27 Apr Seamless Live Learning with OWLL: Way More Than Hybrid
SET High is committed to seamless live learning for the remainder of this school year and into the next, if the pandemic and health guidelines dictate. What does this mean for our students? Our wholly-engaging live learning (OWLL) is already in use, bridging the gaps between at-home and in-person learning. We’ll keep our innovative, seamless in-person and at-home classroom experience going until our families no longer need a flexible schedule to help them ride out the pandemic.
An Owl for OWLL
With our 360-degree video conferencing capability in each class room, our teachers engage with both the in-classroom and at-home students at the same time. Each classroom has an owl camera that sits on an owl perch in the middle of the room, allowing conversations to move seamlessly between the students who are at-home and the students who are at-school.
Even better, the SET High owl cameras enhance our natural teaching methods by capturing for the students who are at-home exactly what the students in-person are seeing. Our teachers walk around the class, engage directly with students, and demonstrate examples — in much the same ways as they are accustomed.
Thanks to OWLL, the experience at home is far better than the talking-head alternative that has become typical with online schooling. In fact, some SET students have explicitly chosen to stay home even though they feel safe with in-person hybrid learning at SET because they prefer the convenience of the home-only option.
OWLL is a Bridge
Because of our investment in seamless live learning, and literally in owl cameras, our hybrid SET students are back to our rigorous academics via 3 different groups: Group A, Group B and Home Only. Our OWLL format is similar to hybrid, but so much more.
Our Home Only students are what the group name says — those students who choose to learn from home only. Our remaining students are divided equally between Group A and Group B. Group A students attend school on Mondays and Thursdays, and Group B students attend on Tuesdays and Fridays. All students are at home on Wednesdays.
Only Wednesday is a Hybrid Day
On hybrid days, our students connect synchronously to their classes as the teachers lecture, lead class discussions, and engage in projects just as they do in their regular classes, or before the COVID-19 crisis hit. The one major difference is: the work-time that typically comes at the end of each period is now at the very end of the school day. By making this shift, we reduce ‘Zoom fatigue’ for both teachers and students.
On Wednesdays — the one day that none of our high school students are in-person — school is attended by connecting to live Google Meet classes. SET High online/hybrid classes look and feel very similar to regular school on Wednesdays; except, of course, for video conferencing as the means for connection. Our content is robust as is our classroom discussions and authentic interactions. The synchronous nature of our classes help our students truly stay engaged. We’re thrilled with the efforts our faculty have made to keep this format dynamic and inclusive, and for the resilience and perseverance our high schoolers show each week, too.
As a quick overview — our normal daily bell schedule is the same for each of our periods and our instructional time ends at 11:55. In the afternoons, our students use flex time to schedule meetings with teachers for the first hour and then enjoy free time to work on individual or group assignments until the end of the school day.
Once again, SET High leads the way to robust, seamless live learning. These classroom photos show how inclusive our OWLL learning truly is! We found a way to safely engage students on campus while still equally supporting our students who are at-home. Our students and staff continue to amaze us as they rise to the challenge of maintaining as normal an educational experience as possible during COVID-19.
OWLL = Putting Students First
Our students wear face coverings, socially distance at all times, and respect the rules put in place to ensure the safety of all. Our staff adapts to the challenges that COVID-19 presents, putting students first, and seamlessly transitioning into yet another style of teaching — the OWLL — that works for both our in-person and at-home students.
About SET High
SET High offers each student individual attention from multi-talented, highly qualified teachers, a healthy camaraderie with classmates and an intellectually rigorous environment that brings out their talents and personality. With a wide variety of electives, flexible scheduling, dual enrollment college classes and more — our students regularly exceed their academic and personal expectations. Enrolling now!