DepEd, DICT to collaborate in delivering

education in new normal

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 DEPED, DICT TO COLLABORATE IN DELIVERING EDUCATION IN NEW
NORMAL

July 2, 2020 — The Department of Education (DepEd) is working with the Department
of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to assist the education sector in
areas related to broadcast, connectivity and digital security for the continued delivery of
education amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

The collaboration of the two departments is in preparation for the opening of classes on
August 24, 2020, which will be carried out through alternative learning delivery
modalities with face-to-face classes still prohibited.

“As we examine the achievements and challenges of DepEd in the current pandemic,
especially in schools located within community quarantine areas, DepEd continues to
emphasize the unique synergy of our two departments closely working together in the
delivery of education via the internet,” Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones said.

DepEd has requested DICT, through the leadership of Secretary Gregorio Honasan II,
and its attached agency National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) for support in
encouraging telecommunication companies to continue  giving free access to DepEd
Commons and other online platforms of the Department.

In addition, the partnership will also initiate the allocation of free internet bandwidth to
public schools and encourage various businesses that provide telecommunications
services, community cable providers, and internet service providers (ISP) to do the
same.

Sec. Briones, however, noted that while DepEd is working to improve access of learners
and schools to the internet, online learning is only one option from the menu of learning
delivery modalities to be used in the upcoming school year.

“The Learning Continuity Plan of DepEd is not a one-size-fits-all policy. The modality to
be used will be responsive in the context and available resources of the schools and the
learners,” Briones emphasized.

The Department is also tapping DICT for assistance in providing physical security
infrastructure or activity protocols to safeguard learners, teachers and staff from any
unwanted security breaches and exposure to harmful online content.
“With the advent of an immense exposure of our learners in the online community, we
are seeking DICT’s assistance to avoid or totally limit access to sites relating to
pornography, sex, violence, cybercrimes and other inappropriate material for our
children,” Briones said.

In the long term, DepEd is also eyeing to tap DICT for technical support for the
Department’s Last Mile Schools Program through the augmentation of satellite capacity
and the establishment of a fiber network connected to the far-flung schools.

Basic education schools in the Philippines are scheduled to open no later than August 24, 2020
with a major difference – there will be no face-to-face classes in areas where the COVID-19
pandemic infection rate is high and limited face-to-face classes elsewhere.
That means that education services will take place in one of 4 ways: 
(a)  Face-to-face (where allowed but in lesser class sizes to allow for physical distancing); 
(b)  Distance learning (children learning away from schools but connected to teachers either
online, through some form of social media app, or through learning packets delivered to learners
and used for remote learning); 
(c)  Blended learning (a combination of limited face-to-face and distance education where
students do most of their work to learn on their own); and, 
(d)  Homeschooling (where the home is the place of learning, the parent is the teacher, and the
set-up is independent of any school institution).
In the long term, face-to-face learning structures will have to be in smaller class sizes to
accommodate social distancing.
This will be a new arrangement for all basic education schools save for a handful of elite schools
who already do some amount of online learning.  For all public schools where 95% of all
elementary students attend and 80+% of all high school students are enrolled and most nn-elite
private schools, this form of distance learning will be a new experience forced by the realities of
this pandemic. The learning curve will be very steep. (READ: [ANALYSIS] Don't confuse
schooling with learning)
Education is key for generations of Filipinos to become full-fledged, productive
members of society. This is why we should be looking at how the nation will go back
to school this coming August.

We are beset by challenges as we come closer to that date. As of the recent hearing of
the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture, 10 million learners—or
36 percent of potential enrollees—have signed up for the school year 2020-2021.

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To address quarantine issues, the Department of Education (DepEd) will implement

online learning resources such as the DepEd Commons website, which already has 8
million users. Concurrent with this, TV and radio-based solutions will also be
launched in areas with limited access to the Internet, through the implementation of
RA 8375, which allots 15 percent of the total daily air time in a broadcast network to
child-friendly content. Teachers will also be trained to use these new avenues for
education starting in July.

However, while we are preparing for a massive shift in education, a big question to
ask is if we actually should continue with the school opening this August. When I was
interviewed on this subject matter recently, I communicated that perhaps, it would be
better to push back the opening of classes to November, or even as far as January, if
need be.

And it all comes down to two major concerns: Internet connectivity, and the issue of
the curriculum and educational materials that have to be adapted for use with a
blended learning environment. Access to educational materials through the Internet
isn’t worth much if the Internet itself is inaccessible due to lack of service or network
infrastructure. Be it through provisions for budget, equipment, and commercial access
to the Internet, much has to be done to improve digital connectivity throughout the
country. It would also be important to fast track the implementation of RA 10929, the
Free Internet Access in Public Places Act, which mandates that public basic education
institutions, state universities and colleges (SUCs), and Tesda technology institutions
to have free Wi-fi access.

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As for the case of improving how blended learning can be unpacked for our children,
we have to call on and support an integral resource for the family: the parents. Indeed,
parents—and guardians—must be empowered to help the learning process of the
students.

Fortunately, the Unicef has some helpful tips on how parents can help their children
learn. The first is that parents can be the ones to set a routine that integrates time for
studies and education through online and media sources, while balancing it with other
social and play activities that a child also needs. Next, parents should keep open lines
of communication, particularly if children are linking what they are learning to what is
happening right now in our world. Parents can help their children process what they
are learning. Parents can also be the ones to train their children to get into the swing of
longer and
longer educational sessions, and at the same time, they can monitor their children’s
online activity, and what resources they are accessing. Finally, parents and teachers
should communicate with one another—just as the teacher is now the one who creates
the learning modules that students will use on a local level, so it is that parents should
also be aware of how to maximize learning from these educational packages.

All these issues should be carefully and properly built into the educational system for
the new normal. And while I applaud the determination and dedication of our
education sector, if it cannot be done by August, then the opening of school should be
postponed until such time as all these changes can be implemented. After all, we will
be dealing with the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic for some time. And just as the
adage goes that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so it is that more
time for preparation can prevent larger educational issues from happening in the
future.

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Sen. Sonny Angara has been in public service for 15 years—nine years as
representative of the Lone District of Aurora, and six as senator. He has authored
and sponsored more than 200 laws.  He recently won another term in the Senate.

E-mail: [email protected]| Facebook, Twitter and

Instagram: @sonnyangara.
More than 1.5 billion students and young learners globally are affected by school and university closures due to the coronavirus disease
2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. Schools have remained closed for weeks, and no one knows for certain when we will come out of the lockdowns,
as the pandemic shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon.

In the Philippines, the Covid-19 crisis has affected about 27 million learners, 1 million teachers and non-teaching staff, as well as the families
of learners.

The Department of Education (DepEd) recently announced that classes for the next school year would begin on Aug. 24, 2020. Classes may
start earlier, but there will be no physical return to school. DepEd is offering schools a menu of alternative learning methods that includes
online learning and offline methods, such as take-home readings and activities.

The disruption caused by Covid-19 has forced the adoption of online learning in schools. Teacher training is a major consideration that would
require schools to readjust their budget allocation in order to respond to this emerging need. Online teaching involves a lot of preparation,
and teachers now find themselves having to use tools they are not familiar with. For sure, there will be adjustments.

Over the past decade, online education has emerged as an innovative teaching and learning method. Learners of all ages use this method,
from working adults who want to continue their studies while on the job to parents enrolling their kids to help them learn new things. The
same is true for those who cannot continue their studies due to medical conditions or disabilities. Today, such learners can continue their
education with a range of distance learning options.

