When Amanda Hisle, a first-grade teacher at Roan School, became an educator 14 years ago, if schools closed due to inclement weather, the days were made up by the end of the school year. Now, thanks to Dalton Public Schools’ Digital Learning Days, “We have a more effective way of making those days up since there is advanced technology,” said Hisle.

“Digital Learning Days occur when students are not present at school due to weather and other situations where Dalton Public Schools is closed,” a description on the school system’s website states. The students do assignments at home.

So far this school year the school system has used two, on Dec. 11, 2018, and Jan. 29 of this year. Nick Sun, director of school support, said 4,108 students completed assignments on the first Digital Learning Day and 7,005 on the second.

Sun said about a year-and-a-half ago, Rick Fromm, Dalton Board of Education chairman, asked school system staff to find a new solution for making up missed days.

“At the time we had missed several days (of school),” Sun said. “The concern was the quality of instruction we were making up toward the end of the school year.”

Sun said his staff researched school districts, including Gwinnett, Forsyth and Hall, that have digital learning days as examples.

“We wanted meaningful and engaging work that is fun for (students) to do with content,” he said. “We also wanted our teachers to have meaningful assignments to grade.”

Fromm said he’s received “positive feedback.”

“We (board members) felt there needed to be an alternative to missing days,” he said. “Students are supposed to attend school a certain number of days (180) during the school year.”

Fromm said Digital Learning Days are beneficial for students and teachers.

“Teachers can be actively engaged during the school year so we don’t have to make up days and get some learning out of it,” he said.

How does digital learning work?

Each student in grades three through 12 is issued a laptop through the school. Last year during a “design day,” when teachers created work by grade level, Sun said they developed activities and assignments that students could do at home. The work is accessed through an online list of courses.

Sun said students choose two assignments and a reading project to complete. In pre-kindergarten through second grade, work is available on paper since the students don’t have laptops.

Hisle said students and parents have more access to technology now and Digital Learning Days are an “effective way” to make missed days up.

“I think Digital Learning Days are beneficial for students to continue an educational day at home,” she said. “They still have access to teachers through email and other various forms of communications.”

Sarah Lavender’s sons Beckham and Kingston are first- and third-graders at Brookwood School.

“I love Digital Learning Day,” she said. “We’ve had positive experiences.”

Lavender said her sons enjoy completing work at home with her help.

“It was a challenge in the beginning with three of us working together,” she said. “The second (Digital Learning Day) we decided to do work separately and it was easier.”

Lavender said she believes Digital Learning Day are “fantastic” and all schools should try them.

What do educators and students think?

Amy Sherman, a fifth-grade teacher at Roan School, said students are assigned work from language arts, math, science, social students, art or music.

“They learn through a PowerPoint, but there are quizzes (where) students can respond to each other,” she said. “Math is project-based where they explain how to solve a problem and present it back to the teacher.”

Arely Carrillo, a student in Sherman’s class, said she likes Digital Learning Days.

“If a student needs help with work we can contact a teacher to help us figure it out,” she said.

Sun said during the planning process his staff factored in the possibility of students without internet access.

“We treat Digital Learning Day as a school day,” he said. “When students return they have five days to complete assignments.”

Leigh Anne Smith, media specialist at Dalton High School, helped develop the planning for Digital Learning Days for high school classes. She said educators talked about the quality of assignments.

“We wanted to make sure we were providing quality work and meeting the needs of teachers and students,” she said.

Smith said a benefit of digital learning is that it provides students with an opportunity to experience online courses.

“A lot of (students) may have online classes for college,” she said. “This is a chance to live in that environment and finish quality work.”

Kobe Stokes, a sophomore at Dalton High School, said the Digital Learning Days have been “pretty good so far.”

“Most of the assignments are good and thought out,” he said. “They are not overly complicated.”

During the most recent Digital Learning Day, Stokes said he studied for a test, completed Latin assignments and wrote an essay about architectural careers.

“I like that I don’t have to wake up early and can complete the assignments at my own pace,” he said.

Other school systems’ plans

Judy Gilreath, superintendent of Whitfield County Schools, said staff there looked at the possibility of digital learning days a few years ago.

“We didn’t think it would (be a good) fit for our student population,” she said.

Gilreath said access to the internet was one of the concerns.

“Some households have multiple children and one computer,” she explained. “We didn’t think that would work.”

Mike Tuck, director of communications for Murray County Schools, said that system has not implemented digital learning days.

“It’s something we considered, but have no immediate plans,” he said.

Tuck said there are some “obstacles” to consider.

“Every family doesn’t have internet access. It’s a great idea, but there are some issues that need to be worked out,” he said.

Moving forward

Sun said he’s heard “great things” about the Digital Learning Days.

“We’re really excited about the way things are going,” he said.

Sun said the success of digital learning is because everyone works together, from his staff to media specialists, teachers, assistant principals and employees at the central office.

“We all collaborated and made it work,” he said. “We’re invested in the results we’ve achieved.”