Engaging Online Summer School: Accelerating Learning, Mitigating Loss

Accelerate learning and bridge the digital divide by offering fully remote, self-directed, self-marking, gamified education modules.

It’s no secret that COVID-19 has had a significant impact on learner progress since schools began to shut down in the Spring of 2020. With major studies reporting that the learning loss effect is equivalent to one-fifth of a school year and up to 60% higher among underprivileged students, educators are doubling down on their resolve to search for solutions that can accelerate learning. 

While we know that a laptop at home is no match for in-class learning, there are ways to incentivize and engage students (and parents!) with gamification, self-discovery, philanthropy, and competition. This next test for educators has us in awe of their resilience and determination to support students.

Normally we’d prefer to share a complete case study with fancy graphs that show how well we solved our partners’ problem. But you need solutions now. So, while we have the evidence to show that our unique ‘research and learn’ approach works, we’d rather share the work in progress to help you get creative to solve similar challenges and make use of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funding (ESSER) in your district.

First, a quick comment on how ChatterHigh meets ESSER funding requirements:

• It’s fully online and promotes equitable access to education
• It’s evidence-based. Read the study here or contact us for more information
• It drives learning acceleration through gamification, self-discovery, and reflection
• It’s fundable under the Perkins CTE Act
• It’s easy to assess and measure student progress

Here’s how one school in Florida is getting creative with students and parents this summer.

Florida State University School has been a ChatterHigh partner since Spring 2020. Primarily using our daily quiz to engage students in college and career exploration, FSUS challenged us to help them solve a new problem in early 2020 when the Florida Department of Education legislated that districts must provide 5 hours of Mental Health education in the classroom. We solved this by creating customizable modules that they could deploy to schools district-wide.

We believe students make decisions about higher education and their career aspirations based on what they know. One of our goals is to expand their knowledge base in these two areas. We are thrilled to partner with ChatterHigh to be able to open our students’ minds to the thousands of higher education and career options available.

Dr. Stacy Chambers, Superintendent, Florida State University Schools, USA

The result? A custom, gamified, self-discovery activity that guides students through real-world mental health and wellness resources to meet the 5-hour requirement.

Read more here: 2021 Trendsetter in EdTech

Now, FSUS will use ChatterHigh to help them deliver a summer activity designed to mediate learning loss and meet a 20-hour reading requirement. Here’s how:

1. Students will be assigned a module to complete on the ChatterHigh platform. 
2. This module pushes students to explore content readily available on the district website as well as other relevant resources. 
3. As they explore, students earn points for researching questions and for answering correctly.
4. Points can be used to enter prize draws for gift cards and even a staycation! Who’s that prize really for, right? 
5. Educators monitor progress on the platform and with a weekly report. There is literally no marking as the platform monitors correct answers and rate of progress!

By calculating how long students will spend on each page they are researching, our FSUS partner is confident that they have created a program that both fulfills the requirement and makes it fun for students and parents to participate.

How can you create a remote learning module in time for summer?

Because ChatterHigh guides learners through readily available resources, a module can be created in a matter of days. Plus, our content team will support with question writing and the setup is completely covered by our team. 

Step 1: Determine the goal

FSUS created a module designed to meet a 20-hour reading requirement. Before that, they created modules to deliver 5 hours of mental health education. 

What do you need to achieve but don’t have the time or the personnel to create and promote?  

Here are some ideas to get you started:

• College and career pathways exploration
• Personal financial planning 
• Dual credit programs
• Mental health and wellness strategies and resources
• School choice
• Any subject for which the content already lives online

Step 2: Book a call

Have an idea about what you would like to deliver online? Give us a call or book a meeting to make sure the platform suits your needs. We can give you a cost estimate on the spot. 

Click here to book a call with our Content Manager here to discuss your options.

Step 3: Send us the content links

Use a spreadsheet, a word document, or simply tell us the goal and we will do the rest when it comes to creating your questions and building the module. Our content team knows exactly how to construct questions that inform and instruct students about what to do next. 

Step 4: Plan your prizing

The right prizing will engage students, teachers, and parents. We have lots of experience with prizing and can help you to come up with the right incentives to engage participants. 

Here are some ideas:

• Amazon gift cards
• Gaming gift cards
• Bursaries
• Support a charity

Or, consider partnering with a local restaurant or hotel to offer a staycation like FSUS! They could even include a question in the module as a sponsor. 

Step 5: Share with Teachers, Students, and Parents

We’ll support onboarding via presentations, ‘Get Started’ guides along with other collateral. Consider hosting a live online event to announce the launch of the activity or as a kick-off for a competition. 

Teachers regularly remark how easy it is to get up and running with their classes on ChatterHigh:

“I would recommend ChatterHigh to all school leaders. As a leader of alternative schools, this program provides the equity and support that I speak of constantly to ensure a brighter future for all students. There are many facets of this product and all are about improving the lives of children. As an educator, ChatterHigh is what I would like to provide my students with.”

Dr. Shaun Mason, Director of Operations Alternative Schools, Baltimore City Public Schools USA

Ready to get started? Book a call or send us an email to mediate learning loss and deliver engaging content remotely within your district.