Reducing the risk, cost and administrative burden of school policy management

In times of uncertainty, a chance to revisit how we do things


Summary

Covid has forced us to be creative and use technology in new and innovative ways to keep learning going in times of uncertainty. It has revealed the necessity of tools like video, policy viewers and social media to ensure teachers have access to the information they need and students can continue to learn in a way that is engaging and convenient. Moving forward, we must ensure that these technologies are used in ways that continue to benefit everyone.

Finding a silver lining in how fast we were forced to adopt new technology during the past few years

While Covid may have forced us into new ways of working, innovative organizations are using this as an opportunity to rethink and reimagine how to be better.

A bright spot in the darkest of times

Covid threw the world into disarray, and no group felt this more than students and teachers.

Everything asked of both groups was extremely challenging, burdensome and disruptive to teaching and learning.

But as we emerged from the last pandemic wave, there were some positives to be found. We found a way. We got scrappy, and we embraced a new era of technology and efficiency to help us along the way.

As we moved back to in-school learning (or a hybrid model), we looked again to technology to make things easier, save time and give teachers and students everything they needed to succeed.

We’ll continue to use video to learn

When we had no other choice, Zoom and its competitors made virtual learning possible.

Sure, it wasn’t perfect, far from it, but it gave us options.

As we’ve gotten more comfortable with video and as Zoom has worked to improve its offering, it’s a safe bet that video will continue to play a role in learning for years to come.

Getting comfortable with video, live and pre-recorded, feels like a necessity and solid preparation in the unfortunate event we’re forced to close classrooms again in the future.

Keeping teachers informed and up-to-date on policies

With policies and programs changing, seemingly by the minute, PolicyViewer became a must-have for many schools needing to guarantee they kept teachers and administrators up to date with information.

Even after we returned to a normal way of life, finding better systems for disseminating information and, more importantly, ensuring that information has been received (and understood) has maintained its importance.

Tools like PolicyViewer take old systems that rely on costly and slow practices like paper and pigeon holes and move them into the 21st century.

Covid has reinforced the need for help in areas where we’re wasting time and money and distracting from the job of teaching.

Getting creative in our communications

Credit to teachers and administrators who found entirely new ways of engaging students (and teachers) with solutions most of us would never have considered pre-pandemic.

Social media; using videos on TikTok and Instagram or YouTube to engage and delight or communicate with students more effectively.

Modern communications: Giving students and parents more access to ask questions and get help on WhatsApp or SMS added new levels of convenience to generations comfortable with their phones and mobile messaging

New platforms: while most schools have embraced technology to one degree or another, Covid forced the adoption of entirely new platforms. As a result, Google Classroom/Docs, Slack and even Khan Academy saw massive upticks in usage.

Technology was always here to stay

Our reliance on technology as a whole increase with every passing day, and while many a teacher has lamented the slow pace of adoption of technology inside schools or the challenge of having to learn new ways of working, we’re now living in an age where we’ve no choice but to embrace the new.

Let us all hope that the next round of adoption isn’t as forced and comes with far less of a burden to our already overworked teachers and school administrators.