Townsville teachers bridge online teaching gap in COVID-19 crisis

Teachers spent hours of their school holidays in lockdown prerecording classroom lesson as they prepare to step back into near empty schools for Term 2.

Townsville teachers Paddy MacLeod, Anne– Marie Burchell and Allison Elcoate are finalists in the 2013 Queensland College of Teachers Excellence in Teaching Awards.

Teachers spent hours of their school holidays pre-recording classroom lessons as they prepare to step back into near empty schools today for Term 2.

Ignatius Park College deputy principal of curriculum Allison Elcoate (pictured) said teachers wanted to provide students a sense of normalcy despite hitting the books in their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Using a video conferencing system called STYLE, Ms Elcoate said teachers and students were in some ways better resourced than when in the classroom.

Ms Elcoate said about 200 students from essential worker families would still attend the school, which typically has more than 1000 students.

She said classes would be tailored around students’ family lives and be weekly focused rather than daily. Meanwhile Carinity Education staff have been delivering schoolwork to students’ homes across Townsville.

“Our teachers and youth workers have spent the term break working tirelessly to prepare learning materials and different ways for our students to access the curriculum from home,” Carinity Education chief executive manager Christine Hill said.

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Queensland schools shut for children of non- essential workers

When the children of essential workers step into classrooms, it will be an environment worlds away from the one they left weeks ago.

Tuckshops will be closed, ball games banned and students will have to clean their own desks and chairs at many schools when classes resume.

Education Queensland refused to say if students would be turned away at the school gate, as happened to some students in Victoria whose parents were not deemed “essential workers’’.

“Parents and carers are encouraged to discuss their child’s requirement to physically attend with the school,’’ a spokesman said. “Schools remain open for the children of essential workers – that is workers who are required in their workplace; and vulnerable children.”

Originally published as Townsville teachers bridge online teaching gap in COVID-19 crisis