“Since the online courses started, students have asked for more. They even asked us for sessions during the next vacation, it's rather unexpected ” says Edith Boncompain, vice-president of the FIAF. Since the beginning of the week, in the United States, French schools have closed their doors in order to counter the proliferation of the coronavirus. Many of them have been able to react effectively in order to maintain education for students with the establishment of correspondence courses.
How did it happen?
“We have been working on setting up online courses for two weeks. The plan has been in effect since Friday March 13. Before that, the teachers received training and a test was carried out the day before, in order to confirm the implementation of the online plan ” explains Rachel Loble, responsible for school life at The Ecole, a French school located in Manhattan. The Lycée français de New York had the advantage of turning to digital five years ago. “We had made large technological investments which today are particularly beneficial to us” explains Evelyne Estey, head of the establishment. “So we were able to adapt to the situation and get started with online courses very quickly”.
Closed since Thursday, March 12, the Lycée français has been working, throughout the week, to put in place its plan for academic continuity, prepared since the end of January. Students and teachers took a test on Friday March 13, prior to the first day of online lessons on Monday March 16, until the spring break. On the side of Central Park, thehe FIAF officially closed on Monday March 16. The teachers were trained and encouraged to diversify their content in order to adapt it to the online format. The first session of virtual courses will end this week, and will probably resume on Monday April 6. The school hopes to set up programs for these weeks of "emptiness" in order to maintain the virtual social bond with the students.
On the West Coast, near Palo Alto, Mathilde Mazuyer is a replacement professor at the ISTP (International School of the Peninsula), and teaches a FLE class from the EFBA (Education Française Bay Area) association in San Francisco. The association offers “after school” courses twice a week, but following the closure of the various establishments where it operated, it had to adapt to the situation. "We had to quickly train our teachers in online courses, and we communicated the information to parents and students" explains Gabrielle Durana, founder and managing director of the EFBA association. A training plan, with tutorial videos, has been put in place by Bianca Monaco, Director General and Chief Technology Officer of EFBA. After a whole week of training, online courses will start on Monday 23 March.
What tools?
Inspired by the tools already used by French establishments abroad, The School decided to use “the Google Meet tool, which allows teachers to make eye contact with their students. Document sharing interfaces such as Google Docs, Google Classroom or Padlet allow students and teachers to send each other work and work in groups easily. VoiceThread is mainly used by children, so that they can receive links and documents. They have the possibility to register during the music lesson, or to improve their pronunciation in Mandarin ” continues Rachel Loble. With initial positive feedback, The School has scheduled its online training plan until the spring break. The FIAF and the Lycée français agree on the use of the Zoom video conference tool."We have been talking to our teachers for two weeks now about the possibility of setting up correspondence courses. They received training on Zoom ” explains Evelyne Estey, from the Lycée français. “The lessons continued on Zoom according to the usual schedules and the first feedback from the teachers is quite positive, although some adjustments remain to be made ” explains Edith Boncompain. On the EFBA side, the teachers will teach by video using Google Meet and share the work on Google Classroom. “We made sure to use secure cyber tools. It’s really very important to us that student data is protected ” continues Gabrielle Durana.
Recreating habits
Beyond the tools, it is the breakdown of the social bond formed at school that worries many teachers. To avoid this, "We asked the students to keep their habits, to wear the uniform and to respect the schedules and break times" explains Evelyne Estey, from the Lycée Français. The school has kept the same hours, and offer students synchronous and asynchronous sessions with regular break times. Individual sessions are offered to students with more difficulties. “We advise students and teachers to take these break times seriously to stretch and take time off the screens” continues the head of the establishment.
“You have to be careful not to ask for too many hours of lessons per video, this is particularly tiring for children” continues Rachel Loble of The School. A commitment also made by the FIAF, which offers to the little ones storytelling and nursery rhymes, video viewing and self-correcting activities to improve their autonomy. Lessons are most often in small groups, especially for small children who tend to stay less concentrated than large ones. "We have adapted the format by implementing a reverse class system: the courses are shorter but online activities are offered to the students so that they can work on their own" continues Edith Boncompain. For students with learning difficulties, The School calls on specific teaching staff to help them. “The referring teacher connects with the student to help him live during the video lesson” explains Rachel Loble.
On the EFBA side, Mathilde Mazuyer wonders about the reaction of children and their ability to adapt.“It’s a lot of change in a very short time. We will not be able to discern the children's emotions directly. If some of them will have the chance to count on their parents to help them, this will not be the case for all, and I hope that those most in difficulty will be able to adapt. ” EFBA has decided to help the teachers in creating content for this first week. “We strive to offer playful, lively and lively course formats to students. The lessons will be distinguished in “scenario” of around 40 minutes and five times a week, in groups of five to six students. We want to offer children virtual museum visits, or even yoga sessions ” explains Gabrielle Durana, the director of the association.
These online courses, necessary for the continuity of student learning, are also of social and emotional interest. They help maintain a bond between the school, teachers and students, and thus avoid possible feelings of loneliness. “Even if the pedagogy is slower, we manage to hold the lessons and keeping this social bond with our students is really important. I have retired students for whom these courses represent the only moments when they are no longer alone ” explains Svetlana Pezier. “If I can give some advice, it is important to prepare well, to make sure you have a good connection, to be in a calm environment, to mute your microphone when you are not speaking and to respect the speaking time of each." she specifies. At The Ecole, lhe extra-curricular activities are maintained. “Sports teachers share videos with their students to help them stay physically active at home. The School is finalizing a guide to the best ways to work from home: for example, it is important to create a workspace, confined to others, and to establish a daily routine in order to stay on schedule. advises Rachel Loble.
“It’s an incredibly rewarding experience” remark Evelyne Estey. “The interesting thing is that social media is continually criticized, but today it saves our lives. It’s quite ironic ” notes Edith Boncompain. The Lycée Français has initiated regular points with other schools in New York. “If possible, nWe hope to be able to help other schools learn online courses. Solidarity between teaching staff is fundamental in this new period ” concludes Evelyne Estey.