Countless research devoted to the benefits of online education suggests that online learning is as good as face-to-face classroom learning.
The advantages of online learning include flexibility and self-paced learning, lower costs, improved virtual communication and collaboration,
better time management, refined critical thinking skills and new technical skills.

So what will our schools look like beyond Covid-19?

With the new school year being postponed—calling students to stay home and encouraging schools to use online learning platforms—an
alternative way of teaching and learning has emerged.

Online education as an imperative for institutions

Online teaching and learning is going to be more regular and teachers must be prepared to teach online. Online learning is not new. What is
new is that schools are embracing it as vital to how the next generation of learners are taught.

In a world where disasters and disruptions are increasingly becoming the norm, it is imperative for schools and universities to train teachers
on how to teach online and to encourage them to devote their time to teaching online at least as a drill mechanism to prepare for unexpected
events. It is not just about the pandemic we are experiencing right now. Other events, such as earthquakes, floods and other calamities will
compel teachers and students to stay home to teach or study online.

We will see more classes being conducted through web video conferencing. Some schools and universities will use a learning management
system (LMS), such as Google Classroom, Moodle, Blackboard Learn and Canvas, to enable students to complete assignments, deliver
presentations, take assessments and receive immediate feedback from their teachers online.

Use of open textbooks

With the Covid-19 crisis forcing schools into online instruction, we will see a rise in the adoption of open educational resources (OER) as an
inexpensive alternative to traditional textbooks. Over the years, many educational materials have been developed and made freely available
for teachers and students to use, adapt, share and reuse. Low-cost (and even free) quality educational content is ideal for online instruction;
it is in a digital format and it can be embedded into a school’s LMS.

Many sites offer a wide range of content and tools to help implement OER for just about any course, such as MIT Open Courseware, OER
Commons, Lumen Learning, Merlot II and OpenStax CNX. Recently, DepEd launched its own open online learning platform, DepEd
Commons, to support public school learners and expanded its features to cater to private school students.
Blended learning and flipped classrooms
As governments ease out of lockdowns, we will begin to see schools adopting the blended learning approach. Those who are necessitated
to move to online learning during the Covid-19 crisis will start to realize the full benefits of virtual education as teachers and students return to
their physical classrooms. The conscious and careful blending of face-to-face instruction and online methods can draw the best of both
worlds and create the best teaching and learning experience.

Some schools will also start combining blended learning with a flipped classroom approach. In a flipped classroom, the typical classroom
lecture and homework elements are reversed. At home, the students watch short video lectures and other asynchronous content, while
activities traditionally assigned as homework are now done in-class with the teacher answering student questions and helping them apply
course concepts during class time.

Bridging the digital divide with offline learning methods

The biggest challenge for schools transitioning to online learning is the widening inequality of access to and usage of information and
communications technology (ICT).
Advancements in information technology and the internet are, in fact, deepening the divide between the educational haves and have-nots.
Many Filipino households cannot afford a stable internet connection. Even those with access to the internet experience some infrastructural
gaps, including the discrepancy in internet speeds in different regions.

To bridge this digital divide, efforts must be devoted to developing long-distance and offline multimedia teaching modes and learning
systems that can allow users to study courses using their personal computers, as well as allow faculty to track and record their learning. We
will also see a mix of live broadcasts, prerecorded (on-demand) content and educational programs on broadcast media.

Online education at the core of every school’s strategic plan

Online education will be a priority not only as a potential source of revenue, but also acknowledged as core to every school’s strategic plan
for institutional resilience and academic continuity. For school leaders to manage efficiently the transition to online and blended learning
environments, most schools will invest in learning design by hiring instructional designers and educational technology consultants. Other
schools lacking in finances will find it more viable to outsource some of its educational resources, capabilities and processes. Some schools
will depend on online learning providers to run their online programs.

Despite technological advancements, the difficulties and limitations posed by technology are challenges that every teacher faces when using
technology inside the classroom. However, this should not prevent or discourage teachers from using tech. Every teacher has to try.
Otherwise, teachers will lose their relevance in this digital age.

The Covid-19 crisis presents an opportunity for the education sector to come together, forge connections and share what works. We may
have not seen this before the crisis, but we are missing a greater opportunity if we do not do this now.

Jess Obana is a senior managing consultant in the advisory services division of P&A Grant Thornton. P&A Grant Thornton is one of the
leading audit, tax, advisory and outsourcing firms in the Philippines, with 23 partners and more than 900 staff members. We’d like to hear
from you! Tweet us: @GrantThorntonPH, like us on Facebook: P&A Grant Thornton, and email your comments to [email protected] or
[email protected]. For more information, visit www.grantthornton.com.ph.

As published in The Manila Times, dated 13 May 2020

It may be a goodly far-off future, before we can comfortably define our

enrolment size, whether to cut down on or replace or shorten degree

programs with certificates, planning of reviews, examinations and

graduations. Universities on a non-semester schedule may have to adjust to

what the official schedule would be the next SY, that is, if the national

ministering bodies (the Department of Education or DepEd and the

Commission on Higher Education or CHEd) will set strictly a school’s term

format. Before the pandemic, state universities and colleges were to begin an

August term. Adjusting could be easier for institutions on trimestral

schedules. We have semesters, trimesters and summers terms, why not

quarterly? I recall that in the middle ’50s, higher education institutions

(HEIs) were on a quarterly schedule. The maximum we students could take

was twelve credit units or four lecture subjects. A quarterly term ends after

two and a half months. Laboratory subjects were adjusted accordingly.

Would a quarterly term be considered in the new normal?

Learning in the new normal. Blended learning is not wholly new. Philippine

universities, such as the University of the Philippines Open University, have

used blended learning. In the new normal, all schools will have blended or

purely on-line courses. Training in using teaching and learning platforms will

be available for both teachers and students. DepEd, CHEd and the Technical
Education and Skills Development Authority have issued and will continue to

issue notices much like the March 22, 2020 notice of India’s secretary of HE

sent to India’s HEIs. The said notice suggested to the teaching and research

academics “to utilize this lockdown period for various academic activities

including (a) on-line content development, online teaching and online

evaluation, (b) prepare lesson plan and develop instructional materials and (c)
carry on research, write articles and prepare innovative questions or question

bank, etc.” Furthermore, that teachers and students effectively utilize “the

University Grants Commission’s [array of] e-learning platforms,” which

include massive open online courses, the Consortium for Educational

Communication-University Grants Commission, YouTube channel, National

Digital Library, Shodhganga.<https://www.iitm.ac.in/sites/default/files

/covid19_circulars -registrar0.pdf> (Shodhganga is a digital repository

platform of 260,000 Indian electronic theses and dissertations for research

students to deposit their PhD theses and make them available to the entire

scholarly community in open access.)

Teaching and learning platforms. Philippines-wise, we have available on-line

educational platforms. One is the DepEd Commons accessible on Globe or

TM-powered smartphones free of data charges and which is also accessible to

private schools students. Because of the Covid-19 movement restrictions,

“the DepEd has been encouraging students to continue their learning online.”

<www.gmanetwork. com › news › news › nation › story> We shall have more

of these platforms and learn too, from offshore institutions their actions on

the new normal in education.

