Hawai‘i DOE Virtual Learning Now

From the Hawai‘i Department of Education, about the “E-School” courses available through the Hawai‘i Virtual School Network:

As we transition from Continuity of Learning and move forward into Returning to Learning, the Office of Curriculum and Instructional Design (OCID) would also like to provide schools with the opportunity to use Blackboard Learn as a Learning Management System (LMS) for the upcoming 2020-2021 school year. In addition to the LMS, schools will have access to content for 107 courses that schools can use as an online/blended learning option for Grades 6-12.

More info from HI DOE here.

My thoughts:

Hawai’‘i offers 107 courses with Florida Virtual School content, viewable through Blackboard Learn. (FLVS is available through their primary LMS, Desire2Learn, but Hawai‘i DOE offers it through Blackboard Learn LMS.)

In conversation with Alisa Bender, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, I understand this pandemic emergency measure of delivering another state’s content through Blackboard (not a preferred K-12 learning management system) is an attempt to offer the best solution they can immediately. However, she says there is a commitment to exploring, finding, customizing, implementing more advanced integrated information management (SIS) and instructional solutions (LMS) as we move forward. We hope that this difficult pandemic offers the side benefit of a leap forward in delivering engaging learning to all students and easy access to data for each teacher, student, and family.

The information management department has apparently enabled gmail addresses for all students and google classroom access to all teachers and students. Google classroom is easy and accessible for teachers and parents thought it does not offer richer functionality and data management of full learning management solutions.

So the district has taken steps forward in making Blackboard Learn and Google Classroom available to schools and teachers should they wish to use it, Hopefully we will soon have a district-wide, state of the art, custom solution to support individualize learning, special needs instruction, authentic assessment and more.

Click here for the powerpoint presentation from the Webex Webinar

Here are two of the most informative slides on how Google Classroom and Blackboard compare and can be cobbled together in this temporary solution.

The following schools expressed interest in the E-School courses as of that date: