Immediately after March 11, when Covid-19 forced the closure of classrooms, Romanian schools seemed to be at a standstill. Teachers were looking for solutions to continue teaching. Students? They were showing their joy. From home. They were oscillating between TikTok, Instagram and movie streaming. Yes, we know, Facebook is no longer in fashion.
The same thing is happening on the outskirts of the Crangasi neighborhood. The students of the Geo Bogza Middle School were at their homes. Parents were dividing their time between the office and home, trying to quickly adapt to the new situation. Many companies were already sending their employees home. Wasn't it still recommended? to isolate ourselves. However, with a little help and a lot of openness to the new, the Geo Bogza Middle School in Bucharest needed less than a week to resume classes. This time, online.
It all started with two parents, IT employees, who offered to facilitate the school through videoconferencing for 3 classes. The management accepted the proposal. The first step: the parents gave a demonstration for the Chemistry Olympiad group. In just one day, using the instructions received by email, all the children in the group managed to install Microsoft Teams and connect to a teleconference. The school management quickly embraced the idea.
Thank you, NL! Thank you, Cristi! For the idea and execution. For the passion and support.
Thank you, Microsoft. I used the Edu licenses offered by Microsoft.
IT consulting company CodingTech took over the project. Yes, we're talking about that? The whole project was delivered right at the time when dozens of companies were moving their offices home. It was challenging. Thank you to the OPS team!
In a pro-bono action, the team created using Microsoft Teams a digital version of the Teachers' Council. Over 50 teachers started collaborating online, as if they were in the office. The next question was "how do we run the whole school online?" With great attention to following the rules GDPR, CodingTech rebuilt all the school's classes online: over 800 Microsoft Teams accounts created and communicated to parents.
The children were enthusiastic. On the principle of ”"What does this button do?"”, they posted profile pictures and changed various options in Teams, such as blurring the background. All in a few minutes. After which the first teleschool lessons followed, live with the teacher. „"Welcome, darlings. Does anyone else know the simple rule of three?" "Me!", "Me!", "Me!!!" "Which me? Please say your name or turn on the camera."”
Some teachers were initially skeptical about working with computers. But, with the help of their two parents, they overcame their fears. In a short time, they managed to organize the schedule and teleconferences. And within a few days, the students were writing emails, attaching documents and helping each other. And although still in school, they became nostalgic for offline school: ”"Madam, we miss you! We can't wait to see you face to face!"”
CodingTech conducted an analysis of how students have transitioned to online learning. The figures show that the adoption of the new technology has been exponential. In less than two weeks, the number of active users reached 699, were created 301 of active communication channels and took place over 100 teleconferences. The children sent almost 4000 messages and I already use the app Teams as easily as on social networks. Parents only attended the first courses, to observe their dynamics and identify what training actions are still needed. The figures are from the beginning of April. Now they are higher.
What's cool? Even on vacation, they continued to use the platform. With reduced energy and passion. Immediately after April 21, things returned to "normal". Namely, learning from a distance. Meanwhile, the services integrated into the Microsoft 365 suites have also started to be used: over 700 files are distributed using the SharePoint storage structure. Easy (document libraries are integrated into the channels used for learning) and secure (external access is not allowed).
A facility highly appreciated by former students videoconference recording, so that it can be viewed later by those who could not attend. Another advantage of the solution chosen by CodingTech is its professional level of security. Commonly used in business environments, the suite Microsoft Office meets the standards required in business communication. A fact also noticed by other educational communities: The New York Department of Education has asked schools to abandon other applications and use Microsoft Teams (source).
“We implemented a solution that was extremely necessary in these times. The technical standards were similar to those of our corporate clients: stable and secure communication, many users, relatively complex workflows. And we were delighted to see how quickly the children learned to edit Office documents. Many of them did their work from Android or iOS phones. And in a few days they got to work with applications that we, adults, currently use at work. The gain is double: the students learn real technology, and the school, although it is,‚otherwise’"Go ahead."’
Continuity is the keyword during this period for most companies. CodingTech has increased its involvement in a series of projects that support the transfer of core business activities to the digital environment.
The most recent example is the launch of telemedicine services for partner clinics. SanoPass. Their doctors will be able to offer online consultations, to ensure social distancing is so important now. The service is fully integrated, from online scheduling, card payment and video consultation, to results sent by the doctor via email. Learn more about this service here. And if you have questions, it's easy to find the contact forms.
Moreover, in the last month, CodingTech has seen a near doubling of demand for remote work solutions. Customers are specifically asking for the implementation of products such as Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft Teams, networks VPN type virtual and application migrations.
We have other surprises too. You can read about some below, and for the rest, stay tuned.
In the meantime, we continue our involvement. Editions Coding Connect continued at the same pace. Every 2 weeks. Thursday evenings, from 7. We have completely moved to Youtube. Our channel is here: https://s.kodo.ro/youtube.
You can watch the last 3 editions here:
In the meantime, we launched a campaign aimed at helping companies in the early stages of digitalization. What did we do? We designed a package that allows you to create a presentation website for just 99 lei. Yes, you read that right. 99 lei. And it's ready in 48 hours.
We don't stop. At home or in the office, what matters is our mission: It's in our DNA to [re]design and deliver the digital version of your business strategy.
Stay tuned. More surprises are coming. Subscribe for the latest news.The IT guys