• Introduction and Aims
• Credits & Sources
• EIS Digital Systems
• Student and Family Roles and Responsibilities*
  • Student Roles and Responsibilities
  • Parent/Guardian Roles and Responsibilities
• Teacher and Administrator and Responsibilities
  • Head of School Roles and Responsibilities
  • Deputy Head Roles and Responsibilities
  • Teachers Roles and Responsibilities
• FAQs
  • • Q: Is my child expected to sit in front of their computer all day?
    • Q: How does EIS’s Data Protection apply during Distance Learning?
    • Q: What do I do if my home internet is not working?
    • Q: What do I do if my student cannot login to their student account(s)?
    • Q: Can we expect the teacher to provide one-to-one lessons for students?
    • Q: Will lessons be of normal length?
    • Q: What is the purpose of using the specialist software such as Century?
  • Technology Assistance
• Student Roles and Responsibilities
  • COMMUNICATION: BASICS & Platforms (More detail)
  • COMMUNICATION: General Approach
• Pre-School Parents
• Primary
  • Our beliefs
  • Our General Plan:
  • Technology use in the home
  • Daily structure
  • Preschool and Primary
  • Sample Schedule Grade 1
  • Sample Schedule for Grade 2 and 3
  • Sample Schedule for Grade 4 and 5
• Middle School
  • Challenges in Setting Lessons (Middle School):
  • MIDDLE SCHOOL SCHEDULE: WEEK 1
    • Grade 6
    • Grade 7
    • Grade 8
    • Grade 9
• ONLINE LEARNING
  • • INFORMATION:
    • HOW TO STAY HEALTHY:
    • WHAT HAPPENS DURING THE WEEK AHEAD:
    • Positive Mindset
    • General Comments in using Zoom
• CULTURE FOR EFFECTIVE VIDEO CONFERENCING:
  • MIDDLE SCHOOL Student Guidelines
    • HOW IT WORKS: LOGISTICS
    • ROUTINES: HOW TO CREATE THE RIGHT CULTURE
• TEACHERS GUIDELINES: ONLINE LEARNING
• APPENDICES
  • Preschool MS Section daily tasks of home learning
  • OTHER Tech Tools
  • Tips from Other Schools
  • Essential Agreement Example for a primary class
  • Teacher Learning Resources
• Closure Levels

Introduction and Aims

The aim of this handbook is to clarify how we will ensure for the effective learning of students during periods of time when the school is unexpectedly closed for an extended period.

These situations will be challenging for all members of the EIS community. They will also, provide an opportunity to demonstrate how learning can occur in new ways.

The introduction of new technologies during the 21^st Century will change the way that we live, work and learn. Our students will need to be able to work, design, and problem solve as part of a team. At the same time, they will be expected as adults to be independent, resilient and highly organized life-long learners. Thus, these school closures, while unfortunate, are an opportunity for our students to develop and demonstrate these capacities and character traits.

We must also be mindful of the fact that for younger students in particular, these closures can also create anxiety. Thus, we will aim to ensure that all students feel connected, confident and positive, so that such feelings can be reduced.

We are principled	We are risk-takers	We are resilient and independent
We approach distance learning with integrity, dedication and a high level of academic honesty.	We embrace online learning as a new path to challenge our learning.	We do not give up easily and can organize ourselves to complete tasks according to a schedule.

Credits & Sources

This document has been created using experiences from a number of schools. We thank them for their willingness to share their insight, and will continue to seek out such rich sources of information as we move forward in our planning. In particular we owe our gratitude to

• American International School, Japan
• Council of International Schools
• Hong Kong Academy
• International School Panama
• International Baccalaureate
• International Schools Service
• International School of Beijing
• Lycee Francais International, Ho Chi Minh
• North London Collegiate, Korea
• Renaissance College Hong Kong
• Western Academy Beijing

