Teachers in BC will soon have the ability to connect remotely with their students.
The Education Ministry has obtained licences for the Zoom app for all kindergarten to Grade 12 classes in public and independent schools in B.C.
The Ministry says access to Zoom will be available to educators in the province this month.
The goal is to create consistent access for teachers who want to use it.
The exact choices made for lesson delivery in each school will vary with needs, but the Education Ministry says Zoom provides teachers with a common platform to communicate and share lessons.
The ministry says the licensing agreement complies with BC’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, and “schools can control permissions and privileges while disabling features that are unnecessary or inappropriate.”
Students will not have to sign up for an individual account, as a unique website address will provide access to their virtual classroom. There will be simple instructions about how to use the software.
The Zoom server will be based in Canada, with added encryption so it is a safe platform to learn.
