Most Educators Were Not Prepared for Online instruction When the Pandemic Arrived

In my blog entry of 4/19/18,  "A Possible Solution for Making-up Missed School Days" I made a plea for providing all students with a laptop for use at school and at home. One use of this arrangement would be the provision of online instruction when normal school is canceled by inclement weather or other interruptions. Who knew back then that a pandemic would arise and most public schools in the U.S would be forced to close? Unfortunately, few districts sought to implement this plan. Now, many are hurriedly seeking to provide all students with a laptop and a home internet connection; all while trying to train teachers in the implementation of the program. Many educators were ill-prepared for online instruction. The blame for this quandary rests with the school administrators who failed to recognize the vital need to utilize computers for training staff and ultimately to provide students with a vital tool for research and learning.