The 2020-21 school year is winding down just as COVID-19 vaccinations continue to roll out, with the CDC easing mask restrictions and social distancing guidelines for those who are vaccinated. The majority of schools throughout the United States are either back to learning in the classroom or on their way to returning next school year – welcome news for teachers and parents who have had to provide students with engaging e-learning resources over the last 14 months.
But even when students and educators return to classrooms, the desire for effective virtual education won’t go away. Among other important lessons, the last school year taught us that innovative e-learning resources that can be easily incorporated into teachers’ curriculum will always be in high demand.
That’s a lesson that educational content providers throughout the country are taking to heart. The National Theatre for Children (NTC) had been delivering live in-school performances on the subjects of energy efficiency, financial literacy, STEM education, health and wellness, and other subjects since 1978. The live in-school format offers students and educators a unique, memorable experience and inspires kids to embrace positive life skills through social norming – the theory that people change their behaviors based on perceptions of how their peers think and act.
But like the rest of the world, NTC had to shift to a safe and remote all-digital alternative in March 2020. The company was able to adapt thanks to its virtual livestream events, broadcast digitally to schools throughout the country.
In the 2020-21 school year, livestream events like Space Station Conservation, Ready or Not: Preparing for Wildfires, Mad About Money, The Aqua League and Your Planet, Your Future continued to inspire students, teachers and family members to embrace positive behaviors. Featuring fun and comedic educational videos, a livestream host who recaps the information, and a Q&A chat feature through which classrooms could submit questions live in real time, the livestream events continued to provide vital educational content from a safe distance.
As with previous live in-school performances, the livestream events were supplemented by print materials including student playbooks, infographic posters and graphic novels, as well as an enhanced online curriculum featuring hands-on lessons, interactive activities, e-books, a smart speaker app and more.
Throughout this school year, NTC wrote, designed, created, performed and distributed 20 different livestream programs to over 2,700 schools in 20 states. Ultimately, the livestreams engaged over 590,000 students; almost 35,000 teachers; and over 945,000 family members in our clients’ communities, ensuring that their outreach efforts didn’t have to stop in the face of a global pandemic. In fact, they could thrive.
Metrics regarding number of schools, students and teachers engaged remained remarkably consistent from live in-school performances to livestream events, with 95% of educators claiming that the virtual livestream events were able to stimulate classroom discussion. Beyond the wide reach and safe social distancing, the digital livestream events also provided schools with flexible compatibility across different devices and a more eco-friendly delivery method.
As vaccination levels continue to rise and social distancing guidelines are relaxed, in-classroom instruction is on the horizon for the 2021-22 school year. Whether that means outside assemblies and field trips will be allowed once again is undecided, with many school districts and administrators waiting to see what the next school year holds before fully reopening their doors.
Whenever health and safety guidelines permit outside events for the majority of schools once again, NTC looks forward to resuming live in-school performances; there’s nothing like the thrill and spontaneity of an in-person theatrical event to engage young learners. But until that happens, and even afterwards, NTC knows some schools, educators and administrators will prefer a virtual approach through which classrooms can experience dynamic learning materials from a safe and remote distance using digital technologies.
There were many lessons learned in the year of COVID, for educational content providers like NTC as for everyone else. The need to adapt and pivot to the changing needs of educators, students, families and sponsoring organizations might be the most important takeaway. So while the live in-school element of NTC’s theatrical programs will return, effective livestream events and e-learning packages aren’t going anywhere. Whatever the format, organizations like NTC will continue inspiring communities to adopt positive life skills, building for a safer, brighter future in a way that’s more important than ever before.
For more information on NTC’s e-learning programs and live in-school theatrical events, contact Matt Levine at mlevine@ntccorporate.com.
About The National Theatre for Children
NTC is a premium provider of educational programming with operations in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand. We work directly between schools and clients to promote beneficial behaviors and life skills to students in grades K-12 on a local, regional and national level.
Our award-winning educational programs are provided free for schools and are customizable to accommodate specific messages and goals for clients. Through formats including live performance, e-learning, in-class discussion, graphic novels, print curriculum, and digital games and activities, we present topics such as energy conservation, safety, financial literacy, STEM, water and environmental stewardship, and health and social responsibility in ways that engage and empower students. In doing so, we are helping our clients to be forces of change for students, parents and communities.
For more information, visit www.NTCcorporate.com.
