We all know 2020 has been a year of change, disruption, and in many cases sadness and hopelessness. I think most people, myself included, look forward to rebuilding what became broken. And re-energizing what shut down. Helping those who need help. As an online school, Method didn't shut down, and we've tried every single day to provide a place for normalcy for our students and families.
This year online learning became more important than ever, even though the old-fashioned term "distance learning" made its way into the everyday lives of everyone. For the past few years we've been in the position of delivering quality content to students online because we don't have a choice. Because of various legislative bills in California, we were forced into our online position, meaning we had to close blended learning centers and lose out on cool ways we were teaching students. At the time, students and families suffered. Needlessly in my opinion. But that cloud had a serious silver lining that's become evident this year.
At Method Schools, we've worked on SmartFox for the past 3+ years, and it's now getting lots of interest from other schools and districts. There's much left to do and this project will never be done. It'll always evolve and modify as we learn more about what works and what doesn't. But I've often heard that if you wait to ship until your product is fully ready, you waited too long.
For 2020, here are some of the SmartFox features we're most excited about - either recently completed or nearing completion:
- Smart Sessions - adaptive content built into each course
- Student pacing guide that customizes pace and path on an individual basis
- New dashboards for students
- Graduation planner enhancements - more clear, relevant, and customizable
- Fully online cumulative files, complete with sharing options
- Fully integrated Zoom and Qualtrics modules inside courses and LMS
- Full CALPADs reports suite
- QM/UC standards alignment
- Online bullying report to keep our students safe online
- Countless new reports, safety features, and site optimizations
Looking forward, with hope and excitement, to better days ahead.
*The first person who identifies where this blog title came from (think book series) gets a Method or SmartFox t-shirt sent their way - their choice. Must live in California, and no employees please.
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