Remote Learning
Providing Interactive Content to Supplement and Enrich K-12 Instruction During Remote Learning
Case Study Background
Based in Washington County, Tennessee, Johnson City School District is an urban district that prides itself on its strong teacher retention and student growth with 64% of students achieving grades above the state average.
Tina Faust, Instructional Design Coach
Tina Faust is an Instruction Design Coach for Johnson City Schools, helping to infuse technology into the
educational environment to prepare 21st century learners for success in a business world that constantly changes to meet the needs of the marketplace.
The Challenge
Johnson City School District sought a technology solution to enrich K-12 learning during remote learning
In response to the pressing need of providing high quality remote-hybrid instruction for all students, Johnson City School District through Tina Faust, Instructional Design Coach, sought supplemental, K-12 interactive resources across all core subject areas to support their faculty. They needed a solution that would provide teachers with opportunities to enrich multiple content areas and grade levels, accessible in the classroom and remotely, regardless of teacher tech-savviness.
The District found that many products required a certain level of technical acumen and lacked the breadth of content needed. The combination of teachers being at home, many with limited technology experience, and the pressure of an ongoing pandemic, narrowed the list of tools they were willing to consider.
The Solution
Boardworks provides modifiable lessons for all grade levels, providing flexible support for teachers during remote learning
Johnson City School District contacted Boardworks because of the ease of use and availability of all K-12 core content in a single platform. Boardworks offered Science and Math solutions in addition to Social Studies and ELA – ensuring all four core content areas were covered for grades K-12. Johnson City School District saw this as a unique solution to support all teachers with one consistent resource, something not provided by most competing tools that only focus on one content area or one age group. By offering a single supplemental platform for all core K-12 content areas, Boardworks provided interactive and digital resources for every teacher in one place, significantly reducing the burden of lesson prep and limiting the number of new tools they needed to learn to facilitate remote-hybrid instruction.
For example, as the district did not have dedicated science textbooks and could no longer run experiments from the classroom, the interactive modules and digital labs in BoardWorks K-12 Science lessons provided a valuable resource they did not previously have.
In addition, Boardworks lessons can be easily modified and saved. Teachers can access content from any grade level and subject area making Boardworks an excellent support for Special Education, ESL, RTI and G&T teachers. The breadth and variety of content and the ability to adjust lessons depending on the needs of individual students was a major factor in Johnson City School District selecting Boardworks.
You rarely find a product that offers K12 instruction that has quality components for all grade bands. Boardworks is that product. From five-year-olds to fifteen to special ed students, if I turn the lessons over to them at student pace, I need to know it’s going to be flawless and seamless.
“Boardworks provides versatility with efficiency, It is always rigorous, always relevant, and always standards-based.”
Tina Faust, Instructional Design Coach
Implementation
Boardworks worked directly with Tina Faust to implement the system. A member of the Boardworks team provided hands-on virtual training, giving a presentation on how the tools worked, and answering key questions that Faust and the District had about Boardworks. Faust was then able to provide detailed training to teacher leaders in the district and then hand-off access to Principals.
The simplicity of the process allowed for the fast onboarding of teachers and the immediate use of the tools. Boardworks is now being used by teachers to address a number of unique challenges, both in the classroom and remotely. Science teachers are utilizing the lessons to supplement in-person experiments with digital learning and math teachers can teach problem-solving using virtual math manipulatives. Special education teachers are being asked to teach multiple grades and subjects remotely, and Boardworks has helped them access a wide library of resources to supplement their efforts without neglecting any one age group.
The Results
Boardworks is a longterm solution to support teaching both in and out of the classroom at all grade levels
In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and remote-hybrid learning, engagement with students has been high. In the Boardworks Middle School science resource alone, there were more than 6,000 student views in less than two months, both synchronously and asynchronously. Faust sees Boardworks as a long term solution that will support teaching continuity in and out of the classroom for years to come. Even with a return to in-person instruction in the future, she sees the availability of remote instruction for students as something that will remain.
In addition to long term support, Boardworks has helped the district save money in a number of areas. The science curriculum has been greatly supplemented by Boardworks lessons, ensuring they don’t need to purchase physical kits and new print curriculum that the district didn’t previously have. They were also able to save money on math manipulatives and improve the quality of home learning in math. Boardworks has become an integral part of the district’s remote learning solution as a simple yet comprehensive tool that provides multiple levels of content across grade levels.