Support Your School During COVID-19 with AtlasNext
In the beginning of 2020, the world hit pause and fast forward all at once. During this time, Faria Education Group has worked to guide schools as they turned their brick and mortar schools into virtual classrooms.
As we continue to work with schools to plan for the future, we reflect on our learnings so far and bring together a range of support resources and provocations about education during and beyond the pandemic.
Key Learnings and Takeaways for Schools During COVID-19
Our learning community has never been stronger: students see teachers as learners and parents are empowered to support student learning.
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UNICEF has released this guide for coping with parenting challenges and supporting learning at home during COVID-19.
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This online course for parents from the IRIS Center offers strategies for supporting learning during school closures.
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This blog by the World Bank offers three key principles for supporting teachers during the pandemic.
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As part of an 8-part series sharing his school’s learnings from the early coronavirus shutdown in Hong Kong, Mark Steed, Principal and CEO at Kellett School, discusses strategies for effective communication during the pandemic.
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Although this TedX Talk pre-dates coronavirus, Kayla Delzer’s reimagination of the classroom resonates with our current times where teachers are learners of technology and students can be empowered to lead.
Our learning environment can be re-imagined: No longer restricted to a brick and mortar school, your curriculum and schedule can be expanded through online learning opportunities.
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Pamoja supports schools to personalise learning for their students by expanding their curriculum, offering a wider range of subject choices for students in the Cambridge IGCSE and International A Level, and IB Diploma programmes.
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Blip or flip? In this blog, Damian Bacchoo & Jon Halligan ask whether your school is embracing the opportunity to set in motion a paradigm shift in education
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The World Economic Forum identifies 4 ways COVID-19 could change how we educate future generations.
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In this blog, Patrick Cook-Deegan of Project Wayfinder asks if the lockdown will push schools in a positive direction?
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In this AtlasNext blog post, we consider the terminology around remote learning and how the language of education is shifting in response to the pandemic.
Having a clearly articulated curriculum helps teachers, students and parents collaborate productively when learning moves between the classroom and homes.
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The International Baccalaureate offers this guide to online learning, teaching and education continuity planning for schools as well as a remote learning toolkit for teachers.
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The AtlasNext blog on Curriculum is Critical: Transitioning Back to In-Person Learning highlights the need for documenting the learning as a way of identifying learning gaps and making a plan for responding to them.
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Summer curriculum work is happening: AtlasNext shares several key things to think about as schools look to adapt and adjust the curriculum.
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This article offers guidance from the Scottish government to support teachers in preparing their curriculum offer for and during the recovery phase after COVID-19 school closures.
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UK government offers guidance and case studies on identifying and addressing gaps in student learning due to school closures.
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This McKinsey & Company report highlights achievement gaps in the US and how they are being exacerbated by the COVID-19 shutdowns.
Teachers are inspired and required to engage with technology like never before, use tech innovation to transform student learning.
- Read Transcend’s guide on High-Quality Remote Instruction.
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Faria Education Group, our parent company, offers this guide for facilitating synchronous and asynchronous professional development, with accompanying webinar.
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The OECD provides a curated list of online resources and professional development to support the continuation of teaching and learning during the pandemic.
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As part of our Teachers Helping Teachers series, Marie Mugabe offers tips for teachers on leading remote learning.
Social emotional learning has taken on a new importance in the post-COVID world as students and teachers navigate this challenging learning experience and seek new ways of connecting and belonging.
- Read Transcend’s guide on Supporting Social Emotional Well-being Remotely.
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The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) has released a comprehensive guide to supporting the social and emotional learning of students during school reopenings.
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The Resilient Educator provides a toolkit of actionable strategies and advice for teachers, parents and students.
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In this blog, Casey Pettit of Project Wayfinder discusses how we can stay connected in our classrooms during school closures.
We have developed more creative and flexible ways to interact and communicate.
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The Council of International Schools highlights the child protection implications of video conferencing and virtual classrooms, and provides guidance for updating your school’s safeguarding policy.
- Zoom provides this comprehensive guide to its video conferencing abilities to support teachers in getting the most out of their online lessons.
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This article from The Hill discusses how COVID-19 is changing the way we communicate while this BBC Worklife article encourages us to be mindful of people who are uncomfortable on the phone or on video.