EIS Digital Systems

System	Phase of School	Summary
	Staff and parents all phases. Students Gr 5 to 12.	All staff and students in Grade 5 to12 have access to @exupery.lv email accounts. Emails can be sent via outlook to staff and via ISAMS to all parents, and students.
ClassDojo	Primary	This system will be used by teachers to set lessons or share resources, such as video tutorials with students and parents. It enables text to be translated for the benefit of our parents.
OneDrive	All Teachers	Core online storage platform for teachers and for document creation. Documents can be made accessible to the public. Many classes will use Classdojo and Moodle to provide student the link to access these documents and have them organized.
ZOOM	Primary and Middle school + all parents	Online video conferencing software. ZOOM may be used for online learning, meetings, professional development or other online gatherings (including to receive feedback from parents).
	Grade 3 -12	Provides learning materials, assessments, and diagnostic information in English, Maths, Science connected with UK National curriculum. Questions are uniquely assigned to students to ensure learning can be personalized and thus efficient.
	Grades 6 – 12	Provides science laboratory simulations for students in Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
	All phases	The school Information Administration and information Management system (ISAMS). Used for attendance, behavior reports, academic reports, student portfolios and other important data Teachers and parents have access to specific areas. Also used to organize students and parents into groups so we can send emails to individual groups of parents.
	Middle School	This is an open source learning management system which allows teachers to store and set activities for students to complete. Parents are given access as well to view assessments, activities, and details of standards of learning. More functionality than ClassDojo.
	Primary and Preschool	This is similar to Classdojo, which will translate text, and allows the teacher to check the files that students have accessed. Tutorial: Teachers PDF Presentation

Student and Family Roles and Responsibilities*

Adapted with thanks from International School Panama, and American School Japan

Teacher and Administrator and Responsibilities

FAQs

Q: Is my child expected to sit in front of their computer all day?

A: No. Distance learning will be a blend of face-to-face video, collaborative group work and using online tools, non-technology independent learning and, as much as possible, real-world authentic learning experiences. Preschool students are certainly not expected to be in front of a screen for more than a few minutes to connect with their teacher and possibly peers.

Q: How does EIS’s Data Protection apply during Distance Learning?

A: It is essential for students and parents to refrain from publicly posting videos or photographs with students of EIS clearly indicated as this would breach laws on data protection within the EU.

Q: What do I do if my home internet is not working?

A: Please contact your internet service provider.

Q: What do I do if my student cannot login to their student account(s)?

First, please email your teacher to ensure they are aware of the issue. Next, please email techhelp@exupery.lv

Q: Can we expect the teacher to provide one-to-one lessons for students?

A: Although we will aim to connect with each student, one-to-one lessons are not possible. Teachers in middle school can teach up to 80 students. If each student was offered just 10 minutes daily that works out to over 13 hours online for the teacher. Primary children will not be able to connect nor stay focused online without help. Thus, we will have to find a combination of types of engagement with students to ensure that learning can be effective.

Q: Will lessons be of normal length?

A: No, the lessons will need to be shortened - experience from other schools suggests as much. You will know that classroom teachers continuously ‘read’ and react to the needs of students in terms of their engagement, uncertainty, happiness, confusion, etc. This helps teachers to decide on the pace of a lesson. During periods of distance learning the teacher cannot do this, and the process of learning at a distance is generally slower. Thus, we propose for the first week, we use 3-4 lessons a day as a maximum and then review this weekly. The schedule will focus on CORE subjects English, Maths, Science, and Mother Tongue. There will also be a movement /physical activity for students as well. Quality is always more important that quantity in terms of the amount of work that is produced.

Q: What is the purpose of using the specialist software such as Century?

A: Students need to be given constant feedback, to know that they have completed a task correctly, and to feel generally quite positive. Students also learn at different rates, and learn best by using different strategies. Century software can be used to provide support, to ensure students are answering questions correctly, and like an online game learning can be assessed quickly, plus they can feel good about their progress. With Century the teacher can see the mistakes on a specific question, and then focus on just those errors to help learning to be as efficient as possible. This Century software also pre-assesses students so that they can start the lesson at the most effective place. The software uses artificial intelligence to help design the pathway. There are other software systems that teachers can also use which are indicated in the appendix. These also can be used by students or parents directly.

