Hinsdale Magazine | Education
Five Questions with Sarina Renaldi Sarina M. Renaldi & Associates | Learning Specialist Services BY HINSDALE MAGAZINE STAFF
Hinsdale Magazine: How did your students handle the transition from school closing to E-learning? Sarina M. Renaldi: Much depends on their age and grade. My younger students like E-learning, because they enjoy being home with their family and dogs, cats, etc. They are sometimes in their pajamas, they eat snacks, and often move about their house from their bed to the couch or kitchen table. They finish their daily work fairly quickly, which gives them the rest of the day to 58
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play. On the other hand, many of my middle-school, high-school, and college students do not like E-learning, as they feel they must often “teach themselves” the materials; there is little structure to their daily schedule; they miss the social interaction with their classmates and teachers; and they are much less motivated to put forth their best effort, since the grades for the E-learning assignments “can do no harm,” or negatively impact students’ academic standing.
HM: What technology did you implement to make the transition easier? Renaldi: I have used Zoom to work remotely with all my students, and it has been a wonderful means to continue the learning process with my students. When the stay-at-home order was first implemented, I was greatly concerned for my students, knowing they would lose many of the academic skills we had worked so hard to develop during our one-on-one in-person sessions. Many of my students have learning challenges
