New guidelines on online learning and teaching

Following the pandemic and the adoption of remote learning, educational practices have changed, and schools and teachers have been challenged to develop teaching methods to accommodate this "new normal".

The education system has had to reinvent itself to cope with these changes, including on the one hand human - social contact and interaction have greatly decreased - and on the other hand technological - setting up computers for students to attend online courses.

In its latest report "Guidelines for teaching & learning online as part of the "new normal", European Schoolnet aims to assist teachers by providing a set of guidelines and examples for schools to follow and implement in order to adapt and evolve in this new form of teaching. Relying on extensive academic literature for primary and secondary schools, this report would provide additional support for teachers and help them consolidate the experiences and advice they have received over the past two years.

"Schools and teachers need to evaluate what they take from the experiences of the past two years to decide if and how they maintain elements of online teaching as they move forward into what has been commonly referred to as the "new normal"" explains Benjamin Hertz, Senior Pedagogical Manager at European Schoolnet.

Teachers and school authorities are thus invited to think about what element could not only support their lessons but also support the learning and educational well-being of their students. Hence, creating engagement through both, positive teacher-student relationships and between students. The report also points to the importance of effective communication with students. The COVID-19 pandemic is synonymous with social distancing and a decrease in human contact. Thus, working on the way you communicate with your students, through a screen, is crucial and highly influential on the student-teacher relationship.

However, it is essential to highlight the effective practices that bring added value to the classroom, as Benjamin Hertz points out: "it is essential that only practices are maintained that are considered effective for teaching and learning online, instead of other practices seen commonly during the period of emergency remote teaching".

The report allows teachers to assess the use of these new approaches and adjust to the one that best suits their teaching methods. The full report is available online and can be consulted for examples and practices.