Technology continues to afford the world with an amazing array of opportunities to do things from wherever your situation happens to take you, and a prime example in our region is Lake Michigan Catholic’s innovative “Live Classroom” model providing a seamless way for students to learn from anywhere.
In today’s world, schools, teachers, students and their families must often shift the way they provide and receive education at a moment’s notice, and Lake Michigan Catholic continues to lead the way.
LMC Middle/High School Principal James White says, “While the majority of LMC students returned to full-time on-campus learning this year, there have been instances where we’ve had to pivot. That’s the very reason we created our Live Classroom model.” He adds, “Whether a family chooses to keep their kids home for health reasons or the State makes a change in protocols, we can provide our families with high-quality remote learning.”
In LMC’s Live Classroom model, lessons are live-streamed for remote students, who follow the schools’ daily schedules from home. The Live Classroom model has been a collaborative effort between teachers, students and their families to ensure it is user-friendly, flexible and works directly with Google Classroom, their common teaching and learning platform.
LMC Elementary School Principal Larry Hoskins notes, “Our goal has been to make a virtual education experience as seamless as possible and we believe our Live Classroom model accomplishes that.” He adds, “This is a challenging time for everyone; however, we appreciate the confidence and trust our families have in our schools. We work hard every day to make sure we’re nourishing every student mind, body and soul, whether learning in-person or virtually.”
If a student must participate in virtual learning, their teacher receives 24 hours’ notice, which gives them time to prepare a take-home packet, including lesson information, assignments and any project materials the classroom will be using during that time. This allows the students to truly feel a part of the class.
Andrew Lewis, an LMC parent, says, “Our kids have been virtual all school year,” and adds, “The Live Classroom model has allowed them to engage directly with their teachers and friends. They are still part of day-to-day class, not just taking online digital classes. Of course, technology is helpful, however, it is the teachers and staff, making the commitment to LMC families, that have made a difference.”
Lake Michigan Catholic is a private pre-kindergarten through 12th grade Catholic school based in St. Joseph. You can learn more at online at http://lmclakers.org
