Never before have schools faced such disruption on the scale inflicted by the coronavirus COVID-19. In all corners of the globe, and in the middle of a school term for most countries, schools had to adapt to remote teaching, at a pace that allowed little time to prepare or adjust.
We have learned new things about school education over the last month. One is that schools can adapt in a way that many might never have imagined possible, to ensure our children can continue their education to a high standard. Another is a peek under the hood of school teaching for parents and carers now trying to manage it at home for the first time, and along with it even deeper respect for the work teachers do. Another is that online education resources, which may have been underestimated and are now saving the day, are valuable tools, and play an important part in delivering quality education.
When faced with mobilising to deliver teaching into students’ bedrooms and living rooms, schools needed quality and reliable online English resource. As a trusted program aligned to more than 60 school curricula and used in 100 countries, more and more schools turned to LiteracyPlanet over the past two months. It’s easy to implement, easy for teachers and students to understand and use, caters for all ability levels, and covers all literacy strands.
In response to the pandemic, LiteracyPlanet offered schools free trials and gave customers complimentary access to additional students.
The number of schools around the world using the program has jumped 68% since December, and during the second half of March student engagement almost doubled. Meanwhile subscriptions to the home version – which offers parents the same content as the school program with less administrative tools – has increased 80% since December, at a rate of more than 25% every month.
Staff have been working hard to set up the large volume of new accounts, encouraged by the many messages of thanks from teachers and parents. They have also been providing free webinar sessions to better equip teachers to manage their students’ English learning remotely.
“It’s great to know that we are making a difference,” said the head of LiteracyPlanet’s Customer Success Team, Renee Rooney. “We are ready and keen to help schools, teachers and parents schooling from home at this unusual time.”
If you would like access to LiteracyPlanet for your child, visit https://www.literacyplanet.com/home-sign-up/
If you would like access for your school, visit https://www.literacyplanet.com/school-sign-up/.
