Views & Opinion How BESA can help you


during the COVID-19 outbreak In our regular update from BESA this month, we’re delighted to hear from BESA Director General CAROLINE WRIGHT, who offers an update on the organisation’s LendED technology trialing portal, and what it means for you during the COVID-19 outbreak.


Even though the BESA offices in London are now temporarily closed that doesn’t mean the BESA team stops – we are fully operational, working remotely and available online. In these unprecedented times we have been


refocusing all our operations and activities to make sure we are still providing full support and guidance to our members and the wider education community.


We have now relaunched and repurposed our online educational


technology trialing portal - www.LendED.org.uk which is supported by the DfE. Those of you who have used LendED before will now see the website focuses on amplifying members’ efforts to share many more general resources, guidance, and support to the UK’s teaching community and those who are looking for advice on how to continue effective teaching and home learning during the schools closure period. The benefit of using the LendED website, is that all companies and


products that are on the site are provided by BESA members and Launchpad subscribers and all product entries have been checked and approved by BESA before appearing. At this crucial time, it is now more


How online distance learning can provide


high quality education Many people around the world have not seen a public health crisis as serious as the one we are currently experiencing, with COVID-19 spreading at an unprecedented rate. As part of the Government’s plan to enforce social distancing and prohibit mass gatherings, schools across the country have now closed, and while it is uncertain as to when they will reopen, it is our responsibility to continue to provide students with a high quality education. Here, CAROLINE KENNARD, managing director of the Britannica Group, UK offers her advice on how to best support students through online distance learning.


Maintain core subject knowledge To ensure students continue to progress in their learning in core subject areas, teachers should ensure that online resources, used to support distance learning, are well aligned to the curriculum. For example, LaunchPacks, an online tool that provides complete curriculum and multimedia sets, makes it easy for teachers to assign


inquiry-based lessons that support key learning objectives in a range of subjects, including history, geography and science.


Use reliable content In an era where the spread of misinformation is becoming increasingly common, students must have access to vetted and reliable information that will not contradict information taught in physical lessons.


4 www.education-today.co.uk


important than ever for schools, colleges, teachers and parents to be able to rely on trusted, quality suppliers who adhere to the BESA Code of Practice and who follow quality standards. As a user of LendED you are able to search via a dedicated ‘Home


Learning Resources’ link on the homepage which will allow you to sort products that have identified themselves as ‘Home Learning’. In addition to this many companies are adding links on their product pages to their websites where you can access their resources directly – keep an eye out for products that have the ‘ACCESS HOME LEARNING RESOURCES’ button on them. Furthermore, a dedicated Tips & Advice page now provides guidance


on best practices in implementing home learning strategies, covering issues such as how to get the best out of existing technologies and ensuring online safeguarding. We will be looking to add new blogs, webinars and podcast content to this Tips & Advice page on a day to day basis.


As well as helping companies to continue their business as normal and


sharing research, news and information on the COVID-19 situation, we are also flagging any specific challenges that industry is facing in their daily business with key Government departments, including DfE, DIT, BEIS and the Treasury. BESA is committed to lobbying for all necessary support to help companies provide their essential support and services to the education sector. Earlier in March, BESA wrote to the Secretary of State for Education to


flag some of the most urgent matters. Most importantly it called for the DfE to introduce ringfenced funding for learning and school resources (print, hands-on, and learning furniture as well as digital). Finally, do please look at www.LendED.org.uk and feel free to promote


and with your colleagues during this difficult period. We will also be actively flagging LendED on our Twitter social media channel @besatweet. Stay safe and well!


LaunchPacks meets Ofsted requirements for a balanced curriculum and


has been crafted by UK curriculum experts and instructional leaders in their areas of expertise. Additionally, all information has been rigorously vetted by fact-checkers and developed by local teachers that understand the content needs of students.


Monitor student progress In order for students to develop their overall academic performance, teachers must be fully aware at all times of the areas that they need to improve upon. Through LaunchPacks, teachers can create their own classrooms or import existing classes directly from Google Classroom, and monitor individual students’ progress.


Differentiating learning Every student learns at their own pace, so it’s important to keep in mind the speed at which they will learn outside the classroom. Through LaunchPacks, articles are readily available for students at three different reading levels - ranging from supporting students who have lower levels of literacy and comprehension through to those who are more proficient.


Deepen subject mastery Distance learning presents a unique opportunity to allow students to become subject experts by delving into lesson content in detail. Outside of a classroom environment, students have the luxury of time to read more subject-specific articles and watch more videos that will aide their learning. Each LaunchPacks content set can be customised to enhance the student’s learning experience, which can be accessed an unlimited amount of times to benefit the student.


Stay engaged with current events Online and regularly updated learning resources can help boost student engagement by drawing links to topical events and news stories. For example, LaunchPacks includes content about the ongoing climate


crisis through the Ecosystems: Cold Environments set, which helps facilitate students learning of environmental science.


To learn more about LaunchPacks, visit: https://britannica.co.uk/products/uk-schools/britannica-launchpacks/


April 2020 E-learning Supplement


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