Nearly all of the COVID-19 media coverage focuses on the economic and health impacts of the pandemic. But although they don’t have careers to worry about, and they’re among the lowest-risk segment of the population in terms of the virus itself, children have had their lives upended just as adults have.
The most obvious disruption in kids’ routines was the closing of schools—which took children out of their familiar routines at a time when they needed those routines more than ever.
For one school district, the lockdown orders came so suddenly that its IT department didn’t have time to develop a technology plan for distance learning. So the district allowed its teachers to choose their own video conferencing tools. One second-grade teacher found RingCentral—and now she’s recommending it to every educator who will listen.
Choosing her own video solution for her virtual classroom
What appealed most to this teacher about RingCentral Video conferencing was how simple it is to learn and put into use. “I send my students an invite link to join our virtual classroom, we all turn on our cameras, and we can see each other and communicate live,” she explains.
And RingCentral allows users to host as many video calls as they want, this teacher is able to use it not only for her standard classes—teaching math, reading, and other subjects to the whole classroom—but also for one-on-one tutoring sessions for students who need extra help.
“My students aren’t all at the same levels in terms of reading or math, and they don’t all learn at the same pace,” she says. “It’s great that I can fire up a video chat with a student any time during the day to go over a concept they’re struggling to grasp, or just to give them a little more time and encouragement.”
Reminding students that things will be okay
In addition to making sure her students continue their studies during the quarantine, this teacher knows she’s also providing another important function during this difficult time. Teachers everywhere are doing their best to help children experience a familiar, reassuring routine.
And because she has the technology that enables her students to see her and each other, this teacher knows she’s giving her class more of that all-important sense of normalcy than she could if she were simply emailing them their lesson plans each day.
“Letting these kids see and talk with their teacher and classmates everyday… I really think it gives them the sense that things are going to be okay. And that might be the most important thing we can do right now as educators.”
Originally published Apr 27, 2020, updated Sep 28, 2020
