BIBA Academy Lockdown Learning!

At BIBA Academy we pride ourselves on our unique approach to teaching and that is apparent now, more than ever, during the current global pandemic. Covid-19 has seen industries shaken and tested with the industry being one of them. Relying on close contact to deliver our service, BIBA has had to think on our feet, and fast.

With Melbourne enduring increased lockdowns since April, the BIBA Academy team eagerly adapted more of our curriculum to make it accessible online. With our BIBA Academy online portal, all of the students’ learning materials, tasks, activities, textbook and transcript, has been online since the move to digital three years ago, however, the teachers and staff have modified more of the curriculum to make it more accessible for students to learn from home. This move was essential to keep students engaged with their course as class sizes were stripped back from 30 to 8 per class to adhere to social distancing measures.

The dedicated staff were driven to find innovative ways to keep the students connected as their in-person class time took a massive cut. Utilising the technology that was readily available, the Google Apps, the team set about making online forums to connect with their students. Low-fi video content, forum chats, tips and tricks of the trade, all were shared and encouraged by the teachers and student support. This was working great in conjunction with small classes at BIBA Academy, however, Stage 4 was announced so we went back to the drawing board.

Enter BIBA Academy Lockdown Learning! Building on the engagement of the lighter lockdown, the BIBA Academy Lockdown Learning Facebook group sees your instructors and student support engaging with the students at scheduled times. Utilising the Facebook Live feature as well as Facebook Rooms, the staff have been able to connect with the students in realtime and help them transcend the constraints of the stricter laws.

Stay tuned to the next installment of the BIBA Academy Lockdown Blog to read about the topics covered, and other ways we are keeping our students engaged.