NYC has revived remote learning for a day. It was a mess.

New York City public schools on Tuesday began their first major experiment with remote learning since the coronavirus pandemic. During the winter storm, more than 900,000 students were asked to participate in virtual classes.

It didn't go well.

Many teachers, parents and students who tried to log in found themselves locked out of their classrooms. Instead of joining their video meetings, they received an error message: “The service you are trying to reach is temporarily unavailable.”

“It seems like a very broad problem,” said Jay Brown, an elected parent leader in southern Brooklyn who was trying to help his children log on while trying to work from home.

He added: “I know this is a huge undertaking. But the preparedness just seems to be lacking.”

Mayor Eric Adams said the disorder would serve as a “teachable moment” for the city.

“Remote learning is going to be with us for a while,” Mr Adams said. “The goal is to achieve perfection, and there is a journey to achieve perfection.”

On social media, dozens of people described a chaotic morning that brought back their worst memories of pandemic-era education.

“A total disaster,” Sam Green, who chose to take his 7-year-old son to McCarren Park to play in the snow, said in an interview. “I texted the teacher: 'Am I the only one having problems?' And no, the entire system crashed, even the director can't continue.”

Students dawdled during their first period with the cameras off, waiting for teachers who couldn't log in. Some were only able to continue after repeatedly refreshing their site. Others were kicked out of online meetings. As parents and educators took on the role of impromptu technical support, several schools canceled meetings and classes completely until at least 10 a.m., without even being able to attend.

One parent said his family had abandoned all remote learning for the day at 8:45 a.m., joining others who opted to declare a full snow day.

On Tuesday afternoon, the school's chancellor, David C. Banks, said about 850,000 students and teachers had been able to log in. (The system has roughly 915,000 children and 75,000 teachers.)

As the school day got underway, the Department of Education blamed problems with services requiring authentication by the technology company IBM, which Mr Banks later said was “not ready for prime time”.

“To say I am disappointed, frustrated and angry is an understatement,” he added. “This was a test. I don't think we passed this test.”

IBM did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The school system had tried remote learning earlier this winter, but Mr. Banks said the company was not involved in these simulations.

Some students and teachers were able to log in without any problems. Alan Cohen, a parent in Central Queens, had his children, who are in kindergarten and third grade, set up their devices Monday night — and they successfully joined their virtual rooms.

Their classmates were not so lucky: “First there were three kids,” Mr. Cohen said, adding that parents' WhatsApp groups for the school and individual classes “exploded.”

“The idea that every child is going to be present for all their classes all day long has kind of gone out the window,” he said.

The city bought more than 550,000 kids' iPads and 175,000 Chromebook laptops during the pandemic, and the era of remote learning it ushered in has prompted many school districts across the country to forego traditional days off because of winter weather.

But Tuesday's debacle would certainly create a wave of resistance in New York. Shekar Krishnan, a city council member who represents parts of northern Queens, wrote on social media that the government “should have just given them the damn snow day!”

Some schools not run by the Ministry of Education did just that.

“It's just an old-fashioned snow day,” said Arthur Samuels, the founder of a high school in Brooklyn's Bushwick neighborhood.

“Too many students have to care for younger siblings, and we know how bad remote learning is,” Samuels said on social media. “We will see everyone again in person tomorrow. Enjoy the snow!”

Olivia Bensimon reporting contributed.