Technology Assistance

Student Roles and Responsibilities

COMMUNICATION: BASICS & Platforms (More detail)

Basic Daily Plans:

• Teachers will send lesson plans to students and parents by 9:00am daily.

• Preschool: we will use Email/ClassDojo for communicating to parents the student’s daily learning engagements and parent interactions.

• Primary 1 to 5: Teachers will use ClassDojo for communicating their daily learning plans to parent/guardian.

• Middle School: Teachers will use Email/Moodle/ClassDojo for communicating their daily learning plans to students and parents. The aim of the teacher will be to be consistent in their approach to communication but as the weeks progress they may use other systems.

ZOOM: Teachers will use ZOOM to have two-way conversations with parents OR students (including a group of students or a group of parents).

• Parents and students should Download ZOOM on their computers, phones, iPads, etc.
• This is Free software.
• Teacher will push the link for meetings to parents or student(s), and continue to use the same link for all such meetings.
• Specific ‘intervention’ teachers will also use this software to connect with specific students or their parents, if we believe that the student needs extra help.

Assessment, Extension and Practice (G3 and above)

Teachers may use Century.tech so that Middle School and Primary 3 to 5 students can be assessed according to UK standards. This software adapts to the needs of students using artificial intelligence to decide which questions should be provided. Before each small set of questions, called a ‘nugget’, students are given a quick pre-assessment. Parents will be able to see results of progress. This software can be used for Maths, Science and English.

Science Experimentation Simulation (Middle School)

Teachers may use INQITS software which provides a way for students to perform virtually a science laboratory online. This software also uses artificial intelligence to help students experiment

Note: Other platforms may be used, but the teacher should be entirely comfortable with the platform as this could lead to frustration and take away from learning. Students will continue to use these platforms for all daily lessons even after the closure of school ends.

COMMUNICATION: General Approach

Teacher Communicating to Parents or Students;

• All Homeroom Teachers will use ZOOM to provide one daily video conference opportunity for up to 20 minutes for Parents (Preschool to Grade 2) or Students (Grade 3 and above).
• This conference may be recorded so that parents or students who were unable to connect can play it back later.
• Zoom can also be used to ‘chat’. This will be helpful if problems occur with poor connection speeds or to have more than one way for parents to communicate to the teacher while the conference is taking place.
• Care must be taken when recording videos of such conferences involving students and then having such videos shared with people outside our school community. Thus, students/parents must not publish or forward such videos.

Parents Communicating with teachers:

• Along with questions either in a ZOOM conference or chat as explained above, parents can use email to ask for additional information from teachers; teachers will respond during office hours 8:30 to 4:30.
• Parents should use email to communicate with senior staff.

Senior Staff Communication with teachers or parents

• Email will be used for any daily communicating between staff
• ZOOM conference will take place for all parents with the Head of School on Friday at 3:30 – 4:00pm, maximum time 40 min.
• The Head of school will use email to send a newsletter every Friday. This newsletter will be in English. It will be translated on Monday and sent in Latvian and Russian. ClassDojo can be used to translate this newsletter for primary parents (or Google Translate if using the Chrome Browser).

BASIC Expectations for Teaching and Learning:

• Teachers will not exceed 3-4 lessons a day for students. Each lesson may be expected to take up to :
  • 15min. for students in Preschool
  • 30mn. for students in Primary 1 to 3
  • 45mn. for students in 4-5.
  • 60 min Students in 6-9

• Teachers will start the day with either a video or a ZOOM conference to start the day. This may be a “Good morning!” video or an instructional video. Video is encouraged as much as possible. These videos should not exceed the length of a mini lesson (i.e. less than half of the lesson length above) and more likely will be even less than that.

For our youngest students this will be quite a short video for younger children so that they can start the day with a message from their Homeroom teacher. The key idea here is to ensure that the students feel connected. We are social by nature and these young people need to feel connected.

Depending on the number of students in the family, the students may not be able to be connected at a specified time, so if a teacher does a ZOOM conference, he/she will record the meeting and send the link to all students. For younger children a one way video link sent to the parents of the children is preferred so they can hear from the teacher.

