“Continuity in Our Partnerships”

Beginning with a full day of professional development dedicated to technology training and curricular planning on March 9, faculty and staff marshaled their knowledge and resources to provide students with a rigorous and engaging distance-learning experience during the statewide shutdown.

Staff in the school’s Library and Technology Services Department proved to be indispensable partners in this shift, 为课堂教师提供指导和专业知识, 翻译甚至重新构思他们的课程和数字领域的作业.

“We knew we were being proactive”

Director of Educational Technology Sarah Wike said school leadership began planning for this possibility when the first case of COVID-19 appeared in the state in early March. Her first task: creating a website 这将突出最佳实践，并为虚拟教学提供资源.

该网站于3月11日上线，并迅速成为学生们的信息中心, teachers, and parents and caregivers,” Wike said. “We knew we were being proactive, 但十大澳门信誉网赌排名从未想过十大澳门信誉网赌排名会在一周内宣布转向在线教学!”

The virtual-learning website Wike created includes tips for parents and caregivers on how to support their students in navigating their new routine.

The forethought paid off. With preparing additional Chromebooks for students in fifth grade to take home — students in grades six through 12 already enjoy 1:1 access — and surveying teachers and families about their home WiFi access, “这是疯狂的一周，充满了各种不确定的感觉,” Wike said. “但由于十大澳门信誉网赌排名在前端做好了准备, we were able to move forward with uninterrupted teaching and learning in a way few other institutions did.”

In addition, the Technical Services team transitioned from on-campus triage of devices to remote support of students, faculty and nonessential staff.

“We began directing students, parents and faculty to call our new Technical Support Hotline — powered by Google Voice — or email our Help Desk when devices were not operating as designed. 然后，十大澳门信誉网赌排名连夜将替换设备运送到受影响的家庭, if needed,” IT Specialist Chris Michael said. “Our goal the entire time was to create a seamless transition from the physical classroom to the virtual classroom.”

“Getting live feedback”

在Wike和首席信息官Jason Ramsden领导的培训下, 教师们扩大了他们熟悉的工具的使用，如Veracross和谷歌教室. The Lower School made Seesaw 他们检查作业和交流的主要门户, 从事研究项目的渡鸦们可以使用 Sora digital library.

As virtual learning continued, the Ed Tech staff mobilized a variety of new applications and platforms to help teachers maintain student engagement. Screencastify 例如，允许教师录制教程片段，以及 Padlet facilitated daily check-ins.

The technology also bridged the gap for classes in which real-time classroom interaction and teacher feedback is essential.

“While Flipgrid 一直以来都是世界语言教师听学生讲话的一种方式, 十大澳门信誉网赌排名开始更多地使用它，让学生们互相反馈,高中西班牙语老师Anna Nethery说. “Pear Deck allowed me to teach a new concept while getting live feedback from the students in the form of questions and polls. And the excitement of virtual quiz games on Kahoot! can’t be beat! Even when the students were apart, 他们喜欢彼此竞争，喜欢看到自己的名字出现在排行榜上.”

Keim Center intern Anna-Claire Bousquet’s screencast walks seventh-graders through planning infographics for their World Geography projects.

Keim Center library staff encouraged students vote for their favorite books using March Madness-style playoff brackets.

“Keeping the community together”

Over the course of the fourth quarter, some projects, assignments and events — many regarded as perennial favorites by students and teachers alike — were adapted to align with the online learning format, including the second-grade Time Machine research project, the sixth-grade Decades Showcase and the seventh-grade World Geography research project. 图书馆的工作人员每一步都与学生们一起工作.

“The Keim Center library staff did an outstanding job pairing technology resources with our lessons to help students succeed — exceed — in their research,” World Geography teacher Greg Anysz said. “他们参加了十大澳门信誉网赌排名的虚拟课堂，提供指导, 回答问题并安排个别时间来复习学生的作业.”

Ravens also enjoyed new academic and social opportunities using tools facilitated by the Library and Technology Services Department. Third-grade science students documented their experiences at home as part of a new science project, My 2020 COVID-19 Time Capsule与温斯顿图书馆团队合作. 中学图书大战队享受了一场虚拟的比赛 scavenger hunt. Library staff rolled out Summer Book Bingo, Literary Lunches, the Harry Potter Read-Aloud and Literary March Madness to encourage students to keep reading at home.

Katherine Creedon — whose sons Mikie ’25, Jed ’27 and Charlie ’29 span the Lower and Middle Schools — gave the school high marks for their work in the digital space. “We have been very impressed with the virtual learning and the personal videos coming from the administration, teachers and staff,” she said. “I love the Instagram account with #RavensTogetherAtHome and the other ways the school is keeping the community together.”

In the end, determination to continue to offer that strong support and guidance — one of the hallmarks of a Ravenscroft education — drove the work these teams did.

Director of Library Services Angela Finn summed it up this way: “Our priority was to nurture our caring relationships with students while maintaining continuity in our teaching partnerships and support services.”