Email: [email protected]
DepEd prepares Self-Learning Modules
for education’s new normal
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 DEPED PREPARES SELF-LEARNING MODULES FOR EDUCATION’S NEW NORMAL

July 1, 2020 — Steadfast in its preparation for School Year 2020-2021, the Department of
Education (DepEd) will provide Self-Learning Modules (SLMs) with the alternative learning
delivery modalities to be offered for various types of learners across the Philippines.

The integration of SLMs with the alternative learning delivery modalities (modular, television-
based, radio-based instruction, blended, and online) will help DepEd ensure that all learners have
access to quality basic education for SY 2020-2021 with face-to-face classes still prohibited due
to the public health situation.

“The SLMs and the other alternative learning delivery modalities are in place to address the
needs, situations, and resources of each and every learner and will cover all the bases in ensuring
that basic education will be accessible amid the present crisis posed by COVID-19,” DepEd
Secretary Leonor Briones said.

SLMs are delivered in printed format to schools that are located in coastal areas, far-flung
provinces, and communities without access to the internet or electricity. For households with
gadgets and devices, the Department has announced that SLMs can also be accessed online or
offline.

Secretary Briones noted that SLMs will be integrated in video lessons, most especially for K to 3
learners who will require more auditory learning than other grade levels.

With inclusivity in mind, DepEd Region II Director Dr. Estela Carino added that learners with
special needs will have video sessions as well as assigned teachers that will be guiding them
throughout their lessons.

“The activities we placed in the SLMs will be appropriate for learners with special needs, too.
We still have to give these learners the same kind of care that we gave them while we were doing
face-to-face classes. Most of them would be using video-taped lessons aside from the modules,”
RD Carino said.

DepEd has provided a set of SLMs for each region for contextualization, which shall be printed
in July and will be prepared for distribution nationwide, including learners in coastal and far-
flung areas.

The Department also assured that the safety and health of teachers and personnel will be its top
priority as SLMs can be done at home. Teachers who would need to visit their schools to get
materials to prepare the SLMs are required to follow the existing work arrangement and health
protocols.

To further integrate the SLMs with the learning delivery modalities, DepEd is set to finalize the
learning delivery modalities which will be implemented for each region after the consolidation of
Learner Enrollment and Survey Forms (LESF) from the June enrollment.

END

4 ways to make diversity and

inclusion the new normal in a post-
pandemic era
"This is a time for us to expand our understanding of inclusion from surface-level
indicators to larger, more intricate situations," a managing director at Barbarian wrote.

 
Flickr
AUTHOR
Courtney Berry
 PUBLISHED
May 20, 2020
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Courtney Berry is the managing director at Barbarian, a digital marketing firm.

Views are the author's own.

Coronavirus has interrupted virtually every business, forcing many companies to shift
priorities and investments. For those of us tasked with overseeing operations, diversity
and inclusion, cultural initiatives and client service during this unprecedented time, the
task has never been more challenging yet more critical as we look to expand our breadth
of offerings. 

The presence of diversity and the practice of inclusion allows us to look at problems
differently and consider a wider range of solutions. During a time of crisis and
constantly moving targets, what could be more valuable than fresh and different
perspectives?  

This is a time for us to expand our understanding of inclusion from surface-level

indicators (i.e. gender, race, age) to larger, more intricate situations. Our industry is still
trying to make sense of how the rest of the year will play out, but in the meantime, we
need to ensure a continual adherence to the principles of inclusion while we are working
under some of the most stressful situations as a nation and an industry including the
ones listed below.

1. Inclusion rules apply both IRL and online

Video call (Slack, Zoom, Google Hangout — pick your poison) is to be prioritized above
all else and we've encouraged our teams not to fall back on written comms that would
normally be a live conversation — and I mean a video call where you turn the video feed
on. Even so, it's not easy for everyone to speak up on a video call so it's more important
than ever when we can't read body language as easily to create space for people to speak
up. When you do need to use written comms, consider installing extensions like Alex or
the Hey Guys bot for automated reminders about insensitive, inconsiderate and
unconsciously biased writing. 

2. Support varying home situations

Set expectations that this pandemic is going to affect employees differently — working

parents, those with different abilities, caretakers, people who will now become
caretakers, people who live alone, people who are married to or live with health care or
other essential workers. Take the time to touch base with your employees about their
 working from home situations so you can be mindful about any challenges they're facing
under an incredibly trying time. Wherever possible, be flexible on "official" office hours
and make the goal of getting the work done, not getting the work done on your personal
timeline.

The same philosophy holds when we start to think about returning to work, and what
that transition will look like for your employees. At the same time, this is an
environment that begs for open two-way communication. Which brings us to our next
point.

3. Create (virtual) space for everyone to be heard

The pandemic has made all of us feel more vulnerable than ever before. Opening new
channels for all-agency dialogue on platforms that all employees have access to
encourages open conversation and camaraderie across all levels that can foster a shared
purpose and team unity. We've seen companies use open AMAs, weekly happy hours,
group meditation sessions, and Town Halls over Zoom to maintain, and sometimes
increase, employee engagement. Getting creative with these initiatives is a great way to
be all inclusive. Try opening the door to your employees to host or suggest new activities
or offer to teach a crash course on a skill for the company to enjoy.

With that said, it's just as important to heavy up on one-on-ones and small group check-
ins that are not just about project status, but the status of people's mental well-being.
We've taken to not just asking "how are you doing?" but "on a scale of one to five, how
are you feeling today?" It forces them to avoid generic answers. 

4. Include your community

As businesses across every industry are being impacted by the pandemic, it's important
for those faring better than others to look outside their industries for partnerships that
could help our community. For example, at Barbarian, we have initiated new weekly
online "Wine 101s" with a sommelier from a local restaurant that has closed due to the
pandemic via Zoom, and our team tips what they can directly to her Venmo. This isn't
something we did pre-pandemic, but we've seen a positive impact and response across
the board and we'll be considering how to expand initiatives like this, and integrate
them post-pandemic. Being inclusive beyond our company walls, especially when so
many are struggling, is critical during this time.  

Undoubtedly, COVID-19 will continue to rock our nation for months to come and as we
stride through it hand-in-(virtual) hand, let's all commit to finding opportunities that
will set us up for a diverse and inclusive in the post-pandemic era. There are large and
small tactics we can all incorporate throughout this time to promote D&I.

