A community in crisis that pulled together

I don’t think I’m alone when I say last week was one I’ll never forget. Every day we’ve seen increasingly sombre headlines and there are moments when I’m sure we’ve all felt overwhelmed. However, in the midst of this crisis I’ve felt really proud to be part of the edtech community which has worked with schools across the country to support them at this unprecedented time. 

Speaking with teachers, parents and school leaders this week I’ve been filled with admiration – not just for teachers on the front line of this crisis but also the young people and their families who have shown patience, understanding and often a healthy sense of humour in such an uncertain time. A few things have struck me about this crisis that can be seen as positives, and I wanted to take a moment out to record them.

We’re a borderless community with so much in common

From the communal balcony sing-alongs across Europe to the overwhelming response to the UK’s NHS call for volunteers, Covid-19 does seem to be bringing communities closer. Interestingly, in education there is already a dynamic global community of teachers engaged in Facebook Groups, Twitter chats and other online engagement However, the last week has seen this expand exponentially and come of age. Teachers who were previously technical luddites at the beginning of the week are now Zoom, Skype, Google Meet virtuosos five days later.  

Schools in over 30 countries have been in touch with us interested in our Sparx Virtual Classroom which we launched specifically to support schools closed during the coronavirus crisis. We’ve been genuinely surprised by the interest and it’s a massive reminder that while we are based in a corner of the UK, edtech can have global impact. 

Suppliers are stepping up 

It’s been great to see so many of our EdTech peers offer schools additional access to their products and platforms. The demand has been unprecedented.  We saw over 250 chools sign up to Sparx Virtual Classrom in just one week! In fact, the demand for remote teaching tech was so high that many platforms (including HegartyMaths which is part of the Sparx family!) found it hard to cope with the surge in logins at the start of the week. 

Across the board, students, parents and teachers were fantastically patient while we worked hard to expel the tech gremlins. With hiccups quickly remedied we’ve been amazed at how parents and students have embraced and adapted to remote-learning.  

There is a note of caution I’d like to share, however. While schools are acting quickly to support online learning, and while there are so many suppliers stepping up to offer free products we are still urging teachers to consider the true usefulness of these tools. Along with other members of the EdTech Evidence Group we’ve created a downloadable checklist for schools to consider when sourcing EdTech products, services and platforms. While the current situation is unprecedented, I am keen that schools are supported to focus on what’s proven to work rather than what’s being offered for free. 

A big thank you

But let me end on a positive. I’d really like to take a moment to thank the amazing, hard-working team here at Sparx for all they’ve done to support schools over the last few weeks. They’ve really gone above and beyond.