How PSUSD is offering ‘hands-on’ electives virtually

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. - Palm Springs Unified School District kicked off the new school year on Wednesday, August 8. The school has had to improvise as it offers a full virtual platform. While some courses translate easier online than others, offering virtual electives come with challenges as many require a "hands-on" learning approach. Classes such as theatre, art and music have needed a new curriculum that doesn't involve physical contact or the sharing of supplies.

"We can’t do any of that because we can’t physically do any of that together," Desert Hot Springs Director of Bands, Matt Ingelson said.

Ingelson has had to switch his normal curriculum to meet the needs of online instruction.

"We’re looking at how we can teach music production concepts, so my students are beat writing which is a little bit different than what we would normally do in band," Ingelson said.

The pandemic has halted band gatherings. Students are unable to play instruments or sing in an online classroom, partly because of service delays that can impact synchronized learning. There is, however, a silver lining.

"Normally in band you’re placed based on your talent and your hierarchy and a new structure to it. Here I don’t know how my new players play yet," said Ingelson.

The new structure has opened opportunities for kids who may be in a remedial level of music.

"If we’re meeting as an ensemble I can only have one drum set player, but now I can have a class of drum sets because they’re all at home."

The district is providing software that will allow kids to record music and share it with their teachers and friends for feedback. Ingelson said there is also an option for feedback in real time.

"We’re learning to play just by ourselves more intrinsically than extrinsically," said Ingelson.

Teachers have also opted to start the school year teaching subjects such as art history and music appreciation.

Desert Hot Springs High School junior, Vasti Andrade, won first place in Riverside County's Virtual Student Arts Competition in May. Despite the different format of the new semester, Andrade is learning to write music for the first time.

"The first week we just had the introduction and the second week we have been making music. We have been logging on into a really cool website to compose music. My teacher Mr. Ingelson tells us to be creative and just put out our emotions into what we’re writing," Andrade said.

Andrade believes what she is learning now holds purpose for when things return to normal.

"Maybe I might put one of my compositions and put it for the band so we can all play it together," said Andrade.

Depending on the elective, classes can vary on how they transition online.

"For art it’s challenging because [Palm Springs Unified School District's] budgets are for a class set. Pastels, origami paper-- they can’t provide each student a set of pastels or water colors and so [teachers] are really thinking outside the box of scraping what they have in their closets to send home to students so they can have hands on experiences with that," Palm Springs Unified School District Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator, Barbara Anglin said.

Theatre students are also having to practice their craft individually. Media arts teachers are utilizing Chromebooks to provide students their portion of the curriculum.

Aside from the many challenges virtual learning presents, Anglin believes arts are not only essential for students, but healing.

"It is a way for our students-- during this time of COVID and social injustice and all this uncertainty in our lives, maybe a lot going on in our own households-- this is a way for our students to express themselves. Maybe if they don’t know how to say it or don’t want to say it or how to write it, they can get out their feelings and emotions through their art," Anglin said.

To donate to the district's arts program visit: psusdfoundation.net/arts.