The effectiveness of a training program in developing the cognitive skills of using virtual schools for teaching among education teachers in Jazan region: فاعلية برنامج تدريبي في تنمية المهارات المعرفية لاستخدام المدارس الافتراضية في التدريس لدى معلمات التعليم بمنطقة جازان

The aim of the study is to measure the effectiveness of a training program in developing the cognitive skills of using virtual schools for teaching among education teachers in Jazan region. To achieve the study objectives, the researcher prepared a training program that involves a cognitive skills test for using virtual schools in teaching. Through the use of descriptive, analytical and quasi-experimental approaches that are one-group design, and the pre and post application on a sample that was represented by (30) teachers whom were selected randomly from many schools in Jazan region, in the governorate of Ahad al Masarihah, , the study found out that there are differences that are statistically significant at the significance level (α ≤ 0.05) between the mean scores of the teachers (study sample) in the pre and post application of the cognitive skills test of the use of virtual schools in teaching in the favor of the post application. The results of the study concluded that the modified gain coefficient Black increased more than (1.2) compared to the pre and post application of the training program in the favor of the post application and reached the maximum level which indicates the effectiveness of the training program in developing the cognitive skills of using virtual schools for teaching by education teachers in Jazan region (study sample). And in light of the study findings, a set of recommendations were presented, including: benefitting from the training program that was prepared by the researcher, that is in order to develop the cognitive skills for the use of virtual schools in teaching by education teachers at all different educational levels, and the necessity of approving it by competent educational institutions and generalizing it to training departments in Jazan region and the other regions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Experiences with virtual schools on “Climate data for impact assessments”

<p>The provision of climate services to users is a fast developing field. In support of this development, the IS-ENES3 project, funded within the EC Horizon2020 program, organized three schools on “Climate data for impact assessments” in 2020 and 2021. In an Autumn school, a Spring school and a Summer school, climate scientists and impact scientists were brought together. An important aim of the schools was to enhance interaction between Vulnerability-Impact-Adaptation (VIA) researchers, climate services providers and climate researchers. Another aim was to provide an overview of information on climate modeling, climate data, impact modelling and climate services based on the work of the IS-ENE3 project.</p><p>In the first three weeks a series of lectures was given, covering topics such as climate data and modelling, impact models, portals for accessing and processing climate data, setting-up impact assessments, and communication of results to stakeholders. In the last three weeks the participants worked in small groups of one climate scientist with one impact scientist on a case study under the guidance of the course lecturers. Impact and climate researchers were combined on purpose to let them experience how they could help each other.</p><p>Originally the schools were planned to take place on-site (e.g. in Prague) during one week; however, due to COVID-19 the schools had to be transformed to virtual schools with two weekly sessions during six weeks. Although the virtual set-up had some disadvantages (e.g. less possibilities for networking), there were also some advantages (e.g. the possibility to record the lectures and make them available to a broader audience; more time to explore and work with climate data in between the sessions, no CO<sub>2</sub> emissions for travelling). During this presentation we will present the set-up of the schools and the conversion to a virtual school. We will focus on the lessons learnt and the evaluation of the virtual schools by the participants and give some recommendations for similar schools and how to link the climate and VIA research communities .</p>

Chemistry-kit as an Intervention Tool in Emergency Education in Secondary Schools

This paper presents a Chemistry-kit as an intervention tool to grant spaces for, hands-on learning in Chemistry, in formal Emergency Education (EE) programs. Emergencies may arise due to either civil unrests or natural catastrophes. More literature is dedicated towards the former than the latter (Burde et al., 2017). This paper aims to contribute towards filling the gap. The COVID-19 pandemic is the most recent emergency of the latter kind to promulgate a colossal impact on the formal education of children (WHO, 2020). Organisations such as UNHCR and UNESCO have been continuously working towards this endeavour of formalising secondary education (cite). EE programs lack extravagant school infrastructure, chemistry labs being a section of it. This paper argues that an analogue Chemistry-Kit is a practicable route to valuable learning experiences and is both cost-effective and student-friendly. Even in the presence of virtual schools, the kit can afford a medium to impart hands-on learning and encourage the practical essence of the subject.

Future Classroom Concept for the Malaysian Education System

The aim of this study is to realise the establishment of virtual schools in accordance to the existing education system in Malaysia.This study examines the views of experts who aredirectly involved in the education system in Malaysia through the use of the modified Delphi technique. A total of 13 experts were interviewed individually and discussions involving two focus groups were conducted. The responses of all panel members were recorded and the agreement obtained will guide the formation of a virtual school model. The findings from the interviews conducted with individual experts found five key factors in the establishment of future classroom, which are implementation, approach, flexibility, technology and space. The findings of this study have also suggested that the design of future classrooms in the current educational environment in Malaysia is hindered by financial constraints, lack of technology infrastructure, physical environment and the current classroom layouts.

