ICT During Remote Learning

The Machinery of Remote Learning ICT at St Paul’s

During the past 18 months, the school’s technology programme has proven its value and flexibility, navigating the challenges of restrictions and lockdowns, writes Justin Warner, Director of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) at St Paul’s.

my.stpauls Logins per Month

Teachers at St Paul’s have engaged with technology in new and innovative ways during the recent periods of remote teaching and learning. We are all lifelong learners at St Paul’s and the ICT team have enjoyed supporting our teaching staff as they have expressed the characteristics of the IB Learner Profile we encourage our students to display – such as being inquirers, being knowledgeable and being risk-takers.

This has resulted in a high level of engagement from students from PreKindergarten through to Year 12. While remote learning certainly has been challenging, it has been rewarding to see students engaging with the different learning experiences provided via our technology platforms during this time.

my.stpauls

Our key learning and communication platform, my.stpauls, has been the central point of our remote learning strategy. It has been very encouraging to see the growth in the number of students and parents engaging with my.stpauls across 2021.

Seesaw

In our Junior School, engagement with Seesaw has been particularly strong during remote learning, with more than 10,000 items posted by staff and students some weeks. Teachers and students have been very active posting video and photos of the work they are completing at home. Students have also used the platform to connect with their teacher and classmates in meaningful, engaging ways.

Video Conferencing

Following the experiences of 2020, it was felt that using video-conferencing would add value to the learning experience for students in 2021. We had already commenced deploying Microsoft Teams software to school staff and quickly rolled this out for students. Staff and students were quick to take advantage of this new opportunity to meet virtually.

Your ICT Support Team

Our support team has had to quickly adapt as the type of support required shifted from faceto-face with students troubleshooting school managed devices, to being a mix of contact with parents and students, school managed and personal devices and a variety of home network configurations and circumstances; all while being handled remotely by the ICT team. The team took this in their stride and continued to deliver a high level of service to the St Paul’s community. We have welcomed the positive feedback from families on how we have been able to support them and have appreciated everybody’s patience and support as we have worked to make the remote learning experience as rewarding as possible.

my.stpauls

The Future

Much of what we have developed during the periods of remote learning will continue to benefit our staff and students into the future.

Justin Warner

Director of Information and Communication Technology