5 Ways to begin operating your Christian school remotely

With the Ontario government closing the public schools for an extra 2 weeks after March Break, it is highly likely that many private Christian schools will close as well. Schools are now contemplating operating online.

God has blessed Nimbus Christian Education with experience operating online, and we would like to bless others. With that in mind here are 5 things you can start with as you begin to contemplate operating online.

1. Recognize that whatever online learning experiences you offer will NOT be as good as your in-class experience. It takes time and experience to create first-class online experiences. Know this, accept it, live with it. Then go do the very best you can.
2. Begin with your staff.
1. Make sure every staff member has the equipment they need.
1. Laptop (Not phone or tablet. Laptops are better for productive work.)
2. Stable High speed WiFi (If they don’t have this at home, can they work from school?)
3. Headset and microphone. Do NOT rely on built in sound on any device. 
2. Have an online staff meeting via video conference.
1. Use Google Hangouts if possible, it is the simplest to use. (Skype and Zoom are good as well, but they are more complex which leads to more problems. Zoom especially has some great features!)
2. Be prepared to spend at least 15 minutes at the start of your first video conference just solving technical issues, if not more.
3. Record it. (If you don’t know how, it is time to learn.)
3. Plan how your staff members are going to support each other while they work remotely.
3. Communicate with parents. A lot. There’s no such thing as over-communication in a situation like this.
4. Keep it simple.
1. Use what you already have. Don’t try to introduce new software or apps if you can help it. Not even ours! 
2. Avoid live video classrooms. These take practice, skill, and good equipment to do well.
5. Get help. Online learning is a difficult and complex challenge. Learn as much as you can from everyone you can.

We here at Nimbus Christian Education are doing two things to help the Christian Education community in this unprecedented situation.

First, our Executive Director will make himself available to any Christian School that wants to ask a question or explore what options exist in the online space. You can begin by emailing office@nimbuseducation.ca 

Second, we are reducing the cost of making use of our online math classes in your school by your teachers. We are cutting the costs by 50% for any school that would like to make use of this option. The original price for this service can be found here. Please note that this goes exactly the opposite of the advice we just gave in #4 above! This solution will not work for everyone!

God bless as you face the challenges ahead of you.