Just in time for unprecedented times
The Situation
Google for Education has always aimed to expand learning for everyone through cloud-based solutions. No one could have anticipated how essential these cloud-based tools would suddenly become in March 2020. In partnership with Google, we developed a robust education program that trained teachers to run their virtual classrooms using G Suite during the pandemic.
The challenge
When COVID-19 hit, educators were left with very little time to prepare. The regular challenges of education were amplified as school went 100% virtual, with students struggling to focus at home while receiving little assistance from stressed out parents.
The learning curve is steep; the average teacher is in their mid-forties and not tech savvy. While some are transitioning from Office tools on their desktop, many others are starting from pen and paper.
With cloud-based learning not only prevalent but necessary, teachers needed a simpler and more convenient way to learn. Luckily, we created a program to make the transition a little smoother. You can try out the first lesson here.
Our Creative Solution
We collaborated with Google to design an in-depth educational series teaching educators the tools needed to succeed in this new environment.
We determined that teachers wanted bite size lessons they could access at their desks or on-the-go, so we developed lessons that included short how-to videos, interactive pages and quizzes to help make the best use of their limited time. Check out lesson 1 here.
We rapidly built everything to kick off the 2019 school year, allowing our teachers the opportunity to take in these lessons on their own schedule just in time for their familiar teaching approach to be flipped on its head.
Results
In collaboration with Google we created a program that has enabled over 100,000 educators around the world to step into their new roles with confidence using G Suite resources. They forged ahead in lessons and gave their students a sense of normalcy when it was in short supply.
It is still unclear what long term effects being out of the classroom will have on students, but with Google for Education, teachers managed to maintain the meaningful interactions of the classroom with miles between them.
VP CD - Armando Ani, CD - Caroline Cahill Canty, Senior Copywriter - David Wilson, Art Directors - Jon Fang and Matt Alvar, Animators - Henry Wong and Shantanu Harjeet