Okay, thanks for the heads up.
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Hi Kelly, Iām always interested in sharing new ideas so letās discuss them in our phone call on Monday.
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Thank you, Natalia! All the best!
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Hi everyone. Hope you all are staying safe and maintaining your sanity during these crazy times 
@Torsten, I wanted to give you a quick update on my situation. It seems my laptop is still functioning normally, and itās only the screen that isnāt displaying properly. Unfortunately with all the shops closed, I canāt buy a new one or have this one repaired. In the meantime, I purchased an adapter which will hopefully allow me to display the screen onto my TV. When it arrives in the next day or so I will be able to start contributing again more regularly here on the forum as well as create content as you need it. My immediate goals are to 1) finish my 10 test questions on micro credentials and then 2) finish a solid product description for my English for You series. Hopefully this will help increase our downloads. Thank you for your email the other day, too. Iāll be looking more into that here soon. Cheers.
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Iāve just realized that of course I also have spoken with @KellyW 
Iām sorry I didnāt 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.
Iām 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 morningā¦ 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 youāre doing okay too. Like you said, weāre flattening the curve, so even if everything feels so uncertain right now, itās all worth it. Iāve been working through some online learning and volunteering; itās 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! Itās been a very virtual adventure 
Take care and speak next week!
Kelly
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Hi @Torsten and @Natalia_Polteva 
Iāve sent you my fourth batch of reading comprehension questions. Itās been a little while since Iāve posted due to all the adjustments weāve had to make at work in regards to the virus, so Iām 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 Iāll be happy to hear your thoughts on an important educational issue. A few years ago I co-authored a teacherās handbook on teaching special needs children (Iād 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; Iāll 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 canāt attend their regular classes (which in most cases are tailored to their special needs). Is that correct?
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Yes, thatās 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 wonāt 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 - Thatās a very good question relating to special needs kids. I actually donāt 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 childrenās education. As Iām 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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