Blended learning in the coming school year

Preparing for a new school year is always a juggle. This year, a pandemic has been thrown into the mix.

Although blended learning isn’t a new concept, it’s been increasingly adopted by educational institutions as they plan for the upcoming semester. Blended learning is a setup that gives students and educators flexibility through a mix of face-to-face classroom time, independent online lessons, and in some cases a hybrid of in-person and remote learning.

We’re not health and safety experts. But we can help with the technology side of blended learning. Here’s how Airtame can contribute to a blended learning approach.

How Airtame supports blended learning

In the coming school year, extra rooms will be used to host a single class, and some classes will even be taught in gymnasiums and cafeterias where more students can be safely accommodated. With Airtame, educators can share class material to multiple screens within large spaces or even across rooms. Sharing happens securely over the school’s network. So wherever there’s network coverage, a teacher can remotely communicate with students. They can adjust depending on where their physical presence is most needed, easily moving around with no cables tethering them to a single spot or room. This helps facilitate the face-to-face interaction phase of blended learning.

In the coming school year, each student will ideally have a computer to themselves in order to reduce the risk of contagion through shared hardware. The recent surge in demand for school computers has come at a time when factories are struggling to catch up. With Airtame, students can easily present from any device of their own using AirPlay, Miracast, or Google Cast. BYOD support means classroom participation doesn’t have to suffer because of backlogged orders. This helps facilitate a more student-centered approach during face-to-face classes, and it also gives students the freedom to use shared screens during independent or study group time.

What’s more, Airtame can transform legacy projectors and TVs, making classrooms wireless with the simple addition of a VGA adapter. This means 1) less stress if new equipment is on the way, and 2) less stress if new equipment isn’t on the way due to budget constraints.

In the coming school year, some students will stay home. To ensure these students have access to dedicated face-to-face time when a teacher is present, a video conferencing system will be used. With Airtame, screen sharing can take place alongside a conference call so that everyone can participate. Check out this article to learn more about using Airtame with different conferencing systems. 

In the coming school year, equipment orders and installations will be down to the wire. Technicians will need all the help they can get. With Airtame, installation is quick and device management is done remotely. This saves time during a hectic period and it also means IT admins don’t have to touch any screens after installation, as they can access everything from their desk by logging in to the school’s Airtame Cloud account. While anyone can share via the aforementioned AirPlay, Miracast, and Google Cast protocols, IT admins can also mass deploy the Airtame desktop app for Windows, macOS, and ChromeOS. 

In the coming school year, digital signage will be used to 1) remind students and teachers of new classroom dynamics and processes, and 2) encourage safe hygiene and appropriate distancing. While some schools may already employ a blended approach, chances are that some processes will be different. With Airtame, you can use images, text, videos, room overviews, and more to communicate across classrooms and common areas. You can set up digital signage for all screens from Airtame Cloud. This offers a simple way to keep students and educators up to speed throughout the day, so everyone is clear on how face-to-face classes will work and what to do during independent study time when more online learning takes place. 

Airtame is the leading screen sharing solution across schools in North America. 

And in the coming school year, we will continue to offer a professional solution at an accessible price.

Interested? Let’s talk.