DISTANCE-LEARNING
Berlin's pupils are learning online again. NMS is well equipped, because of its G-Suite Enterprise license. The data remains in the EU, all student accounts are pseudonymised and managed by the school. The learning platform Classroom and the video conferencing tool Meet are used in compliance with the NMS data protection guidelines from 2018. The NMS staff receives professional development every month. Furthermore, the online Handbook from June 2020 contains many tips and guidelines for online learning. As this handbook is rather comprehensive, we have compiled FAQ for the online lessons and the use of the video conferencing tool Meet for parents, students and teachers.
Q: Are students required to have their video on?
A: If technically possible, teachers appreciate it if students have their video turned on. For privacy reasons, backgrounds can be changed or blurred in Meet video-calls. Although NMS policy is that it is not mandatory to keep the video on, students should at least show themselves for a few seconds at the start and end of the call, for reasons of attendance-taking. If students can’t do this for technical reasons, they have to inform the teacher and make sure they actively participate orally, via the chat or other apps the teacher integrates such as Jamboard, Sites, Docs etc. In case students don’t turn on their video and don’t respond to questions during the call, the teacher may mark them as absent.
Q: May parents attend the online lessons?
A: Parents are asked to respect the privacy of all students and teachers in the online call and to refrain from actively listening to or interfering in any online lesson - unless their child requires technical assistance. If parents wish to address the teacher, they don’t use the lesson time for this, but send an email instead.
Q: Are the online lessons mandatory for students?
A: Yes, students are required to join all lessons. If a student has Internet problems, (s)he can also join the Meet call per telephone. Those numbers are regular German numbers and are being generated automatically with every Meet link.
Q: What if a teacher does not show up for a scheduled lesson and there is no substitution?
A: Students in Secondary School are advised to check the regular substitution plan on Web Untis. If the teacher has not called in sick and leaves no message or independent work assignment in Classroom, students/parents contact the class teacher. Parents can contact the GEV in case of scheduling or communication issues;
Q: Are students allowed to stay in the Meet after the teacher has left?
A: No, this is not supposed to happen. A teacher ends the Meet after all students have left. Students should not stay online by themselves in Meet calls. The teachers have to be the first and last to enter and leave the Meet call. Students may not use school-related Meet links for personal videoconferencing. If serious misuse is reported, regular school sanctions will apply.