Distance Learning for Weather Closings

Snow Days may be FUN for students, teachers even get excited for the extra time to spend with family or to catch up on grading. But in reality, missed days=missed opportunities for instruction. Snow Days mean pushing curriculum or excluding lessons, not to mention the dreaded make-up days. But what if there was a better way… a way to keep students and faculty safe, while not sacrificing instruction?  There is! The Nureva Span Workspace has an incredible solution for you. 

Nureva Workspace is a way for the students to connect with the teacher from any cloud-based device and work along with classmates/teacher in real time. The best part is that the teacher can export data immediately to know who contributed what and actively participated. Nureva Workspace allows teachers to drive instruction remotely… To ask questions, post powerpoints, video, and links that students are able to respond and participate with their class in real-time.

K-12 

Smarter Systems Senior Education Consultant Kelly Williams said: “I think the Nureva Span Workspace is going to be the affordable game changer for schools who often lose days of instruction due to inclement weather.” 

Williams, a former secondary English teacher in Eastern North Carolina, says, “I remember in 2014 our area in NC had an unusually active winter, missing several days right around exam time. It would have been a “grade-saver” to have had the Nureva Span Workspace that year so that I would not have lost so much time. I would have been able to review, answer questions, and still provide instruction during those snow days!  Students would have been able to work together, finish projects, complete assignments, etc. Most people have no idea just how significantly missed instruction adversely affects student performance. The Nureva Span Workspace can and will change the landscape for inclement weather days.”

Anderson School District 5 in South Carolina is already testing this type of teaching tool. The school district tested it out for the first time in October when Tropical Storm Michael moved through. According to the Independent Mail, the eLearning day allows the district to count the day for credit toward the required 180 days of instruction each year, with no makeup day required, and avoid any safety or transportation concerns.

HIGHER EDUCATION 

Several Institutions of Higher Ed are utilizing the Nureva Span Workspace for their distance education, especially where they have remote or rural campuses.  These students are able to actively participate with fellow students at the main campus, as well as with the instructor through the Nureva Span Workspace.

Reese News Lab at UNC-Chapel Hill is now being called the perfect classroom for this very reason. Director & Founder at THE rAVe Agency and UNC School of Media and Journalism professor Gary Kayye says its considered this in part because “no student ever has to miss class and no professor ever has to cancel class.” Kayye adds, “this speaks to people because of its simplicity, but still being a sophisticated operation.” 

If you are interested in learning more about distance learning options for your classrooms or want to know more about Nureva Span Workspace, contact Smarter Systems today. For NC schools contact Kelly Williams and for SC schools Maria Cline.