The 2020/2021 school year is approaching and schools are preparing for multiple scenarios – one of which is distance learning. Pine Tree Society was able to jump in and support schools and their students with special needs during the spring shutdown. There’s no doubt about it, we learned a lot. Everyone did. We wanted to share our Top 10 distance learning takeaways through a series of blog posts over the next few days. Please know, we are here to support your school, your teachers and your students whatever comes this fall – distance learning, a hybrid model or in-person instruction.
Linda Bonnar is the director of Communication Pathways at Pine Tree Society. She and her team of speech language pathologists partner on distance learning with school districts statewide to support students with the greatest challenges.
They are always thinking outside the box and strategizing how to best meet the needs of the students they serve.
Linda offers these three tips to help make distance learning a success.
TIP #1
Motivate and engage. Keep the philosophy that YES this child can participate and be successful to the best of their ability in distance learning and telepractice sessions. Keep in mind that just because you are in front of a computer screen, it doesn’t mean you have to sit for the whole session. If needed, build in movement activities too!
TIP #2
Be creative. Look for blogs, ask or follow fellow colleagues, and, if you have social media accounts like Facebook and Instagram, look for groups that are posting tips and ideas. Search “distance learning” on TeachersPayTeachers.com for free resources every week!
TIP #3
Be flexible. Look for activities that can meet multiple goal areas rather than worrying about one activity for each goal. Remind yourself and others that it won’t look the same and it won’t always be perfect, but we are in this together, and together we can succeed!
To find out how Pine Tree Society’s Speech Language Pathologists can support your students through telepractice speech/language therapy services, please contact Linda Bonnar at lbonnar@pinetreesociety.org or 207-386-5931.
Top 10 Distance Learning Tips
Introduction: Distance Learning — Pine Tree Society’s Expertise
Tips 1 – 3: Distance Learning — Linda Bonnar, Director of Communication Pathways
Tips 4 – 6: Distance Learning — Maura Nolin, Director of Interpreting Services
Tips 7 – 9: Distance Learning — Karen McClure-Richard, Director of Early Learning Center
Tip 10: Distance Learning — Dawn Willard-Robinson, Director of Pine Tree Camp