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Filed Under: Talent Diversity & Inclusion

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Teaching and Learning After COVID-19

Three post-pandemic predictions.
By 

Joshua Kim
 

April 1, 2020
 

How will the COVID-19 pandemic alter the future of teaching and learning?
Answering that question requires that we first acknowledge some difficult
truths.
At this point, we don't know the extent to which COVID-19 will cause some
proportion of colleges and universities to close down or merge. The most
vulnerable of tuition-dependent institutions, particularly the ones already
facing demographically driven declines in demand, will be the hardest hit by
the pandemic.
For the vast majority of colleges and universities that will survive COVID-19,
most will likely see declines in revenue and increases in costs. We hope that
schools prioritize their people as budgets are reduced. We learned from the
2008 recession that relying on layoffs to balance university budgets is the
fastest way to kill innovation, risk taking and morale.
The higher ed future that COVID-19 will give us, however, is not entirely
bleak. If we look far and hard enough into our postsecondary post-pandemic
landscape, we can glimpse some reasons for optimism. Nowhere is the higher
ed post-COVID-19 future as positive or as interesting as in the realm of
teaching and learning.
I'll share three predictions for how our post-pandemic pedagogy will be altered
across the higher ed ecosystem.
Prediction No. 1: Blended Learning Will Dramatically Increase
The remote teaching and learning efforts that all our professors and students
are now engaged in do not resemble what we think of as traditional online
education. Quality online learning programs are high-input operations,
requiring both time to develop and significant investments to run. Many of us
are worried that the rapid shift to remote learning will tarnish the reputation of
online education.
This does not mean, however, that the COVID-19-necessitated move to
universal remote teaching will be all bad for student learning. The biggest
future benefits of virtual instruction will come after our professors and students
return to their physical classrooms.
The necessity of teaching and learning with asynchronous (Canvas,
Blackboard, D2L) and synchronous (Zoom) platforms will yield significant
benefits when these methods are layered into face-to-face instruction. We will
come back from COVID-19 with a much more widely shared understanding
that digital tools are complements, not substitutes, for the intimacy and
immediacy of face-to-face learning. Residential courses will be better for the
practice that professors have received in moving content online, as precious
classroom time will be more productively utilized for discussion, debate and
guided practice.
Prediction No. 2: Online Education Will Be a Strategic Priority at Every
Institution
Very few colleges and universities were doing absolutely nothing with online
education pre-COVID-19. There was wide variation, however, in the degree to
which online education was central to an institution's strategic planning.
This will all change after COVID-19. In the future, every president, provost,
dean and trustee will understand that online education is not only a potential
source for new revenues. Instead, online education will be recognized as core
to every school's plan for institutional resilience and academic continuity.
This post-pandemic understanding will change how schools plan for, manage
and fund online education. Gone will be the days when individual schools
within a university will be able to go their own way with online education.
Previously decentralized and distributed online course development and
student support functions will be centralized, subject to institutional planning
and cross-campus governance. Management of online learning will be
integrated into existing academic leadership structures and processes.
Prediction No. 3: Existing and Potential OPM Partnerships Will Be
Rethought
If there is one big thing that COVID-19 has taught us, it is that it is a mistake
to outsource core educational capabilities. Teaching and learning are core
capabilities of every single institution of higher education.
Schools that invested in their learning design resources, by both hiring
instructional designers and by reorganizing campus learning organizations
into integrated units, were able to manage relatively efficiently the transition to
COVID-19-required remote teaching and learning. We suspect that those
schools that are dependent on online program management providers to run
online programs had a harder time in making this transition. (Although in
fairness, the research to support or contradict this hypothesis has not yet
been done.)
This is not to say that in the future that schools will, or should, stop partnering
with OPMs. As the OPM model continues to unbundle, the scale and intensity
of university/company partnerships will likely increase. OPMs have expertise
in market research and digital marketing for online programs that few schools
can, or even should, attempt to replicate.
What will happen more and more is that campus instructional design
capabilities will be centralized and augmented. Schools will move away from
all-inclusive revenue-share models for partnering with OPMs in developing
and running online programs.
How do you think COVID-19 will alter the future of teaching and learning?
ADVERTORIAL

STI: Staying Education-

ready in the New Normal
INQUIRER.net BrandRoom / 11:08 AM July 27, 2020

The Philippine education sector has become one of the most vulnerable segments of
society with 28 million learners affected by school closures due to the coronavirus
pandemic. As the country battles the disease, learning institutions are facing challenges
in enrollment decline and academic continuity.
For STI College, addressing the challenges to meet its academic objectives is made
possible through the creation of a new educational framework based on students’
current learning needs and demands.
“Preparing for a new school year during such unprecedented times calls for change and
innovation on our existing learning model. It was imperative that STI not only focus on
how to bring back classes, but on how to make it more engaging, more accessible, and
safer for our students amidst the COVID-19 pandemic,” said STI Vice President for
Academics Aisa Q. Hipolito.
Fostering Strength in Information Technology
To enable unhampered learning for the upcoming school year, STI is introducing its
ONline and ONsite Education or the ONE STI Learning Model. The academic
framework fosters a responsive and innovative learning experience by using online
tools and technology combined with onsite or on-campus hands-on training to achieve
the desired learning outcome for the students.
The concept of online learning is not new to STI, as the institution already implemented
a blended learning mode for the past five years using an eLearning Management
System (eLMS) for students to use at home. With the ONE STI Learning Model, STI
eLMS modules and topics have been modified to optimize more collaborative tools and
platforms and house more engaging and interactive learning contents.
On the eLMS, STI students can now access, stream and download video lectures,
educational motion graphics, and other learning materials. Learners can also make use
of gamified learning activities and a customizable online weekly calendar to plan and
manage their weekly schedules. 
On the other hand, instructors have also adjusted their assessment methods to be more
interactive through the use of polls and quizzes, online surveys, or by video submission
and chat amongst others. 

Aligning with STI’s founding mandate of producing college-ready and life-ready

graduates, the model aims to fully enable students to continue their studies, move up to
the next level, graduate, and seek eventual employment even during the pandemic.
Enabling Connectivity for Students
According to Hipolito, the entire STI academe did assessments and took into account
all possible learning gaps as they were developing the program. With a diverse set of
students coming from all economic backgrounds, the institution assured that every
student will be equipped with the necessary tools to learn productively and efficiently.
In terms of online learning platforms, students can access a vast resource of learning
materials through the eLearning Management System and the complete Microsoft
Office Suite. As for other technologies, STI students can track their schedules and
balances through the One STI Student Portal App.
However, one of STI’s bigger efforts to ensure accessibility across all of its campuses is
with its recent partnership with PLDT Enterprise to provide all students a SMART SIM
with 35GB monthly data plan for free. 
With connectivity being the main hurdle in online learning, this endeavor pursued by
STI has significantly lessened the burden on its many learners. This way, students can
stay connected, have access to online materials, and study safely and comfortably from
their homes.
Safety of Students at the Forefront
For STI, hands-on training in industry-grade laboratories and classroom experiences are
still essential to learners’ knowledge, skills, and character developments.  
To augment the need for on-campus learning experiences, STI will be conducting
classes but under the strict safety precautions and in compliance with the regulations
issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF), the Department of Education (DepEd)
for Senior High School, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for College,
and the local government units and health departments.
To do this, class sections will be separated into batches with designated schedules to
enforce social distancing. However, should onsite activities be prohibited by a
government agency, the academe shall deliver these activities online or may be deferred
to the succeeding term, or until on-campus sessions are allowed.   
“With the risk of transmission still very prevalent, our students and staff’s safety is our
utmost concern. But, nevertheless, we have prepared well to assuredly welcome back
our students for a new term,” said Hipolito. 
“The unprecedented times has challenged learning institutions across the world, and it
has tested our resilience as educators and learners. But the current challenges have also
provided us with opportunities and lessons to improve our learning systems to better
fulfill our student’s education.”
ADVT
TOPICS: Education, New normal, STI

