I’ve just realized that of course I also have spoken with @KellyW 
I’m sorry I didn’t mention this. How are you holding up?
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With safety in mind for All of us, from one of your twelve years follower.
I’m diligently following the guidance and best practice from the Greek State Health Agency and WHO.
Many thanks and our expressed gratitude to you and your team for you all are available to answer any questions, and provide more information on learning aspects.
It is true, you are working tirelessly to find the best solutions so that, if we choose, we can continue our learning from wherever you are, even in these times of crisis, isolation and block down.
I am suggesting virtual classrooms for various reasons and levels, so as classroom courses exist, with the aim to provide a more comprehensive offering of virtual classroom training in the times of Convi-19 pandemic crisis
Please expand your e-learning portfolio.
While the environment around us is uncertain, we must take comfort in the fact that we have a world-class team -thanks to you- and a compassionate and loyal community of co-students and instructors.
I will continue to communicate with transparency and act responsibly to ensure your continuous support.
Hoping you and your loved ones stay healthy,
Spyros (Kallimachos)
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Morning @Torsten! Hmm, my alert for this popped up at 8am this morning… I have no idea what happened there!
So hello! We are doing okay, keeping busy, keeping an eye on the news (which has both positives and negatives of course!). I hope you’re doing okay too. Like you said, we’re flattening the curve, so even if everything feels so uncertain right now, it’s all worth it. I’ve been working through some online learning and volunteering; it’s actually been pretty good in a way. I can take a tour of the Smithsonian in the morning then help check for elephants on a trial in South Africa. Yesterday I was transcribing historic rain gauges in the UK! It’s been a very virtual adventure 
Take care and speak next week!
Kelly
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Hi @Torsten and @Natalia_Polteva 
I’ve sent you my fourth batch of reading comprehension questions. It’s been a little while since I’ve posted due to all the adjustments we’ve had to make at work in regards to the virus, so I’m a little out of the loop. Can I still continue with making a fifth batch of reading comprehension questions?
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Hi Tamar, thanks a lot for sending in your next batch of reading comprehension questions. We now want to wait for some feedback from our users and focus on a number of new projects such as promoting our materials to online schools and companies. If you have time it would be great if you check this:
Also, I will share our plan hopefully next week when I finally get to it. Many thanks for your support and patience. Stay safe!
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Thanks, Torsten! Stay safe!
ps I have a question for the team, and I’ll be happy to hear your thoughts on an important educational issue. A few years ago I co-authored a teacher’s handbook on teaching special needs children (I’d like to call them special abilities students) full of useful tools and classroom strategies. Since most of the schools around the world are closed due to covid-19, how do face this challenge when special abilities children are concerned? If you have any tips, please let me know; I’ll be very grateful.
pps I know that students are different and unique, but any suggestion would do. Thanks a million!
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Hi again Elida, I have been thinking about your question. If I understand you correctly you are asking how to teachers, parents and other adults can help learners with special needs now that the schools are closed and they can’t attend their regular classes (which in most cases are tailored to their special needs). Is that correct?
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Yes, that’s right. Thanks!
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I think the answer to your question depends on a variety of factors. What country are the children in? Who is taking care of them now? What kind of school do you usually go to? What kind of contact are their teachers currently maintaining with them? How many students are in their school in total?
I mean, technically it would be possible to reopen their schools after a period of 2 to 3 weeks provided all staff have been self-isolating for at least this amount of time. The kids themselves are almost immune to COVID-19 so they are not facing any health risk.
However, in most countries the authorities and governments are overwhelmed with the entire situation and they probably won’t be able to reopen the schools soon.
I would be interested in hearing what @Andrea says because she has a lot of experience as a teacher as well as a mother under her belt and she also has been teaching kids online.
@leonika, you too have a lot of experience in online teaching. Maybe you can share some ideas?
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@Elida - That’s a very good question relating to special needs kids. I actually don’t know the answer to this question. Perhaps, these special schools will have something in place.
As @Torsten already mentioned, each country is dealing with this situation in different ways. From teaching English online, I have spoken to many students around the world. More recently, of course, parents from Asia especially have signed their children up to English classes. Also many children are having classes online which has been implemented by their schools. It is a major adjustment to teachers who have not experienced this sort of teaching before. Many parents have been worried about their children’s education. As I’m a parent of a 10 year old son and 12 year old daughter, it is a major concern to me because this disruption in learning will impact them and the same for other children. In South Africa, it is currently school holidays but the education department is going to be implementing a few ways to help students continue their learning. These ways are through the internet, tv and radio. I have registered my children to an e-school which they can work at their own pace on their curriculum. 
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Hello Andrea, thank you so much for sharing your ideas and experiences, together we can make a difference and maybe alleviate the psychological and mental pressure many kids are being exposed to these days.
I was thinking that maybe @Sumejja and @Tamar also have some suggestions based on your backgrounds and education?
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@Torsten Great idea!! I think it’s a real struggle for kids to be stuck indoors! It is also difficult to motivate them. Some UK teachers suggest we shouldn’t home school but rather enjoy doing fun things at home together. The pressure is real for everyone. I also think it’s a challenging time for parents who are not used to teaching their own kids at home! The frustration for them I’m sure will be very intense! As teachers we are used to many kids around us and it is easier. 
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In my country most of the special needs children go to regular schools. We are big on inclusion. I have a couple of students who are on the autistic spectrum, so the first thing that popped in my mind when the schools closed three weeks ago was to continue with their routine. Many of the students who are on the autistic spectrum need continuity, a routine because that’s what makes them feel safe. I immediately started online sessions with them so that they could hear my voice. I also repeated some exercises from previous lessons so that the transition would be smoother. I use a lot of visuals, a lot of audio files, and the lessons last for 15 minutes because I’ve noticed that they can pay close attention for only 15 minutes, which is alright.
I agree with @Torsten that this also affects their mental well being and calmness.
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@Elida You’re doing a great job in helping these kids. Definitely, the change of routine will affect them for sure. Yes, kids with special needs are in mainstream schools here too. We also have special schools, so not sure what they will do.
Attention span is always a difficult one. Visuals and voice exercises are great. Kids love to see things and we have to make lessons fun.
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Thanks! I hope they won’t be marginalized again.
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Hey everyone! I hope you all had a relaxing weekend. 
I think an important aspect to bear in mind is maintaining connection for children and adult learners in school. During the day, I work as a curriculum editor for a private college and over the last couple of weeks we’ve been working furiously to move all of our courses online. One of the main questions we had to keep asking ourselves as we began to transition was, “How can we maintain a human connection between staff and students?” In our case, we already had tons of content, such as instructional videos, textbooks, and other materials that were ready for online use, but our challenge was how to stay virtually in touch with the students so that they wouldn’t feel further isolated. As a solution, we thought to use apps like Skype for Business or Google Meet to accommodate large class sizes in attempts to personalize the learning experience.
My mom is also a grade one teacher who is going back to work tomorrow after having spring break and she’ll also be using Google Meet to deliver the core curriculum to her grade one class online. She agrees that maintaining connection with her grade one class will be key, and video and audio will play a big part in maintaining that connection with her young students. I imagine her running a virtual online classroom in a similar fashion to a regular class, in which she will do certain activities with the kids and provide recess breaks just like regular school. However, I’m not sure if this will actually be the case. 
She’ll let me know how her first week goes!
Anyway, I just wanted to throw my two cents in. We’re with you @Elida! Navigating online learning will be a big learning curve for us all! 
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