10 │ COMMUNICATION Distance learning in basic and upper secondary schools in the Czech Republic 57 The school mainly dealt with the length of time pupils spent on their PCs and the related developing addiction to PC games. We changed the ratio of synchronous learning and asynchronous learning, set periodic assignment of tasks on a weekly basis, unified the Google Classroom and Zoom learning platforms in foreign languages, introduced online parents’ evenings, and lent digital equipment to some individuals. In October, we set the ratio of online synchronous and asynchronous learning at 50:50; after parents’ evenings in November, we changed the ratio to 75:25 due to pressure from parents. Since January, we have been using the in-class learning timetable in online synchronous learning. What is crucial is the approach taken by the school management to parents and their children. At the beginning of the 2020/2021 school year, two siblings (4th year and 5th year, boy with SEN) came who had problems attending school. After distance learning started, they did not have the equipment to connect online. So the school lent them a computer, and before the family set up the internet, the principal and the teacher came to teach both children directly in their home environment – for a month and a half. With their approach, they were also able to “break” children’s disinclination to school, and currently both siblings regularly join online classes. Where communication between the school and the family did not work well, problems could arise that parents wanted to address. They emerged most markedly in complete basic schools, in about two thirds. In contrast, in upper secondary schools and incomplete basic schools it was only about a quarter of schools. The discussions mostly concerned problems with the implementation of distance learning in the pupil’s household, but also the allegedly low or, conversely, high extent of distance learning. In upper secondary schools with a predominance of pupils in Maturita fields, disagreement with evaluation of the pupil was also an important issue. In most basic and upper secondary schools, the management was also interested in pupils’ views on distance learning. For this purpose, direct feedback from pupils at the end of synchronous learning, online class teacher lessons and various questionnaires were used. In some schools, the school psychologist was involved in finding out the views and satisfaction of pupils, helping to set up distance learning to make it as effective as possible for pupils. The school psychologist is also involved in distance learning, working with the class in online lessons and in person (instead of Music Education); there are also individual consultations for individual pupils in person at the school using canine-assisted therapy by prior arrangement. Distance learning, which teachers often provide from their homes, also affects the frequency of their mutual communication. Although some teachers communicated to a greater extent during the onset of distance learning, a significant group of them report a reduction in the frequency of mutual communication, which is certainly not a positive finding in the period of limited contact among people. CHART 31 | Changes in mutual communication among teachers 0 %5 %10 %15 %20 %25 %30 %35 %40 %45 %50 %1. stupeň ZŠS 2. stupeň ZŠobor gymnáziummaturitní oborynematuritní oboryminimální, odehrává se jen pomocí digitální technikys minimální, potkáváme se a občas telefonujeme, píšeme si apod. snížila se, jen částečně ji lze nahradit digitální technikoul technologies 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 1st stage of B 2nd stage of BS secondary general school field Maturita fields non-Maturita fields minimal, it only takes place through digital technologieminimal, we meet and sometimes we call, write to each other, etc.it has decreased, it can only partially be replaced by digita