COVID-19

We have all been tracking the spread of COVID-19, and we’ve been speaking with our community of schools to learn about what impact this is having on them and their students, how they’re handling the disruption, and what they need moving forward. What we’re finding is that there are a range of needs for both students and educators—some of whom are struggling and others who are thriving. We would like to help all our students have a positive learning journey until this ends.

Over the past nine years, GOA has identified and trained educators in best practices for online learning. There are a few key points that need to be understood.

  • First, online learning is all about connecting with others and fostering the relationships we have with our students and colleagues. Whether you’re designing for students or adults, keep the relationships central. You can create strong, healthy communities online. This becomes vital when students and teachers feel isolated or disconnected.
  • Second, you will not get through all the content you might in an on-campus environment. At first, this will feel like a loss, but you will see that this acknowledgement will open up exciting possibilities for what you ask of your students. Online learning is not about replication of what you are doing in on-campus settings. Rather, there is an opportunity to reimagine learning in new spaces. Educators may need support in learning how to teach online.
  • Third, assessments look different online. Instead of having students take a test or a quiz (although those can be used effectively as formative assessments and check-ins), have students demonstrate their learning in a way that requires real application of the material. Teachers will need to create new ways to summatively assess learning through culminating projects, peer-to-peer feedback, and teacher feedback.
  • Finally, balance is fundamental to keeping your online communities healthy. Teachers need to balance synchronous and asynchronous connections and collaboration, and students need to do some of this on their own.

(From our Executive Director Michael Nachbar's letter to the GOA community)

Resources

Articles from GOA's Insights Blog

Approaching Online Learning

Designing Online Learning Experiences

Leadership

Additional Resources

Online Courses and Programs

For Educators: Online Courses

GOA offers short, highly practical online courses for educators designing online and hybrid learning. These courses are fully asynchronous in order to maximize flexibility and accessibility for educators. They are open to all and free for educators from GOA member schools.

For Students: Become a GOA Member School

We offer small, interactive online courses for middle and high school students. Our international community of member schools have full access to our student course catalog and educators from those schools can take our educator courses for free. Becoming a GOA member school is an ideal way to embed high-quality online learning in your school's program.

Inquire about Membership

Need Additional Support?

The GOA Team is available for consultation as well as facilitation of workshops on online learning. Learn more.

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