Lessons are being live-streamed to senior Saint Stephen’s College students who have returned from China and Hong Kong in the last 14 days and are in isolation due to the Novel Coronavirus quarantine.
Principal Kim Cohen said the College live-streamed lessons within 24 hours of the mandatory home-isolation announcement.
“It is no secret that Saint Stephen’s College values cultural diversity and prioritises the development of global perspectives. With a student population consisting of 44 different countries of origin, Saint Stephen’s College is a leader in the field of international education,” said Mrs Cohen.
She said the Novel Coronavirus outbreak in China and Hong Kong could not have come at a more challenging time of year for international students returning to the Gold Coast. Whilst Saint Stephen’s College does not have any cases of students with symptoms of this virus it was quick to minimise the impact on students.
“Many of our isolated students are seniors, facing impending assessment in the most important years of their schooling. Saint Stephen’s College is widely renowned for the online blended learning approach which allows students to work at their own pace and teachers to work with individual students to build understanding. This personalised approach has been enhanced through the use of Microsoft Teams and recording lessons,” said Mrs Cohen.
“The tool has a chat function and allows for the online students to communicate via audio, video and text. This amazing assistive technology enhances the experience for many students who are not native English speakers. This is particularly beneficial for isolated students who are unable to be with their school mates and teachers – being able to chat via teams and connect with their friends is another positive.
“Due to time zones, some students are not awake or ready to participate in a live session. Saint Stephen’s College teachers are recording their lessons and making the on-demand videos available to all students in the class. This is a great learning resource for students who can’t be in the classroom, as well as those who were there but need to revise.”
Executive Director of International Education, Sam Holmes, said delivering the highest quality of education to the student community remained the priority.
“Our students from mainland China and Hong Kong add such a rich tapestry to our student population and being able to live stream them into our lessons and allow them to ask questions via voice or text is imperative,” said Ms Holmes.
“The speed in which we were able to execute this is kudos to the first-class infrastructure and eLearning platforms at the College. We look forward to welcoming these international students back to the College with open arms and warm hearts as soon as possible. We thank these students for being so positive and showing us once again their grit, determination and commitment to academic success.”
Selina Hao, current Year 12 student from mainland China said, “Being isolated from society can definitely cause some troubles for us, especially for the current Year 12 students who are facing very important exams and cannot afford any delay in learning. Our school came up with live streaming classes which really helps me a lot. I need to keep a safe distance as this is important but I do not want to miss out on the learning progress. Rather than just looking at the notes, Saint Stephen’s has set up a program which allows me to participate in my classes live and online. I can discuss topics with my teachers face to face to develop further understanding of the content and ask questions. I can also make an appointment with the teachers if I have any other problems outside of the class and we can video chat. I think Saint Stephen’s are doing all that they can for us to create a fair study environment. We are all very satisfied and grateful.”