Students to continue learning while at home during 14-day period – MoE

The following is the full text of bulletion 48/2020 which the Ministry of Education dispatched to regional directors, school board chairmen and principals of all public educational institutions on Thursday last advising of the closure of schools for 14 consecutive days and outlining ways for students to continue their learning during the period.

Dear colleagues,

School administrators are being advised that the ministry is now at the Red Alert phase of the Education in Emergencies plan. Consequently, schools will be closed with effect, March 13, 2020 for 14 days. During this period, the situation will be monitored and after 10 days, an update will be provided.

School administrators are being asked to organise their staff (ancillary and academic) to facilitate the preparation, support and monitoring of learning activities while students are out of school. Parents/guardians are to be advised to make the necessary preparation to retrieve students from boarding institutions including our teachers’ colleges.

To ensure that the students learning continue while out of school, please be reminded of the following:

• Printing services are available in each region to support the preparation of printed materials.
• Learning kits in the form of printed materials can be collected at the regional offices and established drop off points.
• A PEP hotline has been activated to support questions related to PEP and other areas of education. (See contact list at the end of the bulletin). Psychosocial support is also available via this facility.
• Online resources for grade levels 1-3, 4-6, 7-9 are now accessible from our educational partners via the following links:
  • Book Fusion- https://www.bookfusion.com/
  • Learning Hub – https://learninghub.online/
  • EduFocal – https://www.edufocal.com/
  • CHEETAH – http://www.mydreamcheetah.net/pep.html
• The provision of online and offline lessons and training through One on One Learning Management System.
• Students without internet service will be able to access One on One Learning Management System through a zero rated data service plan.
• One on One will be hosting a webinar for teachers of grades 4 to 6 (PEP) and grades 10-13 (CSEC and CAPE) on March 13, 2020 at 1pm. Teachers are to register for webinar at 1on1lms.com.
• Frequent learning tips will be provided via social media.
• Preparation is being made for a national timetable, which will include online and traditional media broadcast of learning activities via PBCJ, TVJ, Radio Stations and local cable stations. The schedule will be published at a later date.
• Schools should:
  • Identify information communication technology resource teachers to assist with dissemination of information within each school
  • Utilise lab technicians and System Administrators to support computer-based learning platforms
  • Activate communication groups eg. WhatsApp
  • Archive the learning materials on their school management systems and ensure that these are shared with the parents through the established communication channels.
  • Send frequent tips to reassure and support ongoing learning
  • Utilise trained teachers in e-testing/computer-based assessment to support online learning activities
• There is free access to the Google platform, which will help students and their teachers to continue learning outside of school. This facility will allow teachers to host:
  • Larger classes, for up to 250 participants per call
  • Live streaming for up to 100,000 viewers within a domain
  • The ability to record classes and save them to Google Drive
• Some of the various platforms available through Google are:
  • Teacher Centre resources and trainings
  • G Suite and Chrome EDU On Air livestream (Enabling Distance Learning)
  • The Google for Education blog for ideas and inspiration

For further information or queries, please contact your regional directors at the following numbers:

Read the original article here.