Reimagining School Nursing: Lessons Learned From a Virtual School Nurse

The COVID-19 pandemic has required thousands of public schools to quickly adapt to hybrid or fully remote models. These new models have presented unprecedented challenges for school nurses as they learn how to optimize their interactions with parents and students to provide ongoing support and monitoring of health. The growing reliance on virtual and hybrid public education is also placing new demands on school nurses to be versed in telehealth and school physicians to support their work. Greenfield Commonwealth Virtual School (GCVS) and other public virtual schools have been meeting these challenges for many years prior to the pandemic and have “lessons learned” to share with traditional “brick-and-mortar” nursing staff. GCVS students benefit from a climate that rewards collaboration between the health team, parents, teachers, and administrators, and this article will describe the role, job description, and other practices related to school nursing in a primarily virtual world.

Extra-Curricular Activities

One of the fastest growing phenomena in the use of educational technology is online learning. The shift from traditional schooling to virtual models is a shift in pedagogy from objectivist to a constructivist model where students take more ownership over their learning. Given the current COVID-19 pandemic, academic institutes have an urgency to support students in an online environment while adapting extracurricular activities to the new domain and providing an additional level of engagement, support, and community of learners for their student body. It is important to adapt distant learning to meet all the social, academic, and cognitive needs of all students. This chapter seeks to introduce readers to the opportunities virtual schools can provide to their students interested in engaging with peers outside of the traditional classroom or school setting to pursue common likes and activities.

Evaluación de satisfacción de los estudiantes sobre las clases virtuales

Las clases virtuales son una modalidad de estudio a distancia que ha sido aplicadas por más de 10 años. Son utilizadas principalmente en universidades para abarcar las necesidades de sus estudiantes que no pueden acceder al sistema presencial. Al encontrarnos en una emergencia sanitaria por el COVID-19, la aplicación de las clases virtuales alrededor del mundo se volvió una obligación para precautelar la vida de los estudiantes. Es por esto que la población universitaria tuvo que adaptarse a nuevas condiciones de estudio como: las clases, trabajos y exámenes en línea con el fin de no detener su aprendizaje. Sin duda, esto desencadenó inconformidades e inquietudes al estudiar por primera vez bajo esta modalidad. En este trabajo se evaluó la satisfacción sobre clases virtuales tomadas el primer semestre del 2020 a estudiantes de la carrera de Ingeniería Industrial de la Universidad de las Américas con edades entre 18 a 20 años. Para ello se realizó una encuesta de 15 ítems los cuales evaluaron las distintas condiciones que se presentaron en las clases virtuales durante el periodo de pandemia, con datos validados por un alfa de Cronbach 0,92. En este trabajo se obtuvo como resultado que gran parte de las personas encuestadas aprobó el software aplicado para la realización de las clases virtuales debido a que es una herramienta de uso intuitivo y de fácil acceso, por otro lado, están en desacuerdo con la modalidad de evaluación del conocimiento adquirido. Palabras Clave: Clases virtuales, Satisfacción estudiantil, COVID-19, TIC’s. Referencias [1]K. Brandl, «Are you ready to Moodle?,» Language Learning & Technology, vol. 9, nº 2, pp. 16-23, 2005. [2]C. Belloch, «Entornos virtuales de aprendizaje,» Universidad de Valencia, vol. 1, nº 1, pp. 1-3, 2012. [3]J. Jarrín, «Informe Nacional: Ecuador,» Universa, Quito, 2016. [4]M. Reeves. y T. Barbour, «The reality of virtual schools: A review of the literature,» Computers & Education, vol. 52, nº 10, pp. 402-416, 2009. [5]C. Bonfill, «Clases virtuales a través de videoconferencias: factores críticos vivenciados por los tutores en un sistema de educación a distancia.,» Temas de Managment, vol. 5, nº 2, pp. 12-20, 2007. [6]A. García, M. Mediavilla y A. Casares, «Evaluación entre iguales en entornos de edcucación superior online mediante el taller Moodle,» A case study, vol. 13, nº 2, pp. 119-126, 2020. [7]R. Bendezu, A. Quijuano, H. Rebatta y G. Gutierrez, «Aprendizaje en tiempos de aislamiento social: cursos masivos abiertos en línea sobre la COVID-19,» vol. 37, nº 2, pp. 375-277, 2020. [8]M. Bautista y R. Torres, «El uso de material didáctico y las tecnologías de la información y comunicación(TIC's) para mejorar el alcance académico,» Ciencia y tecnología, nº 14, 2014. [9]G. Gutierrez, P. Krystell, C. Zarate, I. Juarez. y M. López, «Uso de tecnologías de la información en el rendimiento académico basado en una población de estudiantes de Medicina,» Educ Med Super, vol. 31, nº 2, pp. 23-34, 2017. [10]A. Rodrífuez, B. González y J. Fariñas, «Simulaciones virtuales como complemento de las clases y los laboratorios de Física. Ejemplos en la carrera de Ingeniería en Telecomunicaciones y Electrónica.,» Latin-American Journal of Physics Education, vol. 7, nº 4, pp. 16-20, 2013.