Enhances Learning Process with New Online Platform

T'iis Ts'ozi Bi'Olta' Community School students are connected and engaged with help from IT enhancements and logistical solutions. T'iis Ts'ozi Bi'Olta's new electronic learning management system allowed students to accomplish more throughout the 2024-2025 school year, whether at home or in the classroom, putting them in the best position to succeed.

T'iis Ts'ozi Bi'Olta' educators used the technology to facilitate remote learning and prevent students from losing school days. One of the online platform's major assets is the students’ continued access to the curriculum and instruction outside the classroom. Implemented at T'iis Ts'ozi Bi'Olta' in 2021 through the Strategic Transformation of Education Plan (STEP), the eLMS has transformed how students access homework, class updates, grades, and academic content. Several educators discussed how they use it to meet the BIE goal of blended learning at every school and classroom. 

Many T'iis Ts'ozi Bi'Olta' teachers experience the platform’s advantages daily. One of its most popular features is the lesson planning component, which Gladys Tracy, EdD, a sixth-grade teacher, uses every week.  

“What’s good about it is, if a student misses school, then they know to go in there and make up that work,” she said. “You can also upload lessons for students that meet our curriculum. So, you can have your lesson on the screen and work through it with students as they have it on their laptops.” 

Tracy explained her method of incorporating technology for blended learning classroom instruction for blended learning. She sets up five stations in the classroom, and the kids rotate. One station uses videos and lessons uploaded to the online platform. 

“You can touch up your standards all at one time using your stations and your blended learning,” Tracy said. “That’s what’s good about it.” 

Arlene Morris teaches seventh and eighth grades and utilizes technology to provide differentiated learning in her classes. She gives personalized lessons and allows student groups to work together on specific assignments that align with their academic level. 

“I use a lot of the data we have in our curriculum,” Morris said. “That’s how I break down the different assignments for different groups.” 

All T'iis Ts'ozi Bi'Olta' educators applauded the technology’s ability to enhance other learning applications for kindergarten through eighth-grade classes. Ms. Morris supplements her lessons with videos and digital flipbooks that help students complete assignments. 

The online platform has proven to streamline lesson planning and organize assignments and offers personalized and timely instruction by fostering real-time feedback. Students and parents will have access to grades, determining many students’ eligibility to participate in sports or school-related activities. 

“The thing I like about it the most is the turnaround with feedback,” said Jeff Manuelito, middle school science teacher. “Students turn in assignments and get quick, individualized feedback.” 

Parents can access personalized accounts, without their student’s credentials, to monitor their child’s progress. Teachers share course codes to see student information while still in the parent’s account. 

“My vision is to use Schoology more this coming year, especially if we have to go to online learning in case of an emergency, Principal Irowena Whitehair said. 

T'iis Ts'ozi Bi'Olta' Community School is an excellent model for applying the BIE’s new eLMS to enhance Native American education, increase data-driven decisions, support blended learning, and mitigate remote learning complications with access to resources and curriculum. Innovation continues as new features, including AI-powered ones, are released through the STEP initiative this upcoming school year.