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How the Carrollton tech department has kept us together, virtually
On Friday March 13, Carrollton closed down for quarantine and students began virtual learning the following Monday.
This was no easy feat. Just one week before the closing was announced, Carrollton’s technology department provided training for all teachers on the Google Meet platform. The majority of classes continued, but online. “We immediately had to find a way to be remote support for our faculty and students. My team loves working directly with faculty and students so this was a departure. We also weren’t really built to be remote so we had to put systems in place immediately to be able to repair/troubleshoot from home,” wrote Joe Carver, Director of Technology.
The technology department worked hard with students to make sure they had the required applications installed on their laptops and everything necessary to begin smooth and successful online classes. This was kept up through the end of the year.
“Before we went online our teachers taught us how to use the online platforms, they made the workload easy on us and were very understanding with technical difficulties because it was a learning process for everyone,” wrote Amanda Elgarresta ’23.
“I found that it was easy to connect with the teachers even though I wasn’t with them in person it felt as if I were,” wrote Sofia Eljaiek ‘23.
After a long summer of planning for all circumstances from remote to hybrid, the 2020- 2021 school year began.
The first week in the Upper School was virtual. Hybrid learning began the second week with alternating blue and gold days, and some students continuing remotely. Zoom became the preferred online platform, and through a system of cameras and Promethean Boards, students at home could see their classmates and their classmates could see them. By the third week most students returned to school full-time with some continuing from home.
“I felt some sadness teaching virtually and in a hybrid manner because the energy of everyone’s involvement felt different. But I was also inspired by students’ commitment to learning and by the way students and teachers have worked together to stay connected and focused on learning in difficult circumstances. I have felt this way even more strongly in the weeks since most students returned to campus. The efforts of administration and faculty and students to make all this possible have been inspiring and made me even more grateful to be a teacher at Carrollton, wrote English teacher Gabriel Alkon.”
“I think the technology department helped us feel as connected to each other as possible, even in a socially distant community,” wrote Elly Molina ‘23.
