Supporting schools during coronavirus closures and the transition to distance learning

School closures due to COVID-19 have impacted at least 124,000 U.S. public and private schools and affected at least 55.1 million students. This is an unprecedented disruption to K-12 schooling, and we are continually impressed by and appreciative of the educators we work alongside. Thank you for taking measures to protect the health and well-being of your students while still striving to provide quality learning opportunities during this time.

At LanSchool, we are in a unique position to help our customers, and the education community as a whole, implement emergency remote learning plans. In 2020, we donated over $1.2 million dollars in licenses.

The LanSchool team empathizes with the difficult decisions you’re making right now as educators and administrators. Although a school closure is no one’s first choice, we know online learning and virtual classroom capabilities can provide a safe alternative to in-person instruction when it’s necessary, and we’re offering these complimentary licenses to help.

How to facilitate e-learning with LanSchool Air

Many of the schools we work with have a conferencing tool in place to facilitate teaching and talking with students remotely. They often also have a learning management system (LMS) teachers can use to distribute and receive assignments.

LanSchool Air offers a third communication layer that is critical to learning from home — classroom management. As you prepare a remote learning plan, LanSchool Air offers features to help, including:

• Screen Monitoring – Teachers can view students’ screens to help guide learning, including monitoring students to help them stay on task or find the right resources to complete their online assignments.
• Messaging – This instant chat feature makes it easy for the teacher and student to stay connected and collaborate on assignments.
• Raise Hand – Students can throw out a digital flag when they have a question, allowing teachers to quickly address their needs in a remote setting.
• Web Limiting – Create a more focused learning environment by choosing which websites students are allowed to access during class time.
• Integrations – Easily streamline digital instruction with integrations with other school software like Google Classroom and Clever.

Plus, LanSchool Air is compatible with Chromebook, Windows, and Mac – so you can utilize these complimentary licenses regardless of your device environment.

To help with remote learning during this time, Lenovo has also created a Distance Learning Toolkit that includes complimentary resources, including LanSchool Air, Microsoft Teams, and Google Hangouts. We highly encourage you to watch and share our quick tutorial on using LanSchool Air for e-learning to give your staff a clear vision for utilizing this turnkey solution to support online learning.

Our team appreciates how busy you are implementing emergency distance learning plans – rest assured that LanSchool Air is easy to both deploy and use. If you have any questions please reach out to us, and we can help ensure a smooth transition from classroom to at home learning.

E-learning in practice

It’s natural for school administrators, IT teams, and teachers alike to have some level of hesitation around e-learning, especially if it isn’t currently part of your school’s culture. But synchronous learning has happened since long before COVID-19, and teachers across the country are already seeing success with remote teaching.

Mallory Brito, a grade 2-5 Language Arts teacher in Waterbury, Connecticut, uses LanSchool Air to support e-learning when she’s not able teach them in person.

“I was able to sit at home with a cup of coffee chatting with my students [over LanSchool Air] and watching them complete an assignment I created on Google Classrooms,” Brito said. “I even spotted a video error popping up and was able to message my students the correct link, so class could go on uninterrupted.”

By using LanSchool Air, Brito can minimize disruptions to instruction, even when she’s teaching remotely. Read more of her story here.

We’re here to help

We’re committed to helping you get through this uncertain and challenging time. Please reach out to our team to let us know how we can support you during your Coronavirus-related school closures. Our hearts go out to all who have been affected by the outbreak. Together, we can overcome this challenge and create better outcomes for your students.

Learn more about how to receive complimentary LanSchool Air licenses here.

Last updated on March 17, 2021