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With the start of the new academic year in July just around the corner, educators
and policymakers just have to be prepared for the new normal for the 44 plus million students across
the country. In light of the joint ministerial decree by the education minister, religious affairs minister,
home minister and health minister announced on June 15, 2020 regarding the school reopening
during the pandemic, schooling practices need to be reimagined and reshaped to prevent a possible
second outbreak. Lessons learned during the current school disruption should drive educators to
change their perspectives and practices. Reshaping schooling perspectives and practices should
deliberate on the why, who, what and how of education. It is true that the current pandemic and
concern over a potential second outbreak have disrupted traditional schooling practices, but the why
of creating the new normal should go beyond the current pandemic and delve deeper than fear of
illness. Reimagining anew forms of education may open doors for more equitable quality education
for all young Indonesians. Despite all the COVID-19 maladies, the pandemic disruption has brought
awareness to new possibilities in reviving our education system and in ushering young Indonesians
into the future on a more level playing field. The impetus for capitalizing on the demographic bonus
toward the Indonesia 2045 Vision has collided with the reality of economic and geographical
disparities. The current school disruption has amplified education inequities across social economic
classes and regions. This prevailing concern can hopefully give rise to renewed initiatives by
education stakeholders to transform schooling practices and create equal learning opportunities for
all. First things first, the who of education are entities that need to transform themselves. The
learning-from-home mode has abruptly changed the roles of teachers, students and parents. The
need for autonomous learning requires that teachers shift to be designers and facilitators of learning
instead of the sage on the stage. Lessons learned from the sudden disappearance of the traditional
classroom stage and the isolation of each learner in his or her own space should drive teachers to
unlearn old habits and acquire new skills of online learning engagement. Thanks to the pandemic
disruption, the online learning execution — no matter how disorderly and inequitable the practices
are across the country — has forced teachers to realize that they have to reach out to each student
in isolation and examine the effectiveness of their teaching. Our ongoing research reveals that
teachers’ fear of technology has given way to an emerging sense of obligation to master technology
and explore ways to integrate it into their pedagogy in order to maintain their professional duties
(Anita Lie et al., 2020). This awakened desire can hopefully snowball into concerted efforts to restore
the teaching profession. By the same token, students need to build up a character of
interdependence, discipline and responsibility. Along the same lines, the current learning-from-home
practices should gear parents to be a beacon of these character values instead of extended
academic tutors for their children. Education experts and researchers have long lamented that one-
size-fits-all curriculum does not work for all learners. Unfortunately, this discourse within scholarly
forums does not seep through the classroom walls and fails to influence the what of the education
system. In the name of efficiency and system for the masses, the education enterprise found it
impossible to meet such diversified needs of the learners. Small-scale initiatives have emerged to
customize learning in the forms of homeschooling, elitist schools and alternative schools. While their
success stories should be applauded, scaling up the best practices intended for the privileged few to
serve the 44 plus million is a utopian endeavor. The school disruption has compelled all education
stakeholders to accept the fact that what matters is not the completion of the written curriculum
coverage but the recognition of students’ diverse needs and the discovery of possibilities to meet
those needs through resources other than the teachers themselves. The teachers’ primary task is
now to guide students to seek those possibilities. This new normal will hopefully drive education
authorities to design a sustainable framework for a needs-based curriculum and provide a repertoire
of learning modules. Multiple types of literacy and modalities required to survive and contribute to
the 21st century should be included in this curriculum. With a renewed understanding of the why,
who and what of education, the how is a matter of technicality. As Friedrich Nietzsche said: “If you
understand the why, you can endure any how.” The learning-from-home isolation cannot continue
forever. Children and youths need physical interaction with their peers as part of their learning
processes. After all that teachers and students have gone through during this disruption, the new
normal should be blended learning. Even if there is no postponement of the start of the academic
year in the green zones, rotation models of blended learning can be a way to maintain social
distancing in school, especially when classrooms are too cramped. Despite its promises, Clayton
Christensen (2008) warns that effective technology integration requires a focus on pedagogy and
practice, rather than an emphasis on technology and tools. He found that, although teachers
integrated technology into their classrooms, the technology did not necessarily lead to student-
centered learning processes. One caveat in this new normal is that teachers often use technology to
perpetuate existing teacher-centered pedagogy rather than using technology to shift themselves and
their teaching to student-centered pedagogy. Therefore, professional development is a continuing
need for teachers not only to learn the skills but also to integrate the newly acquired skills into sound
pedagogy.

This article was published in thejakartapost.com with the title "The new normal in education". Click to
read: https://www.thejakartapost.com/academia/2020/06/20/the-new-normal-in-education.html.

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The COVID-19
pandemic has
changed education
forever. This is how 

With schools shut across the world, millions of children have had to adapt to new types of
learning.
Image: REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
29 Apr 2020
1. Cathy LiHead of Media, Entertainment and Information Industries, World Economic Forum
2. Farah LalaniCommunity Curator, Media, Entertainment and Information Industries, World
Economic Forum

   

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Explore the latest strategic trends, research and analysis

 The COVID-19 has resulted in schools shut all across the

world. Globally, over 1.2 billion children are out of the
classroom.
  As a result, education has changed dramatically, with the
distinctive rise of e-learning, whereby teaching is undertaken
remotely and on digital platforms.

 Research suggests that online learning has been shown to

increase retention of information, and take less time, meaning
the changes coronavirus have caused might be here to stay.
While countries are at different points in their COVID-19 infection rates,
worldwide there are currently more than 1.2 billion children in 186
countries affected by school closures due to the pandemic. In Denmark,
children up to the age of 11 are returning to nurseries and schools after
initially closing on 12 March, but in South Korea students are responding
to roll calls from their teachers online.

With this sudden shift away from the classroom in many parts of the globe,
some are wondering whether the adoption of online learning will continue to
persist post-pandemic, and how such a shift would impact the worldwide
education market.
Even before COVID-19, there was already high growth and adoption in
education technology, with global edtech investments reaching US$18.66
billion in 2019 and the overall market for online education projected to
reach $350 Billion by 2025. Whether it is language apps, virtual tutoring, video
conferencing tools, or online learning software, there has been a significant
surge in usage since COVID-19.

How is the education sector responding to COVID-19?

In response to significant demand, many online learning platforms are offering

free access to their services, including platforms like BYJU’S, a Bangalore-
based educational technology and online tutoring firm founded in 2011, which
is now the world’s most highly valued edtech company. Since announcing free
live classes on its Think and Learn app, BYJU’s has seen a 200% increase in
the number of new students using its product, according to Mrinal Mohit, the
company's Chief Operating Officer.

Tencent classroom, meanwhile, has been used extensively since mid-

February after the Chinese government instructed a quarter of a billion full-
time students to resume their studies through online platforms. This resulted
in the largest “online movement” in the history of education with
approximately 730,000, or 81% of K-12 students, attending classes via the
Tencent K-12 Online School in Wuhan.

Other companies are bolstering capabilities to provide a one-stop shop for

teachers and students. For example, Lark, a Singapore-based collaboration
suite initially developed by ByteDance as an internal tool to meet its own
exponential growth, began offering teachers and students unlimited video
conferencing time, auto-translation capabilities, real-time co-editing of project
work, and smart calendar scheduling, amongst other features. To do so
quickly and in a time of crisis, Lark ramped up its global server infrastructure
and engineering capabilities to ensure reliable connectivity.

Alibaba’s distance learning solution, DingTalk, had to prepare for a similar

influx: “To support large-scale remote work, the platform tapped Alibaba
Cloud to deploy more than 100,000 new cloud servers in just two hours last
month – setting a new record for rapid capacity expansion,” according to
DingTalk CEO, Chen Hang.

