, it’s just me, there’s no one else, so the teacher can definitely give me that one-on-one attention that I need.”

But some educators wonder if students are getting a complete classroom experience with the solo approach.

“If students are being distracted in their classes, and the solitary piece works for them, then it can be beneficial,” said Belinha De Abreu. a media literacy educator and assistant professor in Fairfield University 's educational technology department. “But if you are only doing self-directed learning, is that enough?

“A class like this serves its purpose from a practical standpoint, but if I was wanting to really grow the education outlook of a student, I would want a multitude of student voices in a class,” she said.

Online options

Odysseyware is set to return in the fall at Greenwich Alternative High School, and it will likely be used at summer school again next year.

The launch of the third and final phase of the digital learning initiative in September would make it easier for more students to use the software. At Greenwich High, Dume and Warburton and all their classmates will receive Chromebooks.

Administrators are considering incorporating Odysseyware into plans they are developing to provide dedicated credit recovery classes during the school year at Greenwich High.

Odysseyware could also work well as a supplemental resource that teachers could use in more traditional classes, said Assistant Superintendent Irene Parisi.

“There are so many more opportunities with Odysseyware that we haven’t launched or explored yet,” Parisi said. “As we continue our move to personalized learning, this is a resource that will be front and center.”

Board of Education member Peter von Braun said he thinks online learning has the potential to work for students making up classes and for those wanting to take advanced courses not offered in the district.

“Any number of the great universities provide online courses taught by the leading professors, and I think it would be a terrific opportunity for our students to be able to take some of them,” von Braun said. “If the students can soar, let them soar.”