Pre-School Parents

Dear Preschool Parents,

During this period of Distance Learning, your child’s teacher will be communicating regularly with you and your child. They will provide learning opportunities with the following goals:

1. Helping your child follow their regular routines so routines and transitions remain constant and the return to school for your child is smooth.
2. Helping your child to continue their social-emotional growth.
3. Expose students to English/French so they can continue using and practicing.

To provide routines, your child’s teacher will be sending the schedule and suggestions. They will let you know the scheduled online meeting times for your child. Homeroom teachers will also send home their Zoom Links and passwords so your child can join the meeting. It would be truly beneficial if your child was involved in the suggested activities especially during the morning. Some of the activities will also help your child stay connected to their feelings as well as the feelings of others. Read-alouds, poems and songs will help your child with their English/French development.

In the plan you will receive each day, we have included a Choice Time activity. We are also strongly suggesting that you organize areas in your homes to support other activities and routines.  Suggestions include:  

1. Dramatic Play: include shoes, hats, ties, socks all sorts of props that allow your child to pretend to be someone or something different and thus explore their experiences.
2. Toys and Games: puzzles, board games, cards and bingo games, small building blocks, or anything that offers your child a quiet activity time.
3. Block Center: have boxes, wooden blocks, foam blocks, plastic containers, materials that help your child build, construct, create and represent their experiences. You can add cars, plastic animals, sticks, rocks anything that they can add to their creations.
4. Art Center: with materials for your child to cut, paint, draw, glue and make their own masterpieces. We will look to provide a pack of equipment if the parent wishes to be picked up at school in case there is a need for such materials at home (coloured pencils, scissors, etc.)

During the lesson time, the goal is for your child to focus on an activity, follow through with what their is working on and clean up when the activity is completed, leaving the area as it was. 

• In Preschool, our focus has always been the teacher-parent partnership. We understand that working with your child in a virtual school may assign extra roles to you as a parent, especially if you have more than one child.   

How can you help your Child? 

1. Each day review the activities with your child. 

1. Designate a place in your home or your child’s room where their can work/play independently on their activities for the day. 

1. Plan the choice areas with your child. Only have a couple of choices for each day. In each choice area also have a number of materials so he/she can manage cleaning up on their own. 

1. As documentation please send, via email, a picture of your child engaged in one of the activities at least three or four times a week. 

1. Contact the preschool team via email preschool@exupery.lv if you or your child have questions. It will be transferred to the concerned teacher. 

We want our students to develop their independence but we know that they may require your extra support. We truly appreciate your help and partnership in creating the best learning experience for your child. Our teachers are creating lessons that we believe will make the learning experience interesting for your child.  

Regards 

Alain Roland (Director)  

Nicolas Mathieu (Director)  

Primary

Our beliefs

1. The details below are suggestions only.  Please adjust them based on what your child shows you he or she is capable of through his or her behavior and attention.
2. Homeroom teachers will be working online with students from 9AM-11AM, but children should spread these activities out over an entire day.
3. Free play is vital for learning.  Students need time away from technology to run, explore, inquire, and learn what they want.
4. The ZOOM conferences will be for all students. Children may need adult support to stay focused and participate. If it is too difficult, your child can view any videos that are posted at a later time.

Our General Plan:

