Students who have a need to learn from home can be a part of the live in-class environment through our Virtual Online Learning program.
Technological Advancements
We believe students should be physically on campus and in the classroom whenever safely possible. However, we are grateful for our capability to engage students in a live, real-time virtual classroom environment when necessary. Thanks to infrastructure expansions, a 1:1 student to device ratio, and well-equipped classrooms, virtual online learning is a fully integrated option for all grade levels to engage in the GCS education experience. Moving between on-campus learning and virtual learning is seamless due to the full integration of various technologies.
Learning from Home
GCS students utilize Google Classroom to access the live classroom environment with real-time audio and video. Students engage interactively with their teachers, using Google Meet features such as chat and the raise hand function to ask questions and speak with the teacher in real time. Students complete their in-class work and assignments just as they do when physically on the GCS campus. Our teachers make it easy for students to show or submit their work, with a goal of minimizing the need for parental assistance and trips to school to acquire books and hardcopies of classwork.
Privacy, Security & Communication
Each student is issued a school laptop which has gone through rigorous security configurations by our IT department to ensure your student has a safe experience using it. (Our younger elementary students are issued Touchscreen Chromebooks.) Each student is assigned a GCS google account and email, through which they access their Google Classroom where teachers organize all lessons and assignments. The majority of classroom communications between students and teachers occurs in the Google Classroom. Students will also receive a message in their GCS email each time their teacher posts on the Stream, creates a new assignment, or sends them a direct written communication in Google Classroom. Additionally, teachers have the flexibility to communicate directly with parents and students via email.
Although students in the classroom and at home can hear each other through the classroom microphone, for privacy reasons, teachers make every effort to maintain sole visibility of virtual learners. Students working virtually are able to visually and audibly interact with other virtual classmates. This is essential to inclusivity in and collaboration on group projects that ultimately build a student’s teamwork skills.