Mission Fulfilled 2030 Distance Learning Strategies: Leading Successful Students

Students, Teachers, Administrators around the world are adapting to the new normal of at-home learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. For Mission Fulfilled 2030 our work has not changed because we built our business on distance learning. Less than two weeks after our world flipped upside down—with schools closing, we launched a free online computer science program for our students. As a technology and STEM educator, we were able to immediately engage 200 students globally with the only word of mouth marketing. Through this pilot, we were able to baseline strategies that we feel will help students moving forward as many schools are still closed and parents are having to adjust to their children being home-schooled.

Tools Schools Are Using for Distance Learning

Mission Fulfilled 2030 has our own platform for distance learning. Many schools and teachers are using common tools such as Google Classroom, Flipgrid, and ClassDojo which are among the most popular tools. Zoom was the most popular distance learning tool in regard to communication with students, but there have been some concerns around the online safety of Zoom recently.  The best part of all these resources is that they are currently being offered for free, so you can try out as many as you like and pick the one that will work best for you and your students.

Connecting with Students

Connecting with our students is the most important aspect of distance learning. Just assigning students to work to keep them busy does not engage the learner as they would be in the classroom. During this unpredictable time, our students are probably feeling as much uncertainty as we are and our educator’s ability to keep their students engaged is going to be imperative as we work through this unprecedented time.

Many teachers are concerned about students feeling especially anxious during this time. We suggest doing lessons related to the anxiety students may be feeling.

Student Centered Distance Learning:

Most importantly, remember that all the lessons, activities, and meetings with our students are to make sure students feel safe and connected to learning in some way. Some teachers are putting a lot of work on the front end to ensure students’ lessons meet their individual needs. But most of what we do at Mission Fulfilled 2030 is focused on project-based learning.

What teachers and parents need to understand is that there’s no right or wrong way to engage in distance learning right now. The most important thing is that we engage our students and help them to feel connected to the educational process.

3 B’s of Distance Learning Etiquette:

One of the biggest problems that teachers were experiencing as they transitioned to distance learning was there was no etiquette or code of conduct presented as schools rolled out their programs as many were just trying to react to the current situation. But what we did was to set a very basic set of rules for our students we called the 3 B’s of distance learning.

These three simple points we feel allowed our students to maximize the online education experience.

1. Be on Time

2. Be Focused

3. Be Engaged

Mission Fulfilled 2030 is a nonprofit organization whose vision is to inspire, educate, and activate disadvantaged and underserved black boys in digital technology and STEM. Through our work, we hope to bridge the digital divide gap and bring closure to the income to the wealth gap. To support please go to www.missionfulfilled2030.org to help us make the world a better place for all people.

Gerald A. Moore Sr.

Founder of Mission Fulfilled 2030 nonprofit organization

Washington, DC United States