1. In the first week, teachers will create a short video per day that are intended as a ‘welcome’ to start the day. They will monitor the morale of their class and the workload of the students carefully.
2. Homeroom teachers will send work to parents on a daily basis, for students to work on. In this first week teachers will generally set work which reviews or continues a lesson the student should already be familiar with. This can be in the form of a checklist.
3. The fist welcome videos/conferences will be intended to simply make sure students understand the reason for this novel approach to learning, and can maintain contacts with teachers, and peers.
4. Students will be learning how to schedule their time, remain focused for blocks of time, but also realize there is a need for movement and exercise.
5. Teachers will track student progress to ensure participation and check-in with students if students are struggling or non-participatory. The aim is to help students and be understanding.
6. Students will be expected also to keep a reflection and process journal (Text or Voice). Students will explain what they have been doing and then explain what they have learned. This document should be available to the teacher.
7. Feedback to students will be given on every assignment, even if it is just a thumbs up. Voice and video feedback is extremely valuable for all young people.
8. This first week will be connected to the current PYP units of inquiry.
9. Teachers will post to the main learning platform each day one checklist that contains all activities that are expected to be completed each day. Include from the ‘Choice Board’ optional activities or support lessons on this checklist.
10. During the two-hour slots, students can check-in (Tutor-time) with their homeroom teacher.
11. At other times one of our specialist teachers may connect with specific students as assigned by the Homeroom teachers. These teachers will keep the HR teacher informed of any concerns. HR teacher can intervene as well, and will pass on any major concerns to our Head of Primary (Marcelle van Leenen) or our school psychologist (Natasha). Remember to lead with understanding and an open mind.

As the weeks move along our approach may change.

Technology use in the home

For all of this home learning, students will need either an iPad or computer to access some activities and share feedback. In the event that you are unable to provide your student with a device, please discuss this with your child’s classroom teacher.

Daily structure

Each day students will have suggested timings and resources to guide your child’s work.  In addition, there will be some teacher-developed material that students can or should participate in.  That information will be shared on a teacher-by-teacher basis and may vary by child.  

Note:

• At the end of the first week, we will ask all students to help us create an essential agreement which will clarify what we should expect from all students during these weeks.
• Teachers will also work together to create their own set of Essential Agreements which we will share with both students and parents.
• To help ensure that students will be excited about going online we will create videos with many of our colleagues reading their favorite children stories, singing, acting, etc.  

Primary and PYP:

In addition to the suggested times in the table above, we will also aim at least for the first two weeks to make some connection with our current PYP Unit Planning.

In PYP Unit Planning:

• Week 5: Making Conclusions

  Grade 1	Grade 2	Grade 3	Grade 4	Grade 5
  How we express ourselves: Imagination is a powerful tool to express ourselves and understand others.	How we express ourselves: Different artistic artforms enable people to communicate unique ideas.	How we express ourselves: We use many forms of communication in the modern world that help us to communicate successfully.	How we express ourselves: Choices of role models reflect the characteristics that societies and individuals value.	How we express ourselves: The way we understand stories is shaped by the way they are told.
  An inquiry into the ways in which we discover and express ideas, feelings, nature, culture, beliefs and values; the ways in which we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; our appreciation of the aesthetic.	An inquiry into the ways in which we discover and express ideas, feelings, nature, culture, beliefs and values; the ways in which we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; our appreciation of the aesthetic.	An inquiry into the ways in which we discover and express ideas, feelings, nature, culture, beliefs and values; the ways in which we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; our appreciation of the aesthetic.	An inquiry into the ways in which we discover and express ideas, feelings, nature, culture, beliefs and values; the ways in which we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; our	An inquiry into the ways in which we discover and express ideas, feelings, nature, culture, beliefs and values; the ways in which we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; our appreciation of the aesthetic.
  We express ourselves through imagination. Our imagination helps us consider other perspectives. Reflection is an important part of imagination.	The diverse ways in which people express their uniqueness The role of art in culture and society	The different forms and ways of communication Successful communication systems Different uses of communication systems	Reasons for valuing role models Development of gifts, talents and interests The use of personal strengths for the greater good appreciation of the aesthetic.	The elements of a story Different ways the same story can be told dependent on audience. How a storyteller’s perspective might change our understanding of the story.

