From innovation to inclusion

Rural remote experiences in Westman Manitoba during COVID-19

Abstract

This paper explores results of a study carried out in a rural context during COVID-19. During the pandemic, emergency remote learning was first adopted in Manitoba, Canada. At the beginning of the following school year, however, schools returned to in-person classes and some students, who had a medical condition that prevented them from going back to schools, needed an alternative. Collaboration from seven distinct school divisions in Western Manitoba made it possible to develop an innovative remote learning program that would serve this population. This action research collected data from parents, students, teachers, curriculum consultants, and principals within this program. Teachers and consultants worked together in the pedagogical and logistical planning so that the inclusion of these families in the remote school would take place in a natural way. Parents of students, who took on a role as co-educators of students from pre-school through eighth grade, were immersed in a remote context and had to adapt to new teaching and assessment systems. Principals maintained contact with the families participating in the program, and helped other professionals with extra administrative functions. Part of the analysis of these data, presented in this paper, led to reflections on the context of innovation in which the program was developed, the inclusion of students in teaching and learning during the pandemic, digital inclusion, and remote communication. Based on the theories of (digital) collaboration, technologies and education, COVID-19 and education, and remote learning, the discussions presented in this paperaddress possibilities, potentials, and challenges of a new meaning of education due to the pandemic.