By Jeff Simmons, IDLA Superintendent
Not too long ago, during the COVID-19 pandemic, most parents suddenly and unexpectedly found themselves trying to manage their child’s learning from home. This was also when parents were trying to figure out how to work from home, navigate a lockdown, which masks to get, and which stores had toilet paper that day. It was an overwhelming situation, to say the very least.
For many parents, the information they had from their school probably sounded something like this…
- Help your student log in using their 21-digit username and password that they’ll never remember.
- Click on Whooz-It
- From Whooz-It, complete the Whats-it, and click Submit three times
- Next, log in to Learnhoozy using a different 21-digit username and password they also won’t remember
- Click on the first folder, then open two more folders, and complete the high-stakes test due today
- If students have extra time they can work on their Grumbly
So.. yeah. Online learning can sometimes be challenging, especially if it’s a new experience. It’s challenging for our students, too. Each student is supported by a Site Coordinator at their school, an incredible resource for them to reach out to when navigating Whooz-Its and Grumblys. The more awesome resource, though, is each parent! No matter how much time and support a Site Coordinator provides your child, you have more time with them and can offer more support than they can. But how do you do that when you don’t even know their 21-digit password for Learnhoozy?
IDLA created a parent app to help parents support their students in our program. Our goal with this app was to make information easy to find, easy to understand, and provide information on what you can do next to help your child succeed. It all comes straight through the app, with no logging into Whooz-It required. Here’s a quick video from one of our parents showing how she supports her children using the parent app.
Student learning is empowered through their community. This community includes other learners, teachers, Site Coordinators, and parents. Of all the community members, our parents may want to help the most but know the least about how to help. The parent app is our attempt to help empower you, the parent, to support your child in their online learning. I encourage each parent in our program to download and use the app. When you do, reach out to us and let us know what was helpful and what would help you even more.