• Week 6: Taking Action

Middle School

• As with primary, the Homeroom teacher will send a quick ‘welcome’ video each morning via Zoom and/or have a Zoom Conference at 8:30 in order to check in with students.
• The main core Lessons of English, Maths, Science and Mother tongue will be the focus for the first week (except year 9 where exam preparation and practice will continue)
• Teachers may wish to review or continue topics originally introduced before the holiday. As the weeks progress, the teachers will set new topics or research projects. These projects should be broken down into smaller steps to ensure that students can make effective progress.
• Students in Grade 9 may engage in more detailed research, as long as an initial template and rubric is given. Quality is more important than quantity.
• Subject Teachers will post the learning activities to be completed during the day, to the main learning platform and provide a checklist that students can use during the day to ensure they complete all assigned tasks.
• Teams will determine a consistent method for collaboration and include administrators. Teams will collaborate often to ensure a smooth roll out.
• Teachers will track student progress to ensure participation and check-in with students if students are struggling or non-participatory. Grace and understanding should always govern decisions.
• Feedback to students will be given on every assignment, even if it is just a thumbs up (or red green yellow colour code). Voice and video feedback are extremely valuable to your students when possible.
• Teachers will email parents a general update at least once a week.
• Zoom sessions should be not more than 20min with any individual student or group of students. Send the zoom link in the checklist and on the platform to be used (Moodle, email or Onedrive). Students will not be penalized for not participating.
• Please report student concerns to Nigel Schofield (and Hayde Summa). Remember to lead with understanding and an open mind.
• Teachers should maintain a healthy work/life balance. Keep lines of communication open between all teachers and with Nigel Schofield /Roy White. If you are having any difficulty in this new frontier of learning, please ask for assistance.

Challenges in Setting Lessons (Middle School):

• Potential technology problems (video streaming can cause slow and broken communication)
• The need for a student to receive sufficient support, challenge, and feedback including knowing that the work they have been doing is correct, and is of value from their point of view.
• Frustrations if the work set is either too easy or too hard which is why other schools suggest 50% required, 25% extension optional, and 25% scaffolding optional.
• Parent perceptions and potential misunderstandings, including translation issues or frustrations as they may not have the time to assist a student.
• The need for students to have a varied learning experience using their preferred learning style; some students may find constant onscreen time more difficult in order to remain focused.
• The time it will take for teachers to plan, collaborate, and communicate with parents, colleagues and students.
• The availability of technology resources within the family during such times, as all in the family are likely to want to be online

MIDDLE SCHOOL SCHEDULE: WEEK 1

This is likely to change in Week 2

Notes:

1. In this model the teacher has time to prepare for the next day’s lesson from 9:00 to 11:00.
2. During the Teacher-Parent sessions  The HR teacher or Subject teacher can arrange a drop in Conference time from 4:00 to 4:30, and from 4:30 to 5:00 time for one to one 10-minute sessions with a parent. Specialist teachers can also use entire hour for contacting parents or at any other time during the day that parent is available.
3. The idea is to have an assessment and feedback session once per week; and lessons. Try not to have more than two languages per day.

ONLINE LEARNING

First Connections Teachers with students:

INFORMATION:

Please discuss why they are not in school and answer any questions, remember that knowledge reduces anxiety. (Depending on Age of Student)

• We are away as doing our part to ensure older people do not get sick
• Children may want to talk with grandparents once a week at a scheduled time
• Maybe teach grandparents how to use some of the technology
• Need to be aware of own physical health and remain positive
• History teacher can discuss periods in which this has occurred before in the world: Spanish Flu, SARS, MERS, plus other related historical connections

HOW TO STAY HEALTHY:

It’s a good idea also to remind them that they can help us all stay healthy:

• Wash hands (but not thousands of times a day)
• Get lots of sleep and exercise
• Think positively (see below)

WHAT HAPPENS DURING THE WEEK AHEAD:

Explain how you will connect with them daily at the same time video or link via zoom depending on age.

• Explain how the process works by giving the schedule.
• How much time? Breaks?
• How do they submit work?
• What if they have problems?
• Every week we will change what we are doing.
• Explain how to use software? Zoom? Just via link (older students can download). They may need help older sibling or parent
• Younger students the zoom may not be used at all… email a video of your explanation.

Positive Mindset

At some point in the first week, try and make sure that students have a positive mindset PERMA (Marttin Seligman ) created this acronym in attempt to ensure people begin to think positively.