Students can be more independent than ever before: students are self-managing their learning, developing organizational skills and resilience.
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In this PDF guide, UNESCO and the Smart Learning Institute, Beijing uses learning stories from around the world to promote active learning at home during school closures.
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In this blog, IB graduate Safa Shahkhalili discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic has provided an opportunity for young people to learn beyond the school curriculum.
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This post by the Global Online Academy provides tips for students on successful online learning.
“In times of drastic change, it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves beautifully equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.”
Eric Hoffer – Reflections on the Human Condition
Get your Curriculum ready for remote learning!
1. Capture the Changes
Teachers should spend time reviewing what was covered during remote instruction and clearly document the changes that occured.
2. Identify the Gaps
Once teachers have clearly documented the changes that occured, the next step is to begin the process of identifying the gaps in student learning across each grade level.
3. Prioritize What's Essential
Out of the learning targets that were skipped or not adequately addressed during remote learning, teachers should determine the non-negotiable essential targets, and then prioritize grade level standards.
4. Think Vertically
Once grade level teams have determined essential targets and standards that were missed, teams must come together for a vertical review and discussion.
5. Edit and Revise
As learning goals are adjusted and refined, teachers will need to create or adjust assessments and learning activities to ensure alignment and coverage. If teachers don’t have unit plans, this is the perfect opportunity to develop units to guide instruction for remote or in-person instruction.
Using AtlasNext to Support Remote Learning
The Coronavirus Pandemic has caused school closures around the world. We have added a new Online Lessons & Presentation mode to AtlasNext to support schools with the shift to remote learning.
The new Online Lessons feature allows teachers and students to switch between different learning modes seamlessly, where we aim to provide teachers, students and parents with a centralized calendar where assignments, tasks and online lesson locations for all classes can be accessed. Teachers are free to choose whatever platform they are most comfortable with to conduct the online lesson. They simply copy and paste the URL of the Online Lesson meeting location. If Zoom is used, the URL will be automatically generated. Keep the evidence of asynchronous and synchronous learning activities in one place, associated with the written curriculum of the unit to provide educators an opportunity to reflect and adjust strategies as needed.
Our built-in presentation mode allows teachers to present and screen share learning materials during online lessons, directly from the class stream. KeyChat also allows for real-time discussions between teachers and students while using Presentation Mode, allowing for easy communication online.
Introducing Presentation Mode & KeyChat
Check out our blog post for more information!
ISC Report: Impact of COVID-19 on Education Technology in International Schools
Faria Education Group has sponsored the ISC Report: The Impact of COVID-19 on Education Technology in International Schools. This report was developed through a survey of international schools that investigated learning platform access and effectiveness, as well as the most significant challenges, solutions and support that teachers experienced during distance learning. The report also covers challenges with communicating with parents and assessing student progress during distance learning, and the impact of this on future plans for schools.
Guides
AtlasNext brings curriculum, instruction and assessment together, to facilitate a meaningful learning experience no matter what the physical distance between you and your student is. Read our guide or some of our partner guides to learn more about how AtlasNext and Faria Education Group can support you and your school with remote teaching and learning.
On-demand Webinars
Building Global Collaboration Through Cohorts
Learning from one another is key to growth. Join us for our different series of learning cohorts where we will meet every week or every other week for a few hours to dive deep into focused topics. Build up your network and get feedback from others.
School-Based Virtual Professional Development
Our team can support your work virtually with remote professional development in a synchronous or asynchronous format. We will work with you to create a plan consisting of single or multiple online sessions with targeted learning goals.
Coaching Hours
Our team of facilitators is here to support your curriculum work and provide the extra momentum you need to keep moving forward. We can brainstorm ideas, discuss next steps or provide feedback on work in progress. You can choose how to use coaching hours throughout the year; mix and match session topics to make the most of the time available.
Become Part of the Conversation with Webinars
As we enter a new period of learning, our hope is to bring together educators and leaders from across regions, to discuss what is working, what has been learned so far and plans for moving forward.
Read Our Blogs on Remote Learning
Our team has written a variety of blogs aimed at helping your school transition to remote learning, with advice for teachers, leadership and beyond.