South Hennepin News

Eden Prairie’s students went back to school during the second week of April, however, they aren't leaving their homes, according to SW News Media.

The students are using computers, tablets and phones to participate in the district’s and the teacher's remote learning program. Some teachers said that despite the challenges, there are a few great advantages to the remote learning program.

Kristin Gabel, who teaches ninth- and 10th-grade biology at Eden Prairie High School, said the remote classroom program isn't a new concept. Gabel and her colleague, Cathy Bockenstedt, said they engaged in a blended learning group to learn how to include remote learning into their classrooms.

Gabel told Eden Prairie News in a phone interview that the remote leaning program is a life-saver.

“That has been a life-saver for me and made it much easier to make that transition,” Gabel said.

Cathy Bockenstedt, who is an eighth-grade science teacher at Central Middle School, said that the 2020 school year has been the most difficult in her 31 years of teaching.

“We have huge gratitude, all of us, to the community and the parents who gave us the technology referendum,” Bockenstedt said. “I’m an extrovert people-person, so this is very different in that capacity, to not have that direct connection to (students)."

Gabel said students are eager to get back to some kind of normalcy.