Some school districts are forming unique partnerships, like the one
between The Los Angeles Unified School District and PBS SoCal/KCET to
offer local educational broadcasts, with separate channels focused on
different ages, and a range of digital options. Media organizations such as the
BBC are also powering virtual learning; Bitesize Daily, launched on 20 April, is
offering 14 weeks of curriculum-based learning for kids across the UK with
celebrities like Manchester City footballer Sergio Aguero teaching some of the
content.

What does this mean for the future of learning?

While some believe that the unplanned and rapid move to online learning
– with no training, insufficient bandwidth, and little preparation – will result in a
poor user experience that is unconducive to sustained growth, others believe
that a new hybrid model of education will emerge, with significant benefits. “I
believe that the integration of information technology in education will be
further accelerated and that online education will eventually become an
integral component of school education,“ says Wang Tao, Vice President of
Tencent Cloud and Vice President of Tencent Education.

There have already been successful transitions amongst many universities.

For example, Zhejiang University managed to get more than 5,000 courses
online just two weeks into the transition using “DingTalk ZJU”. The Imperial
College London started offering a course on the science of coronavirus, which
is now the most enrolled class launched in 2020 on Coursera.

Many are already touting the benefits: Dr Amjad, a Professor at The University
of Jordan who has been using Lark to teach his students says, “It has
changed the way of teaching. It enables me to reach out to my students more
efficiently and effectively through chat groups, video meetings, voting and also
document sharing, especially during this pandemic. My students also find it is
easier to communicate on Lark. I will stick to Lark even after coronavirus, I
believe traditional offline learning and e-learning can go hand by hand."

The challenges of online learning

There are, however, challenges to overcome. Some students without reliable

internet access and/or technology struggle to participate in digital learning;
this gap is seen across countries and between income brackets within
countries. For example, whilst 95% of students in Switzerland, Norway, and
Austria have a computer to use for their schoolwork, only 34% in Indonesia
do, according to OECD data.

In the US, there is a significant gap between those from privileged and
disadvantaged backgrounds: whilst virtually all 15-year-olds from a privileged
background said they had a computer to work on, nearly 25% of those from
disadvantaged backgrounds did not. While some schools and governments
have been providing digital equipment to students in need, such as in New
South Wales, Australia, many are still concerned that the pandemic will
widenthe digital divide.

Is learning online as effective?

For those who do have access to the right technology, there is evidence that
learning online can be more effective in a number of ways. Some research
shows that on average, students retain 25-60% more material when learning
online compared to only 8-10% in a classroom. This is mostly due to the
students being able to learn faster online; e-learning requires 40-60% less
time to learn than in a traditional classroom setting because students can
learn at their own pace, going back and re-reading, skipping, or accelerating
through concepts as they choose.

Nevertheless, the effectiveness of online learning varies amongst age groups.

The general consensus on children, especially younger ones, is that a
structured environment is required, because kids are more easily distracted.
To get the full benefit of online learning, there needs to be a concerted effort
to provide this structure and go beyond replicating a physical class/lecture
through video capabilities, instead, using a range of collaboration tools and
engagement methods that promote “inclusion, personalization and
intelligence”, according to Dowson Tong, Senior Executive Vice President of
Tencent and President of its Cloud and Smart Industries Group.

Since studies have shown that children extensively use their senses to learn,
making learning fun and effective through use of technology is crucial,
according to BYJU's Mrinal Mohit. “Over a period, we have observed that
clever integration of games has demonstrated higher engagement and
increased motivation towards learning especially among younger students,
making them truly fall in love with learning”, he says.

A changing education imperative

It is clear that this pandemic has utterly disrupted an education system that
many assert was already losing its relevance. In his book, 21 Lessons for the
21st Century, scholar Yuval Noah Harari outlines how schools continue to
focus on traditional academic skills and rote learning, rather than on skills
such as critical thinking and adaptability, which will be more important for
success in the future. Could the move to online learning be the catalyst to
create a new, more effective method of educating students? While some
worry that the hasty nature of the transition online may have hindered this
goal, others plan to make e-learning part of their ‘new normal’ after
experiencing the benefits first-hand.

The importance of disseminating knowledge is highlighted through

COVID-19
 Major world events are often an inflection point for rapid innovation – a clear
example is the rise of e-commerce post-SARS. While we have yet to see
whether this will apply to e-learning post-COVID-19, it is one of the few
sectors where investment has not dried up. What has been made clear
through this pandemic is the importance of disseminating knowledge across
borders, companies, and all parts of society. If online learning technology can
play a role here, it is incumbent upon all of us to explore its full potential.

Have you read?

 Our education system is losing relevance. Here's how to unleash its potential

 3 ways the coronavirus pandemic could reshape education

 Celebrities are helping the UK's schoolchildren learn during lockdown

Share

Online Classroom Management:

Five Tips for Teachers in
Transition
Do your students follow directions flawlessly? Are they highly motivated,
effective collaborators? If so, you don’t need to worry about the challenges of
online classroom management.
For the rest of us, student behavior can be a significant concern. It may even
be even our number one concern. It’s hard enough to manage disruptions
when our students are in the same room. How can we maintain order and
create a supportive learning environment when we can’t even see them?
Online classroom management isn’t impossible. In some ways, online
classroom management is easier than managing a live classroom. But it does
require a different approach than traditional classroom management.
The key is to be pragmatic. Have the courage to manage what we can. The
serenity to accept what we can’t. And the wisdom to know the difference. 
Online Classroom Management and
Motivation
When teaching online, we must learn to do without many of the classroom
management strategies we’ve become accustomed to. No stern glances. No
flicking lights on and off. No detentions.
The first step is to forget about all the things we can’t do online. Instead, think
about what is possible. And take advantage of the opportunities that online
instruction presents.
To teach effectively online, we need to see ourselves as leaders, rather than
managers. Traditional classroom management focuses on getting students to
follow directions en masse. ‘Everyone in their seats. All eyes on me. I’m
waiting for silence.’
There’s nothing wrong with asking students to follow directions. It’s common
sense. You can’t teach a room full of students who are running around and
shouting. The problem is that it’s easy to overuse these management
strategies.

Students need to understand the reasons behind our directions. And they

need to feel that they have a voice in creating classroom norms. Demanding
compliance without buy-in reduces intrinsic motivation (our internal desire to
do well). And the more we rely on extrinsic motivators (rewards and
punishments), the more we erode students’ intrinsic motivation.
Every veteran educator has experienced the diminishing impact of classroom
management tricks. They work well at the beginning of the year, but by
January you need newer and better tricks to keep students orderly and
attentive.
Unless, of course, you’ve focused on creating buy-in from day one. That’s the
idea behind PRESTO: start with extrinsic motivators, but build trust and
ownership before your students become desensitized to the tricks.
Five Tips for Effective Online Classroom
Management
When teaching online, we need to make the transition to student ownership
much more quickly. We don’t have the power to send students to the office or
take away recess. And if we’re unable to motivate our students, they may not
even show up for class. Or they’ll tune in just to tune out.
This doesn’t mean that online learning is a free-for-all. Online classroom
management is a delicate balance. We need to set the tone for what the new
normal will look like. But at the same time, we need to be flexible.
Understand that students are willing participants. Respond to their needs and
interests. Change things up when they get bored or frustrated.
These five tips will help you avoid some of the most common sources of
frustration when teaching online, and ensure you get the most from your
students.

1. Test the Technology Beforehand

Nothing will derail your online lesson faster than fumbling with the your
slideshow or your video conference.

