Reaching more students - Infinite Wisdom School’s move to online learning
During the pandemic, Infinite Wisdom School (IWS Online School) transitioned from being an in-person after-school academy to a Cambridge International School – registered as online. Alexandra Cigdem Karaman, Director of Education, talks about the benefits.
IWS Online School was founded with the International Well Rounded Education (IWE) Academy in 2016. It started as a physical school in Romania, offering a supplementary education to international students aged 8 to 19. Alexandra Cigdem Karaman has been its Director of Education for five years.
Reasons for choosing the Cambridge Pathway
We were providing education only to students in Romania but once we became an online school during the pandemic, we expanded our reach and started to offer learning across the globe,' explains Alexandra. As a result of going online, the school increased its student numbers by more than 100 per cent.
IWS Online School offers all four stages of the Cambridge Pathway: Cambridge Primary, Cambridge Lower Secondary, Cambridge Upper Secondary and Cambridge Advanced. When registering as a Cambridge online school, Alexandra says: 'We received support from Cambridge International at every stage of our accreditation journey, as well as subsequently.
A well-designed and flexible curriculum
Alexandra believes the Cambridge Pathway is well suited to online learning: 'It is an inclusive, well-designed curriculum that can fit and adapt to each individual student’s needs wherever the student is,” she says. 'Courses can be studied by students on their own due to the curriculum being well structured. Students can choose different pathways to sitting the formative assessments depending on their needs and availability. Access arrangements are also a great support to learners.'
IWS Online School has worked hard to make sure its own infrastructure enables smooth delivery of the Cambridge Pathway.
'Teachers and students can work in real time due to the special learning management tools we use,' says Alexandra. 'Every student has their own digital notebook that teachers can see, analyse and feed back on students’ work instantly. Every child is also assigned to a success coach who follows their progress and builds a strong relationship with parents.' Communication is key, says Alexandra, 'Students and parents get feedback on a regular basis as well as updates on events and programmes via email, notifications or video conferencing. We have also built a student council and parent–teacher association to involve parents and students in the school’s development and hear their voices.'