What is the initiative and where is it implemented (city or country, for example)?
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, schools and kindergartens in Saudi Arabia have been closed. The members of the International Schools Group (ISG) have transferred to an online learning regime to ensure continuing education under the restrictions imposed by the government. The purpose of virtual learning is to grant students an opportunity to continue learning in new conditions, enhance knowledge, transfer it to other areas of life and apply it in practice. The ISG schools include American School Dhahran, British School Dhahran, ISG Dammam, ISG Jubail and Sara Village School (ISG, n.d.).
How was the initiative established? How was it implemented?
American School Dhahran primarily uses the Google Classroom platform. The school offers engaging activities planned in accordance with subject standards. The students receive feedback in the form of written assessments. The learning process will include individual work and collaboration with teacher guidance in a virtual environment. Each student has a Google account and can access Google Mail, Google Meets, Google Chat, and Google Classroom (DEMS, n.d.).
In addition to regular concurring learning sessions organized by teachers in Google Meet, the students are expected to attend a daily Morning Meeting and Closing Circle, which replace school assemblies. Some schools chose Seesaw software to set school assignments. Seesaw and Google Classroom are used to ensure communication between teachers, students and parents. Often, students have both compulsory classes and options to use their immediate environment to do a flexible task or access Google meetings to participate in more structured activities (BSD, n.d.).
In Sara Village Online School, teachers use Google Classroom to post daily learning materials for students. The teachers are available for communication during the posted office hours. Learning activities are planned to ensure that students have an opportunity to learn without depending on technology. The students are expected to check the communication channels daily, complete their work independently and submit tasks for assessment. They are also receive a recommendation to remain physically active to maintain health. Parents are required to engage in the learning process with their children actively and communicate with the teachers in case of questions and concerns (SVS, n.d.).
All 23 kindergartens in Jubail have also implemented distance learning to ensure continuing education for pupils aged 3 to 6. The curricula were modified to accommodate the needs of the virtual model and new content was created for the digital learning environment (UIL, 2021).
Which stakeholders are involved in the design and/or implementation of the initiative? Which sectors do they represent?
Several international and local organizations are involved in the implementation of ISG Virtual Schools, including Cambridge Assessment Centre, Pearson Qualifications, UCAS and British Schools of Middle East. The project runs five individual schools in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: American School Dhahran (ASD), British School Dhahran (BSD), ISG Dammam, ISG Jubail and Sara Village School (SVS). Teachers, students and parents are also active stakeholders of the project. The Board of Trustees comprises parents of enrolled children, a few of the members with American citizenship representing the ISG Legal Board and a member of the American Consulate (ISG, n.d.).
What are the impacts of the initiative in terms of facilitating lifelong learning? Who does it benefit and how?
Students at all levels of preschool and school education have benefited from online learning. The main focus points of virtual learning are the well-being of the students, flexibility and meaningful learning. The students and teachers have shown increasing commitment to after-school activities. The flexibility and adaptability of the participants’ learning processes has resulted in an increased number of planned activities and a high attendance rate (DHS, n.d.)
Virtual kindergarten has been delivered in both English and Arabic. The usual curricula have been implemented using technology such as smart boards and wireless networks. The kindergartens have adopted Microsoft Teams as their educational platform. They established a new website for the registration and collection of data on the pupils. Due to the fact that not all children were able to enrol in the virtual kindergarten, a voluntary project was launched to help children access education. The initiative, named “Giving Continues”, allowed a specialized team to develop new content for children who could not enrol in the virtual kindergarten. Another initiative named “We Meet” addressed the challenge of students who missed the first semester of learning and enrolled in the second. This initiative ensured that these learners were provided with all the necessary resources and content to compensate for the missed learning period. The virtual kindergartens of Jubail support learning through 115 virtual classrooms, engaging 290 teachers and more than 1200 pupils (UIL, 2021).
References
BSD (British School of Dhahran). n.d. Our school. [Online] Available at: https://bsd.isg.edu.sa/ [Accessed 27 September 2021].
DEMS (Dhahran Elementary Middle School). n.d. Inspiring Virtual Learning at DEMS. [Online] s.l. DEMS Virtual School. Available at: https://sites.google.com/isg.edu.sa/dems-virtual-school/ [Accessed 26 September 2021].
DHS (Dhahran High School). n.d. Inspiring Virtual Learning @ DHS. [Online] s.l., DHS. Available at: https://sites.google.com/isg.edu.sa/dhsvirtualschool/home [Accessed 26 September 2021].
ISG (International Schools Group), n.d. Board of trustees. [Online] Al-Khobar, ISG. Available at: https://isg.edu.sa/about-us/board-of-trustees-information [Accessed 27 September 2021].
SVS (Sara Village School), n.d. Inspiring Virtual Learning @ Sara Village. [Online] s.l., SVS. Available at: https://sites.google.com/isg.edu.sa/svs/ [Accessed 27 September 2021].
UIL(UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning). 2021. Snapshots of learning cities’ responses to COVID-19. [Online] Hamburg, UIL. Available at: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000378050 [Accessed 26 September 2021].