distance learning guide using alef platform with …

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DISTANCE LEARNING GUIDE

Using Alef Platform with Learning

Virtual Learning Tools

(MS Teams)

May 2020

Copyright © Alef Education Consultancy LLC 2020 2

VISION

Our vision is to design learning experiences that change

the way the world is educated with improved learning

outcomes.

MISSION

Our mission is to transform K-12 school systems with

technology-enabled learning experience that engage a

more individualized sense of inquiry and empower the

21st century workforce.


Introduction

Due to the rapid changes and continuous developments in the educational

system, and the UAE’s agenda to innovate and lead modern trends in educational technology, we are urged to work accordingly to provide the best

education possible for our children.

Alef Education offers a high-tech, twenty-first century system that enables learners to enjoy personalized online learning on an interactive platform,

anywhere and anytime.

Schools have been closed temporarily in the UAE, and students are at home. That said, Learning Does Not Stop!


Table of contents


1. What Does Alef Education Provide?

Learning Platform with Standard-aligned

content

Teacher and student onboarding resources

Additional learning materials, In-Class

Games, metacognitive

prompt practices, and Enhancement and

Enrichments resources

Guardian Application Experiential lessons

Ongoing professional

development and

IT support


2. Why Alef Platform for Distance Learning?

Alef provides an easy to use platform with content that is aligned with the

standards of the UAE Ministry of Education.

It is engaging content that includes learning outcomes, assessment for each covered concept, and extension and enrichment activities, all in one place.

It is enriched with hands-on experiential learning, and games, that allow students to test the academic concepts learned in the lesson.

Devices are provided for every student, teacher, principal, and vice principal

to support digital literacy and twenty-first century learning.

Alef platform is easy to use with other virtual learning tools such as MS Teams. It provides live data to help address any learning gaps.

Ongoing support, coaching, and professional development are provided

whenever they’re needed to support the usage of the platform.

Alef also provides a parent application with notifications on learner progress,

performance, and learning gaps.


3. Etiquette of a Virtual Lesson: Teacher & Student

When switching from face-to-face learning to virtual learning, teachers have

to make some adjustments in order to avoid distraction and misunderstanding during the session.

The teacher needs to take into account the following:

1. Put yourself on mute when you are not talking to the students to minimize

any external distraction. 2. Ask questions during and at the end of the session.

3. Choose whether to turn your video on or off.

Students in turn need to abide by, and adapt to, new rules to successfully

engage in virtual lessons.

The teacher needs to share and remind the students of the following:

1. Mute themselves when they are not talking.

2. Screenshots, photos, or recording any part of the session is prohibited. 3. All resources will be shared with the students by email or any other tool of

communication.


4. Steps to an Alef Virtual Lesson

To make your virtual learning journey engaging, you need to make sure that your lesson resources are accessible by all students to learn about the

concepts and master the skills. Alef provides digital content that is accessible by all learners. In only 3 steps, you can build any virtual lesson with Alef.

1. Choose your content Use the lessons available on the Alef platform according to your subject and

grade level to create your session plan. Make sure you align the lessons from Alef with the corresponding lessons in the MoE books. Use Al Diwan along with

all the additional resources and activities to fully build your virtual class.

2. Communicate Once your plan is in place, use any learning platform (LMS, Google Classroom,

or Class Dojo) to communicate with your students. Share with your students

the learning outcomes, content, expectations and activities. Make sure your instructions are clear and easy to understand.

3. Host your session

To host your virtual session, choose the appropriate tool or platform. You can use Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, or Webex. Start your class and ensure

students are logged into MS Teams or the chosen platform and Alef.


5. How to Deliver an Alef Virtual Lesson? The following graph shows how to deliver the first Alef lesson. This approach

works well for in-person classes as well as for distance learning.

In distance Learning, you need to use one of the available virtual learning tools to host your session. After that you need to follow these steps to

implement your virtual lesson:

1. Assign Lesson: The first step is to assign the Alef lesson to your students and to lock the Exit Ticket.

2. Learn Independently: Have your students engaged in the lesson and

support their independent learning. 3. Check Analytics: While students are learning independently on Alef

Platform, check the lesson data tab on the Analytics page regularly to monitor their progress and to identify their learning gaps.

