Delivering the Best eLearning Experience | 提供最佳的线上学习体验

The abrupt transition to e-learning last semester took us all by surprise, but the adjustment by students and their parents is truly commendable, taking it all in stride. Preparations for the new academic year in September are officially underway and to ensure we kick-start the year on a high note, the academic team with the assistance from teachers are finding innovative ways to continue to offer excellent e-learning to students from K2 – Year 13.

Parents’ Experiences and Feedback

In the latter part of the last school year, we conducted a survey to ascertain our community’s view of e-learning and the feedback was positive overall. Parents shared their and their children’s experiences with e-learning and provided valuable pointers on how to optimize our school’s e-learning. “We highly value our parents’ input as we truly believe that a child will ultimately develop best when school and home are working in a partnership”, said Jane Martuneac Kang, Upper Primary Learning and Teaching Coordinator.

Our goal is to ensure that clear channels of communication remain open and parents are afforded the opportunity to share their feedback often, on a more personalised basis.

How teachers are preparing and the eLearning Forum

Virtual classrooms were not only a means for students to learn but were also an opportunity for teachers to develop in their vocation and expand their skill set. According to Ms Martuneac Kang, “Many teachers engaged in digital professional development opportunities through online courses and training programmes. Some of these were specifically designed for e-learning needs while others were based on general best practices in teaching.” These were not limited to teaching practices, but also to better understanding the benefits of the multiple platforms being used including Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Seesaw.

Professional development varied for teachers in different levels, subjects and age groups and resulted in the formation of the e-learning forum whose goal is for teachers and members of the academic leadership team to share their knowledge, expertise and industry tips with their colleagues, with the ultimate goal of creating an e-learning teacher guide to be used schoolwide. This is “to make the e-learning lessons even more interactive which is an ongoing goal for us as we continue to develop our e-learning programme,”  said Ms Martuneac Kang.

For Paul Bawden, YCIS Beijing Education Director, it is pivotal that we offer similar quality education online as we do offline, which further emphasises the importance of a continually improving quality of online teaching – from the lesson plans to interactions teachers have with students online. Not only that, but he states that “it is essential that we show everybody that e-learning is just as valuable as face to face learning.”

Preparing for the New Academic Year

At the moment, the School Leadership Team is working tirelessly to ensure a smooth start to the school year. Whether students will be on campus or doing a hybrid style of learning which includes virtual and in-person learning, every member of the school’s staff is working towards any future possibility.

“Teachers and school leadership will meet to review our learning and teaching goals for the school year, one of which most certainly being the transition to the new school year,” said Ms Martuneac Kang. But this year, preparations will come with several contingency plans, considering the uncertainty we have all experienced.

To read more about valuable online resources as provided by Allison Cusato, Secondary Art Teacher, click here.

由于受到疫情的影响，今年二月起，我们开始开展线上教学。学生和家长们从最初的疑惑到迅速适应线上学习的模式，状态调整之快值得称赞。新学年的准备工作已经正式开始，学校学术领导团队与教师们一起，正在探索新的方法，继续为K2-13年级的学生提供高质量的线上学习。

家长的经验与建议

在上学年末的时候，为了了解我们的家长对线上学习的看法，我们开展了一项调查。我们得到的反馈基本都是积极正面的。家长们分享了他们和孩子在线上学习期间的体会，并为如何优化我们学校的线上学习提供了宝贵的建议。“我们非常重视家长的建议，因为我们相信，良好的家校合作会为学生提供更广阔、有益的发展空间”，小学部高年级教学主管Jane Martuneac Kang说。

我们的目标是确保良好的家校沟通，并使家长有更多的机会分享他们的心得与建议。

老师如何为线上教学做准备

虚拟课堂不仅为学生创设了不同的学习体验，也为教师提供了新的职业发展与技能学习的机会。据Martuneac Kang女士说：“许多老师参加了线上培训，其中一些培训是专门针对线上教学设计的，而另一些培训则基于教学法。”通过参加这些培训，老师们不仅提到了自己的教学技巧，还更好地了解到如何使用多种线上教学平台（如：Microsoft Teams，Zoom和Seesaw）。

不同学科和不同年级的教师专业发展方向各不相同，因此形成学习论坛的目的是让教师、学术领导团队的成员与同事们分享他们经验、专业知识和技巧，最终编写耀中线上学习教师指南。Martuneac Kang女士说：“这是为了使线上学习更具互动性，是我们持续发展线上教学计划的一个目标。”

教育总监博德先生认为，我们应提供同质量的线上、线下教学。他进一步提到了不断提高线上教学质量的重要性–从课程计划到教师与学生的在线互动。除此之外，博德先生还提到：“我们要向所有人证明线上学习与面对面学习一样有价值。”
 

为新学年做准备

目前，学校领导团队正在为确保新学年的顺利进行而不懈努力。无论是校园面对面授课，还是线上、线下结合的教学模式，学校的每一位成员都在此努力和付出。

Martuneac Kang女士说：“教师和学校领导团队会定期沟通制定新学年的学习和教学目标，其中之一的目标肯定的是如何向新学年的过渡。”考虑到今年的一些不确定性，我们也准备了各种不同的方案。

要阅读中学美术老师Allison Cusato提供的有关宝贵在线资源的更多信息，请单击此处。