With the sad events happening throughout the whole world with the Corona Virus outbreak, the teachers at school have been working hard to ensure that the children’s education continues with as little disruption as possible. The school already had an online Virtual Learning Environment web-based platform called Canvas. Its usage in school up until last week had been minimal with only a few teachers having used it, while the majority had yet to work out how to navigate it. Fast forward one week, combined with a global situation, and the whole school’s knowledge and usage of the system has developed tremendously. Teachers and pupils who only a few days ago looked at the screen with trepidation are now easily navigating through the system engaging in online lessons and conference calls. Canvas is a powerful system which has many capabilities and is certainly a tool which will prove to be very beneficial for all.
The students have to be credited with adapting to the week’s events with ease and showing few concerns about the change in school. It is a testament to their maturity, understanding and sensibilities that they have coped so admirably.
There has been fun as we have all been learning the system together, with teachers confused as to why materials published on Canvas can not be accessed by the students because they are ‘unpublished’, system clocks forgetting that we are UTC +3 hrs which has meant lessons being ‘locked’, to conference calls and video calls being rudely interrupted by radio interference. This has all been part of the learning experiences which has enabled us to become confident users of Canvas.
With that, as we enter the next 3 weeks of distant learning, all are suitably prepared and ready for the virtual classrooms we will be entering.
