Handbook Release: Ensuring effective distance learning during COVID-19 disruption: Guidance for teachers

date:2020-12-22 16:50author:小编source:Smart Learning Instituteviews:

Recently, the handbook "Ensuring Effective Distance Learning During COVID-19 Guidance for Teachers"(Hereinafter referred to as ‘The Guidance’) was released on the UNESCO website. It was co-launched and completed by the Smart Learning Institute of Beijing Normal University and the UNESCO Unit for Technology and Artificial Intelligence in Education. The Guidance aims to help teachers understand key issues related to distance learning at home during COVID-19 school closure, and to design and promote effective learning activities. It focuses on digital technologies and curriculum and activity design skills needed for distance learning during the epidemic, so as to help teachers better complete the transition from the role of traditional education to the role of distance education, and to provide more targeted assistance to students in different conditions and with different needs.
The Guidance consists of eight chapters, which are:
• Teachers’ role, working conditions, and rights under COVID-19 school closures
• Understanding home-based distance learning under COVID-19 school closures
• Online distance learning
• TV-based distance learning
• Radio-based distance learning
• Print-based distance learning
• Facilitating home-based learning for pre-school education
• Integrating blended learning in the post-COVID-19 era
The content focuses on teaching skills and resources of different types of distance education during the epidemic, and provides detailed guidance to teachers in a simple way to help them actively adapt to the trend of normalized distance education in the future.

It is proposed in the Guidance that during school closures, teachers are on the front lines of ensuring the continuity and high quality of education, they should actively adjust their positioning and play multiple roles. This includes roles as distance learning setting builder, emotional caregiver and learning partner, micro-curriculum planner, instructional designer and tutor.. Meanwhile, teachers also needs to be highly valued and strongly supported in teaching professional development, job security, mental health and other aspects.

Online platforms, television, radio and print materials are the main media used for distance education during COVID-19 . The Guidance gives a detailed introduction to these four forms of distance education with the help of real cases carried out by countries. It also explained and analyzed the course design, learning organization and monitoring, formative assessment, cooperation between teachers, parents and school administrators in a detailed and step-by-step manner, so as to help teachers master the skills of distance teaching and ensure the quality and efficiency of distance education. Furthermore, many chapters are attached with links to free teaching and learning resources which give teachers more options to better realize distance education.
At present, the COVID-19 keeps repeating and students' learning conditions cannot be guaranteed. Large-scale implementation of distance education or online merge offline learning will become normal. “Ensuring effective distance learning during COVID-19 disruption: Guidance for teachers” provides practical methods and suggestions for teachers in preschool, primary and middle schools around the world to implement distance education. These practical experiences will help with online education revolution and reshape education in the post-COVID-19 era.

The Guidance download:
1. Follow the official Wechat account of smartlearning_BNU and reply "K12" in the dialogue interface;
2. Download link: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000375116

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