KANSAS CITY, Mo. — One of the largest public school systems in the Kansas City metro announced plans this week for the coming school year.
Kansas City, Missouri, Public Schools will start with an all-distance learning approach as COVID-19 cases continue to climb in the metro. The district hopes to be at 100% in-person learning by the end of the school year.
Meanwhile, the KCPS digital learning team has found a way to enhance the online learning experience by adding a Bitmoji classroom.
Bitmojis are a cartoon-like version of a person used for various social media purposes.
On a Facebook Live chat on Wednesday, members of the KCPS digital team showed teachers and a few others, including 41 Action News, how this kind of classroom would work.
"It was a way to make learning more interactive for students to have something that looks like a little brick and mortar, but to have a little fun," said Andrea Cook, the district's coordinator of digital learning and professional development.
Inside the virtual classroom, teachers can put links to lessons on the virtual books or white boards for students to click on and learn.
"You can actually put all of the lessons for the day on that, and the student can actually click on the links that the students should be working on as well, so it gets them right into the lesson," Cook said.
The classroom gives teachers a chance to showcase their own personalities while being distanced from their students.
"I think it’s great because you can actually build that relationship with your students virtually and show your personality through the Bitmoji you choose," said KCPS teacher Tia Hernandez, who will also be with the new Virtual Academy. "It allows your students to see who you are without actually seeing you or greeting you at the door every day."
The Bitmoji classrooms aren't required for teachers but are another tool they can use to engage with their students.
It's going to be a school year unlike any other, one this team said they are now prepared for.
"We are in a much better spot going on September 8th than we were, because all of our teachers have been trained with 55 one-hour modules that we put out," said Jeramie Davis with KCPS Digital Learning and Professional Development.
"We’re building our own digital literacy in the offseason, and we are getting that preparedness on our own so we can be a proactive district instead of a reactive district going into the fall," Hernandez added.
KCPS classes are expected to start on Sept. 8.
To learn more about the KCPS Virtual Academy and online learning, visit the school's website.
