Remote learning centre promises help for Manitoba students, educators returning to classes virtually

The province says a newly launched online portal will offer an array of support for both educators and students in Manitoba, many of whom are returning toschool virtually following the winter holiday.

Classes resumed Monday, with studentsin Grade 7 to 12required to learn remotely from home for the next two weeks in an effort to stem the spread of COVID-19 following the break.

Meanwhile, elementary students have the option to attend class or work remotely until Jan. 18.

Winnipeg parent Melanie Mansell is keeping her sons, who are in grades 4 and 10,home in case COVID-19 cases spike after the holidays.

"I feel more confident about the learning that they'll be doing this next two weeks" from home, she said. "I think it's much more organized than it was at the beginning of the pandemic."

The province says parents like Mansell will be able to access help throughManitoba Education'sRemote Learning Support Centre, launched this weekto provide more assistance for both educators and students,and to level the playing field across divisions when it comes to delivering at-home learning.

"We had some concerns that it wasn't always even, or equally applied, because some divisions just simply have more experience with remote learning or more resources to implement it," Kelvin Goertzen, who was education minister prior to a Tuesday cabinet shuffle,said Monday.

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The online portal, a $10-million initiative developed in collaboration with school divisions, will offer teachers help withlesson planning andtechnical assistance, as well asmental health support forteachers and students who have moved to remote learning.

More than 100 staff are working at the centre, including approximately 60 certified teachers, coaches and educational assistants, saidDonna Davidson, the department lead with Manitoba Education.

Teachers can access an array of materialsand strategies orlog on torequest technical or instructional support from a coach.

"It's kind of a menu, so you would select according to the need and how best the centre could [offer] support," said Davidson.

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Remote learning centre promises help for Manitoba students, teachers

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Classes resumed Monday, with students in Grade 7 to 12 required to learn remotely from home for the next two weeks in an effort to stem the spread of COVID-19 following the break.

Certified teachers will also be available to provide direct help to some students, she said.

"It includes a cohort of teachers offering remote learning for more particularly our smaller school divisions that do not have the capacity to offer kindergarten to Grade 8 remote learning."

Another cohort of teachers will act as "home-school connectors" to offer direct support to students and families who are new to homeschoolingas a result of the pandemic.

"We've already had parents reach out," Davidson said."They're connected with a teacher who can provide resources if theyrequest, or answer some questions that they might have around learning and how they can best support their child."

'Too little, too late': parent councils association

Brenda Brazeau, executive director of the Manitoba Association of Parent Councils, calls the launch of the centre "too little, too late."

"This should have been something that maybe should have been up and going quite some time ago, when remote learning first started" Brazeau said. "We've had a number of months now to put everything together."

Brazeau wonders whether the centre will meet the needs of students, and said she would rather have seen the money spent on additional staffinside schools.

"For the most part, what I'm hearing from parents is that's it geared more toward teachers than students and parents, which is unfortunate because it's the students that really need the help right now."

Davidson said the centre is in the process of orienting the centre'steachers and staff. Theywill be availableuntil June 2021, but the site's resources will be available well after that date.