While there are several things most teachers disagree on, the one thing everyone has in common right now is COVID-19 and dealing with its disruptive consequences. Most notably, moving away from physical teaching to online education and distance learning.
This is where Education Platform can help. It offers flexibility to plan and prepare lessons from home or elsewhere, providing support for teachers working in state and independent schools.
As the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) explains: “Our Education Platform offers a new way for teachers to make copies from textbooks under the terms of the CLA Licence. It is available to all schools covered by the licence at no additional cost.
“We are giving you access to digital versions of your textbooks so that school gets more out of the books they have purchased.”
Here are the main ways in which Education Platform can allow for more effective remote working during the recent unprecedented school closures and upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Access to digital books
A number of leading education publishers, such as Hodder, OUP and Pearson, have made high-quality digital versions of their most popular textbooks available on Education Platform. Currently, there are more than 6,000 different books on the platform, which can be accessed remotely from anywhere. This library of books is being constantly updated too.
On top of that, teachers can search for digital versions of books their schools already own without having to browse their own libraries.
Access to free resources
All state-funded schools and most independents are covered by the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) Licence to make copies from books or magazines for teaching. This allows you to copy one chapter, one article or 5 per cent, whichever is greater.
And with this paid for centrally by the DfE in England and the national education bodies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, access to these resources is completely free.
No need to photocopy
Working from home means you’re limited to your own devices and equipment. Chances are, that doesn’t include a photocopier. But thankfully, Education Platform features the ability to make copyright compliant copies to support lessons.
It has been specifically designed to make copying easier for more flexibility in lesson planning and preparation. Also, it could end up saving schools a great deal of time, money and paper.
Continue to deliver lessons online
The final way in which Education Platform helps to support remote working is by providing teachers with the ability to share high quality digital copies made via a hyperlink, which can then be sent to students via email or uploaded to a VLE.
Even though teachers aren’t present in the classroom, they can still deliver lesson materials to students in a quick and seamless way.
“At a time when government and educational publishers are focused on improving digital access in schools, the traditional processes of lesson preparation – often involving teachers in time-consuming photocopying of chapters and extracts from physical books – are becoming increasingly outdated,” says Eela Devani, Strategy and Digital Director of the Copyright Licensing Agency.
“Stretched resources don’t help to reduce the workload involved in lesson preparation. So the continuing shift to digital offers a better way to manage time and get the job done more effectively.”