WHY?
The face of education has changed forever. Research suggests it takes approximately two months to form a new habit – far more than this has been spent by students learning online during the COVID crisis. The reality of students’ new learning habits and preferences is already being felt by schools as many students are now seeking online schooling options going forward. It is becoming imperative for schools to launch an online offering in order to retain current student numbers and potentially attract new students.
WHAT?
An exciting new model of schooling has arisen – we call it the xSchool. In the past, there were essentially two models of school – the traditional face-to-face school or the Online school. Now, a new model, the xSchool, offers a unique blend. The xSchool is delivered online but linked to a traditional school. The xSchool is taught by (to a lesser or greater extent) the traditional school’s teachers. The benefit is that the students now belong to and associate with the heritage/brand of the traditional school while having the flexibility to learn online. This best-of-both solution gives added flexibility for students while retaining links and other benefits of belonging to a traditional school. Additionally, it offers traditional schools an exciting opportunity to not only retain but attract new students.
HOW?
The xSchool is as new and uncharted as the name. While the need to offer an online schooling option is now imperative, the key to success requires careful planning across a range of areas including sourcing/identifying new staff, training teachers in effective online teaching, deciding on appropriate online delivery platforms, setting up online content, supporting online delivery, etc. The xSchool is new for everyone, however, when navigating uncharted territory it’s best to be guided by experts who not only understand education but understand the unique space of education technology. At ACT Education we have brought together what is arguably the single-most highly-qualified team of experts in education technology in South Africa – most with PhDs in education and technology. Our specialist team is ready to help you set up your xSchool.
We Create Effective Solutions
4 Key Elements To Launching A Successful xSchool
PLANS
This element involves setting up the plans, procedures, policies, etc. for the xSchool. Here we offer guidance and insights into what is required to launch an xSchool as well as help identify appropriate role-players to support various elements of the school. We also provide assistance with social media strategies around launching the xSchool.
PEOPLE
This element is in many ways the most important. Without the right people (teachers and others) supporting the xSchool it cannot succeed. As such it is vital to identify the most appropriate people. To do this we offer the following services:
Finding Teachers
- We will help you find the best teachers for online teaching both from our own database of trained teachers and by assisting your school with advertising campaigns to source new teachers.
- Teachers will be put through the ACT xSchool pre-approval process. This process helps give an insight into the appropriateness of teachers for effective online teaching
Selecting Teachers
- Assist with compiling questions and other tasks for selecting appropriate teachers
- Assist with interviewing candidates and making recommendations on appropriate teachers
Training Teachers
- Provide the Active Connected Teaching course to all selected teachers to ensure they are trained in effective online teaching approaches
- Designing and providing custom online training/webinars around requested tools, approaches, and/or needs
Supporting Teachers
- Provide access to the ACT Toolbox - a dynamic/growing resource of training tools to support teachers
- Provide access to the ACT Forum - a support forum for teachers
- Provide access to instructional designers and other support staff to support technology and teaching issues
Inspiring Teachers
- Provide access to our regular webinars, virtual conferences, and other online meetups, where teachers can learn from others, share their experiences, and be inspired to continually improve.
Platform
The underlying technology required to deploy an xSchool.
- Set up an activated online teaching and learning environment that includes key elements of active learning and gamification.
- Host the activated learning environment.
- Design/setup/host the xSchool website .
PERFORMANCE
The ongoing performance of the xSchool.
- Provide instructional designer support to teachers around designing and deploying online learning content.
- Provide technical support to teachers around the platform and teaching tools.
- Conduct xSchool surveys (staff and/or students) to monitor and improve performance.
Are you ready to launch your xSchool?
If so, our world-class team of education technology experts is ready to assist you. However, we realise it can be daunting stepping into a new and unknown future so we would like to make the first step on this exciting journey really easy. We are offering 2 hours of free online consulting/meeting with one or more of our expert team to discuss launching your xSchool, at no cost or obligation. This means there is no reason to not begin exploring your school’s journey to launching your very own xSchool.
In addition to the Why, What, and How, there is the When - and the answer to that is NOW!
