Some Minnesota school districts work through technical glitches in return to distance learning
Students and teachers saw some complications in the first day of distance learning for many Minnesota school districts.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - School districts worked through technical glitches Tuesday on the first day of school statewide.
Minneapolis Public Schools started with all distance learning due to COVID-19 and Superintendent Ed Graff says there were some technical issues as students and parents got used to the technology once again.
Overall, Graff said, there was a lot of excitement about being back in class, even if it is virtual.
“Just like any first day of school, there were some hiccups,” Graff said. “Just like a student going into the wrong classroom, you have a link that’s not working, a backup plan needs to be implemented.”
Graff said educators were more prepared than when school suddenly went online in the spring.
He said the district has also given out 18,000 electronic devices and 3,000 hotspots to make sure students have the technology and access to the internet they need to succeed with online learning.
“We’re all wanting to have some sense of being back in school and, even though this is virtual, there is a sense of familiarity and normalcy and I think we’re all craving that.”
In nearby Robbinsdale, the district ran into issues with some of its students’ laptops. In a statement Tuesday, the district said some students using Chromebooks experienced connection issues as the content filters were overloaded.
The district said its IT department has resolved the issue and students were asked to reboot their computers to reestablish connections.
“This is certainly not how we wanted to start the school year,” said the district in a statement. “We are working diligently to prevent this from happening in the future.”