Support for the start of the school year: A guide with good practice recommendations and information, training and webinars

Hundreds of teachers in Romania have benefited from free online support in developing plans for the start and conduct of the 2020/2021 school year. The AntiCovidTM Platform Education Working Group, set up at the initiative Timiș County School Inspectorate in collaboration with the Platform AntiCovidTM, the ID / IFR and e-Learning Center from the Polytechnic University of Timișoara and TVR Timisoara launched a series of webinars to support teachers in implementing action plans related to the opening of pre-university schools in the context of the pandemic.

What are the measures that a school can take in the context of the Covid pandemic19 for a better course? How do we prepare the school for each of the scenarios? These are just some of the questions that the Working Group for Education (GLE) of the AntiCovidTM Platform, set up at the initiative of the Timiș County School Inspectorate in collaboration with the AntiCovidTM Platform, the ID / IFR and e-Learning Center within the Polytechnic University of Timișoara and TVR Timișoara and -they proposed to provide answers in a series of information, training, collaboration and debate webinars. The events took place online and brought together hundreds of principals from schools and teachers across the country, both in urban and rural areas.

Webinar launching the guide with good practice recommendations

The first webinar, with the title Recommendations of good practice regarding the operation of schools under the conditions imposed by COVID-19. Guide presentation, debuted in September 2, 2020 and was dedicated to the presentation of the guide developed by GLE which contains recommendations of good practice regarding the beginning and development of the 2020/2021 school year. The webinar took place on Zoom and was broadcast live on the Facebook pages of the organizers over 500 participants, among which were teachers and principals of schools in Timiș, but also parents of middle and high school students, who asked many questions about ensuring the quality of education in the new school year, but also the safety of students and teachers.

Guide for elaborating the school plan adapted to the three scenarios

The guide proposes a customized “table of contents” for each type of scenario, based on which each action plan will be elaborated and the version launched during the webinar represents a first version of the guide. The text will be updated according to the comments received from those interested and as, over time, an institutional experience will be developed related to the operation of schools in pandemic conditions.

The ID / IFR Center of the Polytechnic University of Timișoara completed the guide with an additional document - Technical structure of Digital Education (schools, teachers, pupils, students), designed to help teachers plan the technical resources needed for class.

Three training webinars for urban and rural areas

For the collaborative realization of the action plans, with the participation of the educational management: director, the team for the realization of the plan, of the schedule, but also of the students and parents, three training, collaboration and debate webinars took place. Friday, September 4, 2020, took place two training webinars, the first dedicated schools in small rural and urban areas, the second being dedicated primary and secondary school cycles operating in large localities (urban area).

Monday, September 7, 2020, the dedicated training webinar took place the high school cycle in schools operating in large localities. The three online seminars have brought together over 450 participants, both principals and teachers from all over the country, from Rădăuți to Galați, Bucharest and Timișoara.

Webinar: "Strict issues regarding the opening and operation of schools"

The last webinar in the series dedicated to the presentation and debate on the guide "Recommendations of good practice regarding the beginning and development of the 2020/2021 school year under the conditions imposed by COVID-19" occurred Wednesday, September 9 at 6:30 p.m. and focused on experts from various fields, who provided answers to the most common problems identified in previous webinars, as well as a number of reusable educational resources. Over 200 teachers pre-university education, as well as school principals, experts and parents participated in the webinar, the main issues discussed being related to implementation of sanitary norms, legal, technological problems, but also problems encountered in digital teaching and in the relationship with the mayor's office.