Is your school prepared for the new normal?

 

The coronavirus pandemic has transformed life as we know it. While some adults may be relishing the time away from their hectic work lives and enjoying time with their children, its children that could be suffering the most. They’ve missed weeks of vital education and, in turn, opportunities to socialise with their peers and develop their own independence. And, for some of them, those opportunities could be missing for a little while longer.

With Years 1,2 and 6 returning to school (in some areas), the remaining year groups will have to wait their turn. Despite the staggered return, it’s thought that a new way of learning will be in place for a significant amount of time and that online resources will become fundamental to the education sector.

The school website pre-COVID-19

Before coronavirus hit the school website was a useful marketing tool, a communication tool for the school community and, in some instances, a log-in portal for teachers and students.

It was a place to attract new students and show off the school’s good work, fantastic results and the culture they instilled within their school. Some schools communicated important messages and posted photos of school trips to keep parents and peers updated and informed.

Others had an online portal where teachers, parents and students could access resources within the school community such as letters, important guidelines and even school reports.

However, since the coronavirus pandemic the school website has taken on a new lease of life.

The school website during COVID-19

Schools closed on 20 March with no sign of when they would return and home-schooling became a top priority for parents as they took on the role of teachers.

During this time, many school websites became learning hubs. Teachers began uploading useful learning resources onto the school site. Projects were handed out to students and advice to parents was readily available across the website.

Some teachers held virtual classes in a bid to bring a sense of normality to their pupils and sent homework packs home to their students with the hopes of easing the burden off the parents.

Now, as schools begin a staggered return the website has become a hive of activity as schools try their best to inform their community how they plan to keep lessons safe and update parents on any vital news about when their child might be returning to school.

Schools post-COVID-19

It’s not hard to see that schools and the classroom will be completely different to those pre-COVID-19. With the main aim to stop the spread of coronavirus schools will be no doubt looking at ways to work smarter and cleaner. Books could be a thing of the past and worksheets might be resigned to the cupboard for the time being. However, doing away with physical resources shouldn’t stem the flow of learning and education.

Instead, teachers and schools could turn to a digital approach using mobile applications such as Homework4. Not only can students access the application on their mobile devices; stopping the sharing of resources and equipment, but they can access resource materials online and browse through useful content and enhance their own learning.

Teachers can send lesson notes through mobile applications and parents can access their child’s homework resources to keep track, view their child’s online homework diary and support them using the app.

With digital resources having taken centre stage during coronavirus, it’s become essential that education facilities have an all-encompassing digital plan to support them through any situation. Not only that but having the technology behind the website to support learning whether remote or otherwise, could prove to be fundamental to a child’s education in the months and years to come.

To find out more about Homework4, please click HERE.