7 ways to bridge the lockdown learning gap:

1. Support for pupils – Emotional well-being, mental health, heightened anxiety, bereavement and re-adjustment to school.

2. Quality blending teaching and learning – Clear learning outcomes, differentials, interaction, feedback and digital access.

3. Curricular innovation – Outdoor learning, character education and talking about COVID-19.

4. Professional learning opportunities for teachers – Availability, affordability, sharing time and hardware/software.

5. Focused learning Support – Testing, availability of support and pupil absence.

6. Catch-up tutoring – Availability of tutors, affordability, safeguarding, digital access and summer school.

7. Enhanced parental engagement – Guidance to parents, Parental stress and digital access.

Catlin Tucker is a Google Certified Innovator, bestselling author, international trainer, and keynote speaker.

In her latest blog she talks about the traits of a successful online teacher.

In my last blog, I introduced the concept of Integrated Learning.

Visionary leadership and aspirational teaching can only go so far in pushing the merits of integrating technology into education. Following the initial panic where schools, teachers, students & parents started using anything, everything available to them, after 2 months, reality is now setting in with questions asked around sustainability of these solutions and the future of technology in education.

Limitations of technology and the online only model are becoming more apparent by the day. Understanding these limitations is critical to integrating technology into learning. For the majority of the population education technology is a careful price conscious combination of software, hardware, telecom network & data package. Add to this the unreliable electricity in many rural areas of developing countries (where Per Capita Income is US$ 2000 to US$ 10,000 p.a.), and you have a really limited choice of options, if any. Therefore, the simple choice of Microsoft Teams Vs Zoom Vs Google Meet, doesn’t cut it.

Even in the UK, the government announcement to provide free devices to the underserved just highlights the scale of the problem globally. More than half the world population live in countries with a varying number of infrastructure limitations, and in many cases limited to a smartphone for a device. Delivering virtual schooling for all, while a noble dream, is still just a dream.

Therefore, Integrated Learning can only be successful if you have a program and structure that:

1. Works online and offline,
2. Is accessible in a low and high bandwidth environment,
3. Can be accessed through multiple devices from the basic smartphone to the high-powered computer.
4. Is based on a credible platform – most governments tend to limit their selection to either Google or Microsoft,
5. Is easy to use for teachers (technical capabilities vary widely in different regions)
6. Is available in multiple languages & dialects to reduce barriers to learning
7. Is secure and affordable

Given the wide variety of challenges and the disparity of IT standards, integrating technology into the core of classroom teaching, is the only way to level and standardise access in the medium term.

Presently, the pandemic has focused learning from home, but with schools already partially reopening and learning likely to remain disrupted for an extended period, a lot of thought and planning needs to be given to sustainable solutions that support both onsite and home learning.

In my next blog, I shall cover the process of creating a sustainable solution for the new normal. Until then, stay safe, keep reading and keep learning!

We are delighted to announce that our CEO, Mehool Sanghrajka, is featured in this month’s K12 Digest. You can read his full article here.

How our imaginary school Elstree Academy keeps educating with LP+365

Elstree Academy has shifted its education to an online-only approach. With LP+365, the Elstree Academy found itself ready for this massive readjustment.

In the first quarter of 2020, schools all over the word were faced with cancellation of classroom-based learning due to the global pandemic. While the decision to close schools has undoubtedly saved lives, it poses an unprecedented disruption for students, as schools scramble to adjust to the new normal.

Fast transition amidst crisis

While our imaginary school Elstree Academy was preparing for total school closure, management was preparing teachers and students to take advantage of digital technology to enhance learning. School leadership had made a series of decisions about platforms, resources like digital textbooks, and the 1:1 use of devices. One such decision was to use LP+365 as the hub for classroom learning.

Microsoft Teams

Teams works well in the classroom, and we had deployed it as part of LP+365 solution across its curriculum long before COVID-19. According to teachers at Elstree Academy, “It was an easy transition. We are already very familiar with Teams, as are my students, so that was all so easy.

Simplicity of setup

Using LP+365 to facilitate a virtual classroom experience has been encouraging. “From the IT side, I love that it manages itself. I set it up every year. To support our registrar, if students need to change classes, all their Teams, class sites and everything will be switched thanks to LP+365 provisioning.” This integrated, simplified setup makes things much easier for both teachers and students.

Parents

Parents are also pleased with the smooth transition from the physical classroom to virtual. According to Elstree Academy’s teachers “Parents are really grateful that we have a system in place and that their children are getting up and they know what to do. They are seeing other teenagers in the neighborhood, who do not have anything to do—they are walking around, they are just hanging out. Our parents are really grateful for what we have in place.”

“With LP+365 we just flipped the switch. We had a schedule, and we had a plan to be online.”

Attendance

Teachers take attendance by looking at the list of those attending the Teams meeting.  If a student is missing, they use the invite to call their cell or call their device and bring them back in, and if they do not respond, they are marked absent. As a policy, the school requires that students leave their cameras on throughout the meeting, so educators can decide to check in on students as the class time progresses.  In addition, they have been using Microsoft Stream to record the sessions.

In this Microsoft webinar we are thrilled to announce that our CEO Mehool Sanghrajka will be discussing how education technology can enhance education in this ‘new normal’. Mehool commented, “Schools and colleges will not be fully open for months, and whilst many of them have put together a collection of resources, they need to consider their long-term strategies.”

If you missed this webinar and Q&A, you can see it here.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in thousands of schools being shut and millions of children having their education disrupted. At Learning Possibilities we are keen to support schools during this difficult time, and together with Microsoft are now offering schools free LP+365 licenses until September 2020.

We know many schools have started to look at how they can provide remote learning using an eclectic mix of software for video conferencing, resource distribution and setting assignments. LP+365 works with Microsoft technology to deliver all this and more using an easy to learn dashboard whilst managing all the sensitive data securely.

“At Learning Possibilities we wanted to support schools at this difficult time. We appreciate that teaching and learning remotely is difficult, and many schools were not prepared for this pandemic. Our experience shows that LP+365 helps with both remote learning and parental engagement.   We are delighted to be working with Microsoft to make our platform available for free until September”, said Mehool Sanghrajka, CEO.

The offer for free LP+365 licences is available to schools with Microsoft Office365 tenancy (which is also available free to qualifying schools)  until 1 September 2020.

To learn more about the LP+365 Learning Platform, click here.

To apply for this offer, click here.