Learning Curve: A Lesson On Distance Learning For Parents

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Navigating a virtual world is hard enough for students and sometimes even more so for the families that help them. But, a Sacramento technology teacher is stepping up to offer her expertise at no cost to parents.

"Thank god for technology, I don't know how I could do it without it," said Junior Goris, a dad of three.

Goris is able to see his kids only from afar during the pandemic – having a child with underlying conditions and an essential job that requires him to come into contact with new people daily.

"It's really difficult," Goris said. "But we're managing and pushing through it."

Though, it also poses new challenges too. In a way, Goris double distance-learns with his children, by tag-team teaching with mom from miles away.

"FaceTimes every day," Goris said. "Mom and me go over the strategies as far as objectives for the day."

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It's why this year, he's seeking extra help and doing his own homework with a lesson on all things distance-learning.

"If that means me taking an extra class to learn the technology," he said. "I'm going to do it."

Sacramento City Unified School District's Julie Del Agua decided to take her teaching skills to the next level. The computer teacher is volunteering her time to create a lesson plan to educate parents rather than the students this time around.

"We know you don't know everything," Del Agua said. "Our job is to help you."

Del Agua's tutorial schools parents on things like Google Classroom – for free. It shows parents where to find important things, including everything from announcements to homework - something she's heard frustrated many parents over the last year.

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"Not really knowing what buttons to push and not really knowing where to look for information," Del Agua explained.

It's a simple gesture parents like Goris are grateful for, as he works to make the most of his kids' learning lives – until he can be there in person again.

"We have to double down as parents as far as getting involved in our kids' education," he said.

This distance-learning class is already recorded and ready to view on Del Agua's website. While some of it is catered to platforms used by Sac City Unified – Google Classroom and Zoom tutorials are available for all.

For anyone who wants to take part in the help and ask questions in a live format, Del Agua is hosting two classes for parents on August 18 and 19. Anyone who is interested should reach out to Del Agua via email at julie-delagua@scusd.edu. There is a limit on the number of people who can attend via Zoom.