5 ways to create a stellar online elementary learning program
Each 12 months, we share our 10 most-read tales. Not surprisingly, lots of this 12 months’s Top 10 targeted on revolutionary ways to have interaction college students, digital assets, and online and hybrid learning methods associated to post-pandemic educating. This 12 months’s 4th most-read story focuses on creating an online elementary program.
Elementary training is the muse for early learning, offering college students with the talents and group they want for future success in class and life. Thanks to at this time’s expertise, serving to them begin on the correct foot is less complicated than ever – particularly with online learning alternatives.
Online learning has develop into a rising pattern amongst Okay-12 college students, together with elementary college students. In reality, we efficiently launched our personal online elementary colleges, which grew by 10,000 college students over the previous 4 years.
If you might be a faculty or district chief trying to construct an online elementary program, realizing the place to begin can really feel overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to be. Here are 5 steps that helped our groups efficiently construct and keep an online elementary program that drives pupil and mum or dad engagement:
Step 1: Start with the Basics
First, decide the particular targets you need to your online elementary program. For instance, would you like to broaden curriculum choices, present efficient versatile learning choices for college kids, or construct a customized program that meets college students’ wants? Or maybe you will have a number of targets you need to accomplish. No matter what your program’s targets are, figuring out and discussing them is probably the most vital issue when launching a new program.
Then, it’s finest to resolve the way you need your program to incorporate digital learning. Do you need your program to be absolutely online? What about a blended learning mannequin that mixes using online programs and assets in a face-to-face setting? Or might hybrid be what works finest to your college students – combining in-person and digital days?
Step 2: Focus in your academics and workers
Your academics and workers make the magic, so it’s essential to deal with hiring workers and academics who’re passionate and enthusiastic about online learning. Then, it’s vital to guarantee they’ve the assets, instruments, {and professional} improvement they want to really feel assured and ready to educate within the online learning surroundings.
Throughout our FlexPoint and Florida Virtual School skilled improvement, we present elementary academics how to implement finest practices in online learning and create enjoyable and interesting actions for his or her college students online. For instance, we encourage our academics to convey props into their lesson, like they’d in a bodily classroom. This may very well be utilizing a guitar to sing songs, puppet animals, and extra. The sky’s the restrict.
Step 3: Utilize interactive curriculum and instruction
Elementary-age college students have shorter consideration spans, which is why it’s very important to present them with group learning time, like a stay lesson, in addition to particular person time. This additionally permits college students to have extra flexibility of their schedule to allow them to work on assignments at their very own tempo, or take a break in the event that they want to. Additionally, our academics present instruction that requires interplay with onscreen content material similar to picture markers and tabbed panels, in order that college students really feel like they’re a part of the lesson.
Also, using a curriculum that features interactive parts similar to movies, video games, and extra, could make all of the distinction. I extremely suggest both creating your personal curriculum with these parts, or partnering with an online learning supplier, like FlexPoint, to license interactive curriculum.
Step 4: Build a sturdy group
Even online, it’s essential for folks to really feel assured that faculty leaders know their baby as a person and care about their success. There are many ways to construct sturdy connections with mother and father and college students online.
At Florida Virtual School we developed a self-paced onboarding course for folks and college students to take earlier than they begin their courses to learn the way to navigate the online learning platform, discover their schedule, search for grades, and extra. We additionally encourage our academics to schedule welcome calls with mother and father and college students to reply any questions they might have concerning the upcoming faculty 12 months.
Step 5: Plan for all eventualities
There are conditions which might be distinctive to the online learning surroundings. For instance, what do your academics and workers do when a pupil stops responding or submitting assignments? Providing pointers on how academics and workers ought to method a number of eventualities it’s essential so there may be already a plan in place.
To begin constructing pointers and finest practices, I might begin by asking your self and your workers questions similar to, “do you have safeguards in place to ensure academic integrity?” or “how will you communicate with families and students who are actively participating in their learning?” And don’t neglect questions on technical assist and the way to assist college students with IEPs or ESEs within the online learning surroundings.
Related:
5 ways to prep college students for online learning success
4 blended learning methods for higher pupil engagement
Laura Ascione is the Editorial Director at eSchool Media. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland’s prestigious Philip Merrill College of Journalism.
