Since Feb 2020, Lavanya Swaminathan, a student of IB YR 1, has attended school without being physically present in the school. Lavanya, who is travelling at the moment, attended her Economics class via virtual connectivity, without hindrance and on a happy note that she did not have to miss a lesson. 

GIIS SMART Campus in Singapore has started virtual classrooms allowing students to attend the school from any remote location. And over a hundred students joined the learning sessions remotely. The campus set up 21 virtual classrooms for senior cohorts from today. Students remotely logged-in to Video Conferencing software from their laptops or iPad and participated in the lessons going on in the school.

Students participating remotely could see and hear the teacher explaining concepts to their peers. It was an interactive session as the remotely logged-in students could respond to the teacher’s question and also clear their doubts by asking questions.

Sharing her experience, Lavanya said, “The virtual classes are very helpful and the best part is that I can clear all my doubts instantly by interacting with my teacher on a real time basis as if she is right in front of me. I could even see very clearly what the teacher was writing on the whiteboards. It is as good as a real classroom experience.”

Another student who also joined the Virtual Classes said, “The class interaction was very high quality and the teacher’s voice was very clear and this made me pay more attention. Also there was no disturbance and student chatter was totally gone.” 

The Virtual classrooms offering mobility to students are a crucial part of GIIS SMART Campus activated for the senior cohorts from Grade 10 to 12 students. Students were allowed to opt for remotely dialing into their classrooms through their laptops or iPads and participated in the teaching sessions going on in the school. 

The virtual classroom is helping a number of students stay connected with the progress of curriculum in school, and manage  their time better especially as exams are approaching soon. 

One teacher who used the Virtual Classroom said, “The classroom interaction was vibrant with both remotely-connected students and physically present students participating in the activity. This is our way of ensuring that the students who are home due to unforeseen circumstances do not miss out on important lessons". 

The initiative is a part of GIIS’s Business Continuity Plan in light of present circumstances. With smart technologies in place, the school is fully prepared to minimise any disruption caused due to external factors, which might hinder the learning process of the students.