It’s tempting to try out every new app that comes along. But the most effective
online teachers don’t get distracted by the shiniest new app. They focus on
learning a few tools really well.
If you’re teaching real-time (synchronous) lessons, you’ll need a conferencing
app. But you’ll also want a learning management system (LMS) for assigning
work and providing feedback. Other ‘nice-to-haves’ are a presentation
program, collaborative documents, and a personalized learning platform.
Here are some best in class tools in each category.

The most important is your video conferencing app, followed by your

presentation app. Make sure you know how to mute a student. And if you’re
planning to use breakout rooms, try them beforehand with colleagues. It’s
tricky to transition everyone into their breakout rooms and bring them back at
the same time. I learned to be extra careful about muting myself while
changing rooms. Otherwise, students hear a jumble of everyone talking, or
even loud, painful feedback.
I like Google Meet because it integrates with other Google tools. It’s also user
friendly, and it’s free if your school has a Google for Edu account. Meet has
fewer features than Zoom, but Google is catching up, with plans to launch
more features designed to support online classroom management.
For presentations, I like using Google Slides with the PearDeck extension, to
make my presentations more interactive.
Consider an online professional development workshop. You’ll develop your
expertise with the tools you’ll need. And by participating in an online
workshops, you’ll experience, first-hand, the challenges students may face
in your online classroom.
2. Involve Students in Establishing Norms
Are you worried about students showing up in their pajamas? Some teachers
are very concerned about online dress codes. Others couldn’t care less. You’ll
want to set norms that make you feel comfortable, while also creating the best
environment for learning.
The catch is that you probably don’t know what norms to set. None of us do,
yet. Rather than following someone’s online list of norms, engage students in
the process. This should be the focus of one of your first online lessons.
Here’s a simple 3-part structure for such a lesson:

1. Explain to students the importance of setting class norms, and that you
would value their input
2. Send students to breakout groups to make their own list of norms
3. Return to whole group meeting to compare lists, and create a “final” list.
(Of course, you may need to update it later)
If students have a say in creating the rules, they will be more likely to follow
them. I often find that students come up with many of the rules I’d have come
up with anyway. In fact, they’ll point out some issues you wouldn’t have
expected.
You may want to give them guiding questions for their conversations. What is
appropriate dress for online meetings? When and how should we ask
questions? Will we use hand signals?
In addition to meeting norms, establish norms for collaborative documents.
I’ve found that most Google Drive arguments start when one student erases
something another has written. So we established the rule that you can
only comment on someone else’s writing, unless they’ve given you permission
to edit/erase.
Be aware that norms will evolve. Having a “norms” check-in every Monday
can provide structure to each week of online learning.
3. Emphasize Engagement
In a traditional classroom, engagement is a “nice to have.” We would like to
engage our students. But if it’s a choice between engagement and order,
or engagement and standards, engagement loses out.
When teaching online, the priorities flip. If we can’t engage our students, they
may stop showing up. And if they stop showing up, we may never get them
back.
Students working online have access to endless sources of information. They
don’t need a teacher to explain something for 45 minutes. Keep whole-group
sessions short, no longer than 10 or 20 minutes. Use this time to prepare
students for a hands-on activity. More on how to plan engaging online
lessons here.
Let students know that you’re there for them, make a few announcements,
and send them off to complete their activities. Students learn more through
activities and problem-solving than they do by absorbing information.
This is true even in an in-person classroom. But it’s especially true during
online learning. If we can engage our students in our lessons, online
classroom management almost takes care of itself.
4. Create Connections with Small-Group
Sessions
Students, like all of us, are starved for personal connections right now. Whole
class meetings can help create a sense of normalcy. But it’s hard to have
meaningful online conversations with 30 people.

Make sure to schedule some time with small groups of students. They don’t
even need to be lessons per se. Get to know your students. Encourage them,
and listen to their frustrations about learning online. Maybe even share your
own (with a positive spin).
If you have a homeroom, make sure to have a 1-on-1 session with each
student at least once a month.  Students will need extra encouragement
during these difficult times. And they will need to set their own goals to stay
motivated. Have them write down their online learning goals, and have them
reflect on their progress throughout the process. When shifting ownership to
students, they also need room to fail. If a student misses a deadline, our
instinct is to step in and take back control. Instead, try to avoid judgment. 
If you’re not comfortable chatting with students privately, include their parents.
You might also consider providing weekly office hours, where students and
parents can drop in to ask questions. 
Just don’t turn the online experience into a correspondence course. Students
need human connection now more than ever.  The human element will make
your students more motivated. And their motivation will reduce disruptive
behavior during whole group lessons.
5. Start Slowly
The shift to online learning has been extremely sudden. But we can’t expect to
continue instruction at our usual pace. We’ll all need some time to adjust.
Realize that the first week or two are going to be focused on the process of
online learning. Students will need to adjust to the new normal and learn all
the new programs we’re introducing.
I’ve talked to many teachers who say the biggest mistake they made was
assigning too much work. If you start at full speed, it will get messy. Students
will get overwhelmed. And by the time you figure things out, some will have
already checked-out.
First, focus on making sure the online learning experience is fun and easy. Be
supportive. You can always pick up the pace once you and your students are
comfortable learning online.
Eventually, you may find that your students can learn as quickly online as they
can in a live classroom. Many students actually cover more content when
learning from home.  
Getting Started with Online Classroom
Management
You may be thinking that this list bears little similarity to the classroom
management that you’re used to. And that’s no accident.
The way to get the most out of our students when teaching remotely is to take
a step back. Let them have fun. Let them make mistakes. Make them feel ok,
no matter how much work they are getting done.

It will take some students longer than others to adjust. But we will get better
results with a supportive and understanding approach than by trying to force
things. And ultimately, we have very little power in an online classroom.

So rather than worry about the students we can’t control, take the opportunity
to shift control. It may seem counterintuitive, but taking a step back gives
students the chance to take a step forward.

Be open to the possibility that our students will learn more responsibility,
develop social-emotional skills, and master more content than they would in a
live classroom.

Consider the following as you prepare to teach online:

 Register for an online workshop

 Schedule a free consultation with an instructional coach
 Visit our online learning resource page
To stay up-to-date with the latest on student-centered learning, sign up for our
free newsletter.
GET THE FREE NEWSLETTER
About the Author

Jeff Lisciandrello is the founder of Room to Discover and

an education consultant specializing in student-centered learning. His 3-
Bridges Design for Learning helps schools explore innovative practices within
traditional settings. He enjoys helping educators embrace inquiry-based and
personalized approaches to instruction. You can connect with him via
Twitter @EdTechJeff
 

Classroom Management in an Online

Environment
Whitney Gordon
Special Education and English teacher; Ed.S. in Teacher Leadership, Thomas
University, GA

 May 11, 2020

 Classroom Management
Home  Teacher Resources  Classroom Management

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The spring of 2020 has been an unprecedented time for our world, and the field of
education is no exception to its plight. Prior to the dawn of the COVID-19 pandemic,
online learning was woven into the fabric of our schools’ respective curriculums to
varying degrees depending upon factors like access to resources and training.
Seemingly overnight, teachers and students across the United States were thrust into
immersive online learning during a worldwide pandemic. For most teachers, this degree
of online learning is new and not without challenges.
Whether learning in a physical classroom or online, effective classroom management is
key to a productive environment. Although students are not contained in a single room,
teachers must be intentional about managing student behavior and engagement in an
online setting. Below are some challenges of learning in an online environment that
teachers can anticipate, and online classroom management strategies to effectively
overcome those challenges.