• A = Achievement. We need students to feel positive and sense of achievement.
• M = Meaning in Life. Maybe by creating help videos, taking with grandparents, teaching grandparents or younger sibling could be encouraged.
• R = Positive Relationships. They need time to stay connected with classmates and teachers.
• E = Engagement or Flow. We feel positive when we have been working on something for an extended period and get upset when we are constantly interrupted. Thus, it would be a good idea for students to remove the notifications when a message arrives on a phone, email etc. Also, students should assign a specific length of time for their studies.
• P = Positive Emotions. There are often things that naturally make us feel great, such as a picture of a baby, walk in the woods, a teddy bear.

General Comments in using Zoom

• ZOOM can be used with many people, but experience suggests that it will difficult to maintain focus if there are more than 2 additional connections unless the time is taken to eliminate background noise, ensure connection is with an appropriate broadband service, and the muting of voices who are not the main speaker. Thus, in short it will take time to get used to this for both teacher and student.
• It will take time just for people to get connected, so be prepared to get into the meeting early enough, so you can also troubleshoot problems in advance of the real meeting time.
• It is essential to try features in the software so you are comfortable with its use and what may go wrong.
• Once you have tried the basic setups, including microphone levels, managing and using links, a week later you might want to try out the whiteboard, recording and other advanced features.

CULTURE FOR EFFECTIVE VIDEO CONFERENCING:

MIDDLE SCHOOL Student Guidelines

HOW IT WORKS: LOGISTICS

• These instructions detail student guidelines for ZOOM video conferences. Please note, not all class meetings will be recorded. Sessions will be recorded at the discretion of the teacher. 

• During the first week we will use the schedule indicated. You will have time for you to do individual work, and then also time to ask teachers questions (These are shown as student queries sessions).

• In later weeks we may change the schedule entirely so that the teacher will have a ZOOM conference lesson with you which will last a maximum of 40 minutes long. Then you will have the remaining time of that lesson to complete work.

• Attendance is required for all ZOOM conferences. Despite WIFI issues, you are still responsible for attending classes as you always have. Please ensure that you have backup data in case the WIFI is not working well in your home. Be aware that you may have to troubleshoot problems with ZOOM using a 2nd device. Know passwords, and how to get connected to the documents the teacher is to share with you. Try a different area in your building, such as the lobby area or the social area if your home/room/apartment is not receiving a signal.

• Students may not attend in pajamas, keeping in mind that this video may be recorded.

• Online classes will be recorded using ZOOM and its RECORD feature. This clips will be available for re-viewing at a later date.

• Check your equipment BEFORE to ensure that you have a headset/earphones/microphone/video capacity that works. A headset is preferable. Use the chat if something isn’t working with audio/video.

ROUTINES: HOW TO CREATE THE RIGHT CULTURE

• Since WIFI takes time to sort out, you are expected to attempt log-in as quietly and effectively as possible and to BE PUNCTUAL. 

• When you log on, immediately MUTE your microphone. TURN ON YOUR VIDEO so the teacher can see that you are logged in at all times. You may only turn off your video feature if you are struggling to connect with your current wi-fi. Once everyone is logged on, we will do a quick audio/video test to make sure everyone is working as attendance is taken.

• Become well-versed on how to mute/unmute your microphone. The teacher can mute it for you, but you also need to ONLY unmute it in order to respond when you are called upon. Otherwise, the class will be very distracting and frustrating to follow.

• Practice ACTIVE LISTENING during your session. When you are done speaking, re-mute your microphone. This is especially important during interactive moments of the class.

• Occasionally students may be placed in small groups via “Break-Out Rooms.” Students must treat this as productively as possible. Students may be occasionally asked to share their computer screen. When you leave for a break-out room, you will be prompted to enable your microphone. When you return to the classroom, you will also need to enable the microphone. Avoid “listen only” and be sure to click on all of the microphone prompts. Remember to mute your microphone when you enter into the whole classroom again.

• If, for some excused reason, you miss a SESSION you have TWO WEEKS to watch the recording. It is your responsibility to view the video on your own time should you miss class. This is your responsibility to do automatically, not something that the teacher should remind you to do. Conference recordings are deleted after 14 days.

• The chat function may be used for working through issues with audio/video or for letting me know information about coming/going/emergency info that is only related to you. It may also be used for answering class-related questions. Random chit-chat in a public forum should not be happening as a general rule.

