Digital Learning Program by RS

THEME LINE: EDUCATIONAL TENDENCIES AND

EDUCATIONAL INNOVATION AT EARLY STAGES

KEY WORDS: DIGITAL RESPONSIBILITY, AUTONOMUS EDUCATION, EARLY STAGES,

CONTENT CREATION, CHILD DIGITAL EDUCATION, DIGITAL SKILLS FOR PRODUCTIVE KIDS

Abstract/ Summary

After two years of the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, schools are faced with an important question.
Should we go back to pre-pandemic learning? This program, seeks to explore the importance,
benefits, and risks of designing a Digital Learning Program (DLP) as part of a hybrid academic
curriculum in Upper Elementary and Middle School. The program will target students between 10-16
years old. It offers students the opportunity to follow 112 online classes every Friday by zoom platform
in the span of the academic year 2022-2023 established by the Secretaría de Educación Pública
(SEP). This program has been designed by the educational specialists of Colegio Europeo de
México Robert Schuman and revised by the RS Psychology Department to ensure it responds to
students' emotional and psychological necessities as well as academic requirements. This research is
divided into four parts; as an introduction, were we present the importance of adapting to the post-
pandemic era. Followed by a application framework and continued by a PESTEL and SWOT analysis
and human and material assessment for the program's implementation, including risk management
protocols. Finally, concluding that a DLP by RS is crucial for any Elementary and Middle School that
seeks to innovate in the XXI century acknowledging what we have learned in pandemic times.

1. Education Development of digital skills to face the challenges in Elementary and Middle
School: Hybrid education, virtual fridays!

Education from a distance is not a new phenomenon, let alone distance education triggered by
conflicts or diseases. At the beginning of the XX century, Elementary school students could follow
courses via radio. While this model was only in place for children in Elementary education during the
years when students could not attend their courses physically because of epidemic diseases.
Universities adopted the distance education model as an additional offer that would not replace onsite
education but would improve the learning experience and opportunities.

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Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, students were forced to shift their learning experience to an online
setting enabled by the daily and communized use of technology and online tools. The shift to online
education can be seen as an effect of rapid globalization, which has facilitated connectivity and
access to more information and technology. Even though the Covid-19 sanitary crisis brought many
challenges to the education and development of children in Elementary and Middle School, it also
brought opportunities that will make them savvier in tomorrow's world. For example, as we are moving
to a post-pandemic world, many businesses are offering their employees the possibility to keep
working from home a few days a week. By doing so, employees are happier as they can have a better
work-life balance.

Nevertheless, the question remains: should we offer this same benefit to children between the ages of
10-16 years old? In the following pages, we argue that creating a DLP BY RS where students can
follow some of their classes remotely would create more benefits as it will give them more flexibility,
responsibility, harvest curiosity and self-discipline in children. Moreover, it would also help them truly
become digital natives, ready for the world of today and tomorrow in which the digital world and the
non-virtual world coexist and merge into one another. The digital world must be seen as another
dimension of the real world because what happens online also affects the physical world. In addition,
by using technology and teaching children how to use digital tools properly, they can go from being
consumers to creators, thereby empowering the leaders of tomorrow.

This is not to say that designing a digital strategy is simple; it requires adequate planning that is
attractive, engaging and that respects children's attention spans. By doing so, the screen time can be
optimized, providing students with time to develop research and investigations that will answer their
intellectual hunger and curiosity. In addition, this online time also considers the use of technology and
online time to prepare students for external certifications, which would benefit their curriculum and
personal development. In the following section, the implementation framework will go into further
detail about the program and the resources needed.

2. Implementation Framework

The educational expert of Colegio Europeo de México Robert Schuman, who designed the DLP by
RS for students from 10-16yrs old, will also pilot the strategy as an innovative educational institution.
This program responds to the mission and vision of Colegio Europeo de México Robert Schuman,
which seeks to deliver high-quality education that will contribute to the personal and academic
formation of each member of the community.

The implementation of the program will take place this school year, starting on August 29th, 2022.
The program will be offered as a voluntary option for students in 4th and 5th grade, provided there is

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a minimum number of students in order to implement the collaborative learning program DLP by RS
as well as the necessary human resources to undertake the strategy. The minimum number of
students will be 12 per grade. For the students between 6th and 9th grade, the DLP BY RS will be
compulsory, and it will be an added value to their academic formation as it will solidify all the ability of
students to master digital creative and productive tools.

The DLP by RS will go in accordance with the 40 weeks of classes mandated by the SEP. It is
comprised of 84 online classes in real-time and 28 pre-recorded classes every Friday in the span of
the academic year 2022-2023 established by the SEP.

In order to implement the program, some of the material and human resources that will be required
are the following: iPad, stable and reliable access to an internet connection, Teaching with iPad series
by Jaime Clark & Lou Cimetta, and various apps that will be downloaded throughout the school year.
In addition to the digital tools, professors and educational mentors will receive constant training to
make sure they are implementing the DLP BY RS and strategies in the most efficient way. Students
will need a 6th generation iPad to work with and preferably, a second device to follow the class.

3. RISK MANAGEMENT AND PREVENTION

In order to mitigate many of the threats and challenges that the digital strategy might present, such as
irresponsible students who do not connect to the classes or external situations that cannot guarantee
a stable internet connection, will be dealt with in accordance with the School's code of conduct which
has a mechanism to count the absences of students and penalize them, in case they surpass the
allowed unjustified absences. Furthermore, occurrent absences or problems with an internet
connection will also be penalized. Students will be given two opportunities to fix their problem and
guarantee that the occurrence does not happen again or that it becomes a habit.

Nevertheless, if students have a problem with the connection once or twice, they will be
provided with the necessary assistance to prevent them from falling behind and will be given
an additional task to make up for the missed session and to protect their academic
curriculums.

In terms of guaranteeing and protecting the well-being of students, our team of educational and
psychological professional experts are prepared to monitor students' behaviors and alert their parents
or educational higher authorities if they detect an anomaly in their behavior or if they need additional
outside assistance. This can extend to cyberbullying activities or irresponsible digital and physical
conduct.

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 4. Conclusions

The DLP by RS is an innovative solution to the challenges of tomorrow. This program will prepare
students to truly become Digital Nomads, capable of working from any place in the world, giving them
more freedom and teaching them self-discipline and responsibility while fostering their creativity and
curiosity. This strategy requires good and efficient communication between students and teachers as
teachers are facilitators of knowledge that will support students inside and outside the digital
classroom. This program also guarantees access to multiple digital and technological resources for
educational purposes. Spending one day of the week attendance online, does not have any
disadvantages in the well-being or emotional development of the children as they would learn how to
balance their time online and offline duties effectively. We are preparing the kids for home office, long
distance learning and/or self-employment in the future, with all the skills they will need.

If ypu want to learn more about the pedagogical support of this innovation, please follow:

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