MUSCAT: As schools across Oman are closed due to the deadly coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, many schools in the country are taking classes online. The pandemic is forcing educators, parents, and students to think critically, problem-solve, be creative, communicate, collaborate and be agile. It is also revealing that there is no another way.

The ABA – an IB World school, one among the best educational institutions in the country has introduced online classes for their students.  Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Arabian Stories, Dr. Susan R. Groesbeck, Head of School at ABA says the experiment will reshape schools. “We also need to look to the future and how we will transition learners and teachers back to school,” she says. 

Excerpts from the interview
What are the measures taken by ABA in helping the students who are now at home during this time of the COVID-19 crisis?
No matter the situation here at ABA we use our mission, vision, and values as the key foundations in our prioritizing and decision making. Our priority has been to ensure that we have been ‘caring’ for our students and staff in such challenging circumstances. We want our students to continue to bring their innovation, creativity, and resilience to their learning.

During school closure, ABA’s online learning purpose is to maintain:
● routine and sense of normality for students
● connection with the community to sustain morale and emotional well-being
● continuum of active learning and interaction.

Teachers are in consistent contact with our students, utilizing a variety of technologies. It is important to remember that this looks different depending on the age of the child ranging from a good morning message or reading a book to email, messaging and real-time video conferencing.

In addition to our teachers, our teams of Advisors, Learning Mentors, and Counsellors have been reaching out to students to continue to support their social and emotional well-being. Our Physical and Education staff have launched ‘Vipers (our school mascot) TV’, with fitness programs, challenges, and health information. There will be cooking challenges, different exercise routines, and online team building games during the downtimes. The students will do different exercises at home to be played with dice and their teacher. This week, for example, our swim instructors are organizing a team of land snakes and ladders. Even some of our staff are participating!

Looking to the future
The goal is not to try to re-create face-to-face classrooms, which is impossible to do. Online and blended learning provides opportunities for learners to work more independently, expand their agency, and learn to use tools and strategies that they otherwise might not have. We also need to look to the future and how we will transition learners and teachers back to school. This transition is an equally important part of the ABA plan. We ensure students continue to feel safe and connected so ABA students can continue to be confident, responsible, caring, life-long learners. Our ‘Class of 2020’ graduates have been accepted to some of the top universities and this reflects ABA’s commitment to a rigorous, world-class learning environment where students achieve their maximum potential in an environment of intercultural understanding and respect, to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world.

Learning is social, collaborative and the best ideas come from multiple people thinking together.

Dr. Susan R. Groesbeck, Head of School, ABA

What are the online learning systems provided by the school and how is it beneficial for the students?
What has been key for ABA was to expand the use of applications that we were already using and having these platforms already in place, has helped us in the transition to online learning engagements. For our younger students, we use Seesaw and for our Middle and High School students, Google classroom. We can have a faculty meeting, a full orchestra rehearsal or a full school assembly using our CISCO WebEx connections. For our IB Diploma students, we are also using Kognity which acts as an online and interactive digital textbook for IB Diploma courses. Having one platform as a hub provides clear communication for our community and there was little to no learning curve for students, families, and staff. The ABA community is connected and remains so.

What are the main features of Online learning and how is it different from the others?
Learning is social, collaborative and the best ideas come from multiple people thinking together. Although various applications have tried to replicate many of these ideas, online collaboration cannot replace the nuances of human interaction. For example, the virtual lab experiments that we provide cannot replicate the awe of hands-on science.

Some key advice I would give to online learners and educators would be that, 1) Routine is important.  2) Ensure everyone understands how to use the technologies. 3) Consider the social and mental well-being of those learning online . 4) Understand what learning is going on (it is not the case of just filling in time). 5) The best thing that parents can do is be parents and support their child through this uncertain time.