By Dave Ongie, News Editor
You could almost feel the electricity in the air when students in the Johnson City School System celebrated Digital Learning Day last year at this time. Traveling from school to school, you’d find fresh energy in each classroom as students found new and unique ways to blend the latest technology into their daily lessons.
What a difference a year makes.
As we all know, technology took center stage when COVID-19 ushered in the era of virtual education in March of last year. Chromebooks became a lifeline between students and their teachers for the better part of the past year.
“While we have always used Digital Learning Day to spotlight the current innovative initiatives in our district, this year’s Digital Learning Day was quite different,” said Dr. David Timbs, Supervisor of Secondary and Instructional Technology for Johnson City Schools. “We have spent nearly an entire year honing our use of technology to deliver instruction in a variety of settings. A year ago, recorded videos, live Zoom lessons, and students navigating all of their classes digitally were not a part of our normal routines.”
By the time this Digital Learning Day rolled back around last Thursday, the students engaging in activities to mark the day were seasoned techies. Much of what was done was old hat to them, but that didn’t stop teachers and students around the city from having fun with the technology they’ve spent nearly a whole year mastering.