4. Differentiate your instruction: Based on the live data, decide on the appropriate differentiated intervention technique to support students’

learning. 5. Closure: To wrap-up your lesson, use an activity such as the In-Class

Game, or any other relevant activity.

Virtual Learning

1.Assign Lesson

2. Learn Independently

3. Check Analytics

4. Differentiate

Instruction

5.Closure


6. Suggested Flow of a Virtual Lesson The suggested flow of the Alef lesson is your road map to what students need

to learn and shows how this can be done virtually. It helps you plan to sequence your lesson in an engaging and purposeful way. You need to

integrate differentiated activities along with MoE content to maximize learning opportunities. Pre-planning is key to delivering a successful lesson. To ensure

its effectiveness consider the following steps:

A. Planning Stage:

To plan for your Alef distance lesson, make sure you:

● Decide on the virtual tool to be used to host your class.

● Preview your Alef lesson with reference to the MoE resources. ● Define the learning outcomes and objectives.

● Prepare your virtual instructional plan; make sure it is aligned with the sequence of content in each lesson part.

● Prepare your differentiated worksheets, engaging activities and any other resources for the AL, OL, BL, and ALL groups of students.

● Rehearse your session and its resources before you host your class. ● The teacher locks My Exit Ticket and assigns the lesson to the class.

● Send a notification 15 minute prior to the lesson as a reminder.

B. Virtual Lesson Stage:


1. Lesson Beginning ● Share lesson title, objectives, agenda and virtual lesson etiquette using

the virtual learning tool of your choice. ● Make sure students are logged in to MS Teams and Alef platform.

● Ask students to go to the assigned lesson.

2. Big Idea ● Ask students to watch The Big Idea video independently or as a class.

● Post inquiry questions/ discussion points using MS Teams chat area.

3. Learn Independently ● Students learn independently and complete Check My Understanding.

● Regularly check live data and take the instructional actions to meet students’ needs.

● Manage the virtual discussions and encourage students’ participation.

4. Differentiated Intervention

● Using the channel feature on MS Teams, create private channels by student level.

● Assign the differentiated tasks based on students’ performance. ● Summarize the main learning points and set expectations for the next

part.

5. Lesson closure ● Post the summary discussion points in MS Teams chat box or orally.

● Use a closure activity such as the Notebook in Teams, In Class Game, or Key Terms Game on Alef.

● Check or display students’ results to verify readiness before unlocking the My Exit Ticket.

6. Exit Ticket ● Unlock Exit Ticket.

● Ask students to complete My Exit Ticket as an assessment displaying

your timer tool in your live session.

7. Award Stars and Provide Feedback ● Open and present your class performance page.

● Announce your students’ achievements and give constructive feedback. ● Award stars.


7. Alef Platform Data Analytics The Analytics feature on the platform provides data that helps you better

understand your students’ needs and track their performance and progress in all your classes.

By using the tabs on the Analytics page, you can view detailed information

such as the number of completed lessons, awarded stars, ranks, and scores.

The following graph explains the functions of each tab:

1. Class Performance

This page displays

information about the number of lessons

students have completed, the number of collected

stars, best achieved scores, and their scores in

each attempt.


2. Student Distribution

It helps teachers view their students in groups based on their

average scores in the attempted

lesson and the time spent on lessons. Students are grouped

into four groups as follows:

● Guidance Needed: Students who score below 60% in 0-25

min. ● Intervention Required:

Students who score below 60% in 26 min and above.

● Opportunities for Enrichment: Students who score 60% and

above in 0-25 min. ● On Track for Growth: Students

who score 60% and above in 26

min and above.

3. Students

● This section of the Analytics

page helps teachers go through every detail of their students’

performance in the subject.

● The teacher can see where a student is ranked compared to

the rest of the class and his/her history of all stars collected,

earned, and rewarded. ● Furthermore, she/he can see a

student’s My Exit Ticket scores compared to the rest of the class

and the number of lessons completed by the student across

the class. ● The teacher may also see a list

of the lessons with a breakdown of the student’s performance.


