At a little before 9 a.m. Tuesday, first grade teacher Michele Brake was beginning to let children into her first meeting with them, via Zoom, in her Botetourt Elementary School classroom.

Brake gives the children a short tour of the CANVAS platform along with some of its offerings and provides some tips for online learning, “Sit in a chair, not in a bed, and away from your toys. Raise your hand to talk, keep your camera on, pay attention to your teacher and be respectful of others.”

As the end of the session nears, Brake takes the time to address each child individually to learn their names and to ask what their favorite color is. She reported having 16 of her 18 pupils check in, which she thought was good for the first day.

“We’re really light this week. There will be nothing live on Wednesday, just activities, and we’re just making sure that they know how to navigate CANVAS,” said Brake. “Parents have been very good, very interested. I’m very impressed that parents really ...