B.C. teachers and students will be able to use Zoom video conferencing to help with remote learning amid the COVID-19 crisis.
The Ministry of Education said Wednesday it has secured licences for the popular service, which provides video and audio chatting, and online meetings, for all K-12 public and independent schools.
Zoom will allow teachers to explore and experiment with remote-learning methods, which will vary from school to school depending on students’ needs, the province said.
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Teachers will receive access to Zoom through their school districts sometime this month.
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Students will not need to set up an individual Zoom account to access their virtual classroom.
Earlier this month, the province indefinitely suspended in-class education for students in kindergarten to Grade 12 in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. Kids were about to go on spring break, but that ended on Friday, and they have still not returned to schools.
Teachers and administrators are looking at a range of remote-learning options. Staff are allowed to return to work as long as they can follow social-distancing rules.
The B.C. government recently launched Keep Learning BC, a website that offers parents ideas for everyday educational activities, links to free learning resources, guides to maintaining routines, and mental health resources.
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