1. Set up a learning space in the house from which you will communicate with your teacher.
2. There is no homeroom. Lessons start at 8 AM each day and follow the normal timetable. Start the day as though you were coming to school, dressed and fed.
3. Break times are as usual. Make sure that you stretch, eat and drink
4. Make sure that you are ready for each timetabled lesson and have logged on to ManageBac. Send a message to your teacher saying Hi!
5. Ensure that you have right equipment at hand. See full list below under 'Equipment and Tools'.
6. Get involved in the class by messaging with your peers and teacher.
7. Upload work as required by your teacher.

Share any concerns you may have with your teacher by e-mail.

Video conferencing adds a new dimension of interaction and communication that was previously unavailable in the online learning environment. The increased interactions and synchronous learning environment promoted by video conferencing address the need for increased human interaction often experienced by online learners. However, video conferencing brings with it additional challenges both in terms of learning and safeguarding.

Gunga and Ricketts (2006) found that online learning can compete with face-to-face learning in richness in terms of psychosocial and emotional flexibility, however, systems in place need to compensate for the sensory and emotional loss of the classroom experience and facilitators need to consider a range of design elements. These include:

1. Assigning specific roles to students, including where appropriate assigning students to lead different aspects of the learning
2. Setting time limits
3. Designing and creating thought-provoking questions that will elicit a range of answers
4. Ensuring active participation

Students will also need to embrace the potential of this virtual learning environment. The following guidelines will support this development:

1. Remember you are on camera and live. The advantage of video conferencing is that you can take advantage of facial expressions, inflection, and tone of voice. Remember to think before you respond to make your thoughts and ideas clear and coherent to the video conferencing participants.
2. Adhere to the same standards of behaviour during the video conferencing session that you would follow in the classroom. It would be recommended to develop a set of essential agreements for online classrooms.
3. Be mindful of all video conferencing participants. Allow other participants time and opportunities to contribute to the discussion and share their ideas with the group.
4. Be mindful of your tone and expressions during the video conferencing session. This is not an anonymous session. Your voice and video are viewed by all who are participating in the chat session, and others in the room who may not be visible on the screen.
5. Be prepared to share your ideas and listen to those of others.
6. Respect the context of the video conferencing session. Stay on task.
7. Be forgiving of mistakes during the video conferencing session, both in terms of technology and other participants.

If the teacher is going to use video-conferencing for any of their lessons, they will send a link or an invitation to the student, which will lead them to a web based platform (Microsoft Teams) which does not require any pre-loaded applications.