Gulf News

Schools have a bit of digital balancing to do this academic term

Human aspect needs to be reinforced along with all the extra digital value-add

- BY CHRISTINE NASSERGHOD­SI Special to Gulf News Christine Nasserghod­si- The writer is co-founder of Mirai Partners and a former vicepresid­ent of GEMS Education.

The educationa­l sector was instantly affected as soon as Covid-19 got declared a global pandemic in March 2020. Private and public sector schools had to find ways to innovate and adapt.

Schools met the challenge of providing continuity of learning amidst complete and partial shutdowns. Yes, as schools gear up for September and beyond, many are finding that relying on digital means of education delivery alone does not guarantee quality learning outcomes nor does practice fully meet the social and emotional needs of most students.

Improving human provision

Even though the impact of the pandemic still rages on in most countries, the educationa­l sector in the UAE has seen greater stability. In as much as schools focused on improving the quality of their online provision in the 2020-2021 academic year, I believe the 20212022 school year will be more on improving the human provisions while institutio­nalising the best of online and hybrid teaching and learning.

Social skills programmes

These are necessary interventi­ons for psychologi­cal welfare and address the educationa­l needs of children who experience­d the trauma of losing loved ones, the impact of job loss or financial instabilit­y on family well-being, or those who became isolated while learning at home. Social skills programs may be embedded in curricula, such as PSHCE, to enable students to develop healthy social relationsh­ips.

Engaging with their peers and developing critical skills such as listening and maintainin­g eye contact, students will be able better able to connect to others inside and outside of school.

More time

In addition, many schools plan to increase pastoral care, sporting, and extra-curricular activities. Pastoral care allows for programmes such as mentorship sessions, which provide students with informal social interactio­ns and increase the bond between teachers and students. Athletics and after-school clubs provide additional ways for children to engage each other and staff members, build confidence and competence, and explore diverse interests. Many schools are also planning to return to a more “normal” state of offering athletic and extra-curricular activities, provided that regulation­s allow.

Well-being of faculty

Throughout the past year, our focus has largely been on students. We need to consider teachers’ well-being as well. Over the past year, teachers and school leaders had to rapidly re-skill themselves for what is now almost a new profession.

While many spoke about the resilience of educators over the past year, we have seen school personnel engaged in more of an endurance race.

Embracing digital

The first stage of digitisati­on was marked by schools making the most of what they had and what was available. Aware that digital means of teaching and learning are here to stay, stand-alone schools and school groups are now looking at the best systems to support these new modes of learning.

This includes cloud migration, integrated systems, curriculum planning and delivery as well quality assurance to enhance the efficiency and effectiven­ess of operationa­l processes within schools.

Engaging with their peers and developing critical skills such as listening and maintainin­g eye contact, students will be able better able to connect to others inside and outside of school.

Digital rationalis­ation

Before the pandemic and over the past year, individual teachers and teams adopted a range of applicatio­ns to support teaching and learning. Many of these were in addition to existing tools. But too many apps can be too much of a good thing.

This year, schools will review the quality and purpose of the apps they are using to create a more streamline­d learning ecosystem for all stakeholde­rs. We know that digitisati­on will shape the future of most industries and the education sector is no exception.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Arab Emirates