• Throughout the session, the teacher might monitor your progress in the following ways:

• 
  
  • Asking an open-ended question and having students respond one at a time so that they can ensure you are fully present and participating.
  • Asking you to raise your hand if you are ok with directions.
  • Asking you to unmute one at a time and respond with “here!”
  • Going into breakout rooms and asking how your conversation is progressing.
  • Asking you to wave into the camera or give me a “thumbs up”.
  • Asking you to show me an emoji that tells me to what extent you are comfortable with the material.

TEACHERS GUIDELINES: ONLINE LEARNING

EIS is deeply committed to continue with engaging learning opportunities in the event of a closure. Teachers will design learning activities based on the best practices for online learning. Below are a few strategies teachers will use. 

• Know your students’ technological capabilities and what support is available to them.
• Designate an online learning hub (ZOOM, ONEDRIVE, MOODLE, TEAMS, etc.) and be consistent.
• Communicate often, clearly, and consistently with both students and parents.
• If possible, gather students for synchronous meetings. 
• Consciously curate content to be shared with students.
• Encourage students to work together using online tools or OneDrive so they can work on assignments together.
• Be intentional and explicit about times, due dates and lesson pacing. 
• Ask for feedback from students and parents. 
• Connect with your fellow teachers and share what is working.
• Use only tools you are comfortable with, but as weeks go by you can experiment with new tools (see appendix for suggestions).

APPENDICES

Preschool MS Section daily tasks of home learning

Dear preschool students and parents,

The following plan is a guideline for your child. Our approach is focusing on process, rather than demanding perfect results and products. We will provide different tasks every day so your child won’t miss any lessons during this exceptional period of time.

This week we will continue to explore the story of James and the Giant Peach in our workbooks. The main topic is insects, and the subtopic is days of the week.

OTHER Tech Tools

Adapted from "15 Strategies for Online Learning When School is Closed | GOA." 6 Feb. 2020, https://globalonlineacademy.org/insights/articles/15-strategies-for-online-learning-when-school-is-closed. Accessed 16 Mar. 2020.

Below is a sample list of online tools that teachers may use to facilitate productive and engaging online learning activities. If you need support, please reach out to your teacher or divisional technology coach. 

	Flipgrid is a social learning platform that allows educators to ask a question, then the students respond in a video. Students are then able to respond to one another, creating a “web” of discussion.
	EDpuzzle is an incredible-easy-to-use video platform that helps teachers save time, boost classroom engagement and improve student learning through video lessons.
	Adobe Spark is an online and mobile design app. Easily create stunning social graphics, short videos, and web pages
	Padlet is an application to create an online bulletin board that you can use to display information for any topic. Easily create an account and build a new board. You can add images, links, videos, and more.
	A design tool to engage, collaborate and promote creativity in the classroom.
	Screencastify is the #1 free screen recorder for Chrome. No download required. Record, edit and share videos in seconds.
	5-minute classroom mathematics games for Primary students. Free. This allows a student to compete against students from around the world. Designed to be fun.
	Free account access for learning, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

Tips from Other Schools

If I Had it to do Over Again/Things I Wish I Knew About Going Online Quickly (Crowdsourced advice and tips from overseas teachers affected)

Essential Agreement Example for a primary class

Teacher Learning Resources

Closure Levels

Low/Green: Normal operation, school is open. If flu-like symptoms occur, students must stay at home. All staff and faculty must wear IDs at all times. Screening by health staff. Field trips within Riga will carry on. ASA to continue.

Medium/Yellow: Normal operation, school is open. Students must be kept at home if flu symptoms occur or if they have had contact with someone with flu symptoms. Regular school program in parallel with implementation of Distance Learning options. ASA continues. All special events and community gatherings cancelled. All new field trips and international trips suspended.

High/Red: School facility closed for an indeterminate period of time. Full implementation of Distance Learning protocol for students and faculty. All ASA, field trips, international trips and community events cancelled. Full campus disinfecting procedures implemented before school resumes.