Open Sky International is a leading bilingual day school located in Paris, France. It offers Nursery to High School education in both French and English to a diverse group of students from over 35 different countries. We recently caught up with their Head Teacher- Emmanuel Fayad, who shared how they reopened their school back in May and are using the latest in technology to engage students based in-class and remotely.

What was the biggest challenge for your school during the lockdown period?
Our school was already experienced in using technology for teaching and learning. This meant that when the announcement of school closures was made we were able to adapt quickly – and within two days after the physical closure, our school had gone fully virtual. We mainly used a combination of different digital tools such as Zoom, OneDrive, Mozabook and Firefly to centralise all our curriculum resources and to set home tasks. We also ensured that we communicated with parents on a regular basis and shared homework tasks as well as the learning progress with them.

What have you learnt most about this experience?

Although the students were able to continue learning remotely, what they have missed most is the social interaction with other students and their teachers. Students who have been able to return to school have really enjoyed seeing their classmates – whether in person or virtually on screen using the in-class video conferencing facilities. For the students who are based remotely – we feel the use of a camera and broadcasting what is happening in the classroom in real-time has really helped to reduce the feeling of loneliness.

Although the students were able to continue learning remotely, what they have missed most is the social interaction with other students and their teachers. Students who have been able to return to school have really enjoyed seeing their classmates – whether in person or virtually on screen using the in-class video conferencing facilities. For the students who are based remotely – we feel the use of a camera and broadcasting what is happening in the classroom in real-time has really helped to reduce the feeling of loneliness.