Challenges Online Learning Environments Can Present

Many of the challenges of online learning stem from student engagement. When
learning online, students don’t have the benefit of a teacher’s physical presence moving
about the room and monitoring learning engagement. Outside of video conferencing
and other technology tools that some teachers are fortunate to access, students do
the bulk of online learning independently. Maintaining motivation is more challenging for
students, and it is admittedly more difficult for teachers to motivate students remotely.

Furthermore, using a plethora of technology for learning can present classroom

management challenges that are similar to the physical classroom. For example,
students can still be disruptive during live sessions or use collaborative time
unproductively. Cheating and plagiarism are often amplified with the world at their
fingertips and their teachers remaining distant. Whether online or in person, students
are still in need of structure and support in order to self-regulate their behavior.

Classroom Management Strategies for eLearning

Whether you were hurled into elearning through unforeseen circumstances or you are
amongst the many teachers who have chosen to educate our youth online, these are
some strategies that can help you maintain a well-managed online classroom
environment.

Build an Engaging Experience

I will reiterate the point that low learning engagement is the gateway to many issues in
online learning. It is important to build a learning experience that will be engaging for
your students. Take time to understand what interests them, where their strengths lie,
and what their challenges are. Use this information to build an online classroom
management plan that is tailored to your students and provide multiple opportunities for
interactive learning.

Cultivate Community Amongst Students

Building a positive relationship between teachers and students is only part of the
battle of cultivating a productive learning environment. Community amongst students is
just as important during online learning as it is in the traditional classroom. For a
student, it is easy to feel isolated in online learning. Build in opportunities for students to
collaborate and even socialize.

Establish and Reiterate Routines

Routines are important in any learning environment, especially when you can’t be
present with your students daily. Simplifying routines is wise. For example, how
students submit work and receive feedback should be consistent throughout the course.
Set up office hours for students to contact you and stick to them. Also, maintaining
some consistency with the work assigned each week will help students establish their
own routines at home. Lastly, it is important to reiterate your routines often.

Educate Students about Plagiarism

Online learning lends itself to increased plagiarism. Students are working on
technological devices with access to endless resources, and the temptation to copy
information can feel insurmountable for students. I suggest that every online teacher
combat plagiarism from day one. Let students know what it is and provide examples.
Outline the consequences for plagiarism as well.

Establish Communication Norms

Communication in an online environment is a unique skill that our students will
indubitably use in the future. Setting norms for communication with teachers and
between students will be crucial to classroom management online. When video
conferencing, for example, establish norms and expectations for things like
background noise, camera use, and contributing to discussion ahead of time. Norms
 are also necessary for typing in online forums as well. Remember that we are working
with students, and you will encounter some who don’t understand online communication
etiquette and others who will need to understand consequences to prevent
unacceptable use of communication tools.

Set Expectations and Be Consistent

When you establish norms and routines, it is important to expect that students follow
them and be consistent in your response when they don’t. Let students know about
consequences and penalties up front and stick to your word. You will have students who
don’t meet your expectations, just as you do in the traditional classroom. Have a plan in
place for when this happens, and make sure students and parents are aware of this
plan.

Acknowledge Student Accomplishments

When students are productive, engaged, and learning online, it is important to
acknowledge them. This is, of course, important in every classroom. Online students will
not get to see a smile of pride or receive a congratulatory high five from teachers like
they can in the physical classroom. Use the communication avenues available to you to
let students know when they are on the right track. Positive reinforcement yields higher
engagement, and higher engagement is the key to a well-managed online classroom.

 #ClassroomManagement, #eLearning, #OnlineEnvironment
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REDEFINING CLASSROOM
MANAGEMENT FOR DISTANCE
LEARNING
Chances are, you are spending some time teaching your elementary learners from home. By
March, you had this classroom management thing down at school, but what does classroom
management look like with online learning? How can you keep your students engaged and
learning while remote teaching? Here are some tips to help you manage your distance learning
classroom online.

KEEP PLAYING CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT GAMES! (DIGITAL VERSIONS!)

Classroom Management games are my favorite tools to use in the classroom. They are so
engaging, create instant student buy in and can be adapted and individualized. And I love
anything that makes teaching life easier – and these games do just that! I wanted a way to bring
them into distance learning so a few of them have recently gone DIGITAL! Use Classroom
Management Bingo or Classroom Make a Deal digitally on Zoom, Google Meets, or recorded
videos for your students. This can help keep consistency, keep them accountably, and continue to
positively reinforce your whole class!
USE SLIDES WITH TIMERS

Even though you aren’t delivering lessons in the same way, you can help manage your students’
time on task with timers! These editable slides have built-in timers. Sharing the slides directly to
Google Classroom through your Google Drive will help your students spend the time needed on
assigned tasks. You can even choose to “Make a Copy for Each Student” in Google Classroom
when you upload the slides. Each student will have their own editing rights on their personal
copies to get their tasks done.

CHOICE CHOICE CHOICE

In physical classrooms, you are used to giving choices to facilitate differentiation and help with
student engagement. Use station slides to help your learners engage in specialized math and
reading tasks.
Also, assigning learning menus is a great idea for this time! Letting your students choose the
activities or even the order in which they do things can really help keep them engaged!

Here are some of my favorite menus for reading responses!

SEND OUT AGENDA SLIDES

Share your agenda slides in Google Classroom to let your students know what to expect during
distance learning. Whether you are sharing weekly assignments, having live Zoom or Google
Meets with your students, or simply giving a menu of optional activities, setting an agenda gives
your students the consistency they expect from your classroom to keep them on task and
learning. You can get a free copy of these slides HERE!
COMMUNICATE WITH PARENTS

More than ever, parents are partners in your students’ learning. Even if you are providing
specific lessons, it’s the parents that are making sure the kids log into Google Classroom or
whatever platform you are using. They’re helping them get materials they need and stay on task.
Provide parents options and communicate so distance learning isn’t another stressful task to add
to their busy lives.

Here are a few ways to do this with as much ease as possible:

– share out your class slides for the day or week with activities and instructions (send the link on
Google to VIEW)
-share out your agenda slide for the week as a great overview for families and students (send the
link on Google to VIEW)
-Use Digital Classroom Newsletters to send out important information for the month or week!
You can share these as a Google link, PDF, or as a picture file attachment!
Keep in mind that some parents may still be working outside the home. Some of your students
may not have access to the internet, or they may be attending childcare services. In fact, some
students may be responsible for watching younger siblings in their homes. Be flexible, let parents
know that the goal is to continue learning, and you will support them however you can. Student
work and behavior will be at it’s best when you get parents involved early and often.

USE GOOGLE CLASSROOM

Google Classroom is an online learning platform that will help you deliver and organize content
for your students. Classroom is available through your Google Suite account. Any resources you
have to share can be posted to Google Classroom. You can even grade assignments, make
announcements, and send out automatic summaries of work and grades to parents.

These tips to help redefine classroom management for your distance learning classroom will
have you ready to finish the school year strong whether you are allowed to transition back to
your school building or are required to teach at home. In fact, putting these tips into play from
home will help all students have a better transition back to school when everyone is allowed to
return next year. What tricks and tips do you have for classroom management in your distance
learning classroom?

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