4. Lessons

● This section shows the details

of every lesson. ● It gives insights on the number

of students who have completed, are in progress, and

have not yet started a particular lesson.

● It also displays the number of students against their average

scores on the lesson. ● The teacher can see a list of

students with a breakdown of their performances throughout

the lesson with the number of

attempts.

5. All Classes

● Through this section the teacher

can see an overview of all classes. ● This section of the Analytics page

shows the students across their different lessons.

● It shows the number of students who have completed particular

lessons, who is in progress, and who has not started yet.

● Additionally, there is a graph representing the average score

earned by a class through their My

Exit Ticket across their lessons. ● It also shows the exact average

score of the My Exit Ticket of that particular class section and the

number of students who have completed it.

● The class section and the name or title of the lesson are displayed for

ease of understanding.


8. Stars and Feedback Students earn stars when they complete their My Exit Tickets, the Practice

cards, and Key Terms game. Stars also can be awarded by teachers. Alef teachers can award stars to students as rewards to help boost their self-

esteem and morale. They can also provide feedback as to why they were awarded a star. They may not revoke any stars that they have awarded to

students.

Stars maybe awarded for the following reasons: ● Good improvement

● Good class participation

● Good questions ● Good mindset

● Good attendance

● Good experiential lesson

● Good organization

● Good time management ● Good Behavior


9. Extension, Closure, and Additional Alef Platform Resources

The platform provides additional learning resources to enhance and enrich

students’ learning and development throughout the lessons. The illustration below lists the resources, and their functions, to engage students in

differentiated pathways according to teachers’ preferences and students’ learning needs.

My Thinking Plan

Helps students reflect on their learning to understand how they

learn best.

In Class Game A quick game to help emphasize the

concepts taught in a specific lesson.

Key Terms Game Aims at strengthening retention by

repeating key concepts from lessons in a fun and engaging way.

Practice (for Math & Science) Practice is provided to bridge any

gaps a student might have by applying concepts from prerequisite

skills. It is triggered when students

score <70% on My Exit Ticket.

Enrichment For G9 Arabic Medium Subjects

Extension activities challenge gifted students. It is issued when students

score >85% on My Exit Ticket.

Enhancement Helps improve students’ skills and

knowledge. It is issued when students score <85% on my Exit

Ticket.


10. Guiding Questions Guiding questions are essential when planning for virtual lessons with Alef.

These questions help students remain on the right learning track to support them, make logical connections, and make sure the learning outcomes are

met.

During preparation for the Alef lesson, either face to face or virtually, teachers need to plan for a set of guiding questions in order to maximize students'

learning, and to achieve the learning outcomes successfully.

By preparing these guiding questions teachers can make sure that students

remain focused on the main ideas and information, write notes, and create future references for exam revision.

The level of thinking needed by students in order to successfully complete a

task should be directly aligned with the learning objectives and assessment.

The cognitive level of each part of an Alef lesson determines the level of questions the teacher develops and the amount of thinking required for a

given question or task.


A. Level 1: General Understanding

The Alef lesson starts with the Big Idea. The teacher needs to provide guiding questions to hook students into the lesson and gain their attention,

as well as making links to the lesson’s main idea.

B. Level 2: Understanding the main idea

At this level, the guiding questions should fall into the recall and reproduction cognitive level. Teachers need to develop questions that recall

simple concepts, facts, information, and definitions.

C. Level 3: Reflection At this level, teachers need to come up with questions that require students

to make some decisions to solve a given problem.

D. Level 4: Deep Thinking At this level, the questions need to challenge the students' thinking abilities

such as deeper understanding, planning, using evidence, and cognitive reasoning. Usually questions are to be open-ended for students to make

the right decisions and provide justifications.

E. Level 5: Application

Extended learning is the offline part of the Alef lesson where teachers need to provide guiding questions that encourage students to make connections,

relate their learning to real life situations, gather information from the Alef lesson to analyze, and organize facts.

distance learning guide using alef platform with …

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