Virtual education and virtual classrooms are a must in today’s field of learning. Brick and mortar schools experienced challenges in keeping their students in a solid learning environment due to the recent pandemic. They realized they were not prepared to offer a virtual solution when schools suddenly closed. Blended learning, which means offering in class and virtual classes, offers a great way for school systems to be ready for the next potential pandemic while providing virtual learning for those students and parents who want virtual classes.
How to Combat the “Hey Look! A Squirrel!” Syndrome
If creating fascinating lesson plans and delivering them to a highly engaged group of kids was what teaching was really like, teaching would be a whole lot easier than it actually is.
Effective Virtual Learning Requires Tools Specifically Designed to Engage Students
Learning Effectiveness Is Directly Related to Student Engagement. 96% of teachers and administrators surveyed agreed that digital learning positively impacts student growth and achievement. Engaged students are 2.5 times more likely to get excellent grades and do well in school, and they are 4.5 times more likely to be hopeful about the future than their actively disengaged peers
How Bullying in Schools Affects Our Children
There’s nothing worse than going to school every day only to become a victim of intense bullying that often takes place within our communities. While bullying in schools certainly isn’t a new phenomenon, and many anti-bullying policies have been put into place to combat it, it still continues to hurt many of children every year.
The Emotional Impact Covid Has Had on Our Teachers
The third school year affected by the COVID-19 pandemic is just a few short weeks away, but the toll it’s taken on teachers since March of 2020 still resides clearly at the forefront of their minds.
Wasted Technology: Why Many Teachers Don’t Use the Programs Their Districts Provide
Imagine you’re about to give a big presentation to a large audience. Just before you go on stage, your boss hands you a new gadget and tells you to use it. You’ve never seen the gadget before, you have no idea what it does, and you’ve never received any training on how to use it. Your boss assures you that it will make your presentation better, and just before you can respond, the curtain goes up.
Returning to School When the Pandemic Isn’t Really Over
In just a few weeks’ time, kids all over the United States will be returning to in-person school. And while that may seem like a huge relief to parents after dealing with school closures and virtual learning from home since early 2020, it raises a lot of concerns regarding whether or not students should be returning to school en masse while the Covid-19 pandemic is still raging in the US and around the world.
Wisconsin’s iForward Online School has been a trailblazer in virtual education since 2002
As one of the only virtual schools in Wisconsin that requires attendance to live virtual classes, iForward can’t afford any reliability issues with their virtual classroom. When iForward’s virtual classroom became inaccessible two days before the end of the semester, the decision was made to look for a new platform. Four separate platforms were piloted by the teachers and administration.
Virtual Education Vs In-Person Classes
When the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic in March of 2020, teachers around the world had to reinvent themselves in a joint effort to avoid a complete halt in educational activities. The challenges they faced over the course of the last year and a half, have generated some key insights about virtual teaching that we need to learn from, and be prepared for, as we return to our brick and mortar schools.
Virtual Education in a Post-Pandemic World
During an ordinary life, it often feels like we’re living the same day over and over due to the structured routines we’ve all implemented over time. But when we least expect it, a paradigm shift can take place, and life as we know it can suddenly change forever.