Reimagining Education with Virtual Phone Systems

The educational system has taken a turn with the pandemic. Students remain learning from home for safety and health reasons that technical issues can’t help but be a challenge. There will always be difficulties with the devices, connections, or app compatibility.

The Greenfield Commonwealth Virtual School has been dealing with virtual classes since it was founded in 2013 in Greenfield, MA. With over sixty employees and countless students, the need for safe remote learning with a virtual phone system is the priority.

Are you running a virtual learning institution? How do you make sure the flow of communication in remote learning works? Finding the best virtual phone system is all you need. The RingCentral app can level up your teacher’s and students’ experience. Speak to phone system experts with our free 30-minute discovery call.

Staff Mobility and Teacher-Student Communications

Effective online learning has continuously evolved in recent years. To be successful, it is best to consider staff mobility and factors that affect teacher-student communication.

In any online or distance learning, it is necessary to use learning software effectively. Here are some ways on how to do it:

• Consider technical and methodological challenges in distance learning.
• Implement an organized procedure and get acquainted with the required technologies.
• Provide a clear student guideline and make sure it is understood.
• Provide students with tools for better digital learning.

Company Background: Greenfield Commonwealth Virtual School

The Greenfield Commonwealth Virtual School is a public school that serves students from across Massachusetts who need an accessible and flexible learning community. GCVS provides their students and their families the flexibility – they can choose what, how, when, and where they learn.

The school also pioneered online personalized learning. One of their goals was to empower their educators to tailor learning experiences to their strengths, interests, and challenges. They also continue to redefine and change how students and teachers engage through innovative technology to ensure mastery of competencies embedded in a rigorous curriculum.

The school and its founders had this vision to create a new 21st-century public school model that could serve many students, especially those with interests and needs that other public schools may not provide.

How does GCVS do it?

Students benefit from the structure in their virtual classroom-based programs by taking part in live lessons and a well-scheduled school day. These schedules are similar to those found at a traditional school, but they also benefit from the flexibility of an online classroom and the home environment.

GCVS has personalized asynchronous programs that can be learned whenever and wherever students best learn. The programs were designed for those students who need a flexible school schedule to fit into their busy lives. Some students learn best without a daily school structure – these are what GCVS is trying to serve.

At Greenfield Commonwealth Virtual School, they make sure every student has their needs met in the form of a high-quality, public education tailored to them.

Here’s how they create an exciting, interactive learning environment: 

By providing real-time class discussion

Students learn in a semi-structured schedule in their elementary, middle, and high school programs. They can also take advantage of “live lessons” where students and teachers interact in real-time.

If the lesson allows for it, live classes broadcast on-location from museums, parks, and other places of interest.

The benefits of Home Schooling

There are plenty of benefits of the home school environment, and students benefit from homeschooling with a high-quality, public school education taught by certified, experienced teachers.

It is the perfect scenario that lets students learn and succeed wherever they and their parents desire while enrolled in either the live lesson or asynchronous online programs.

By collaborating with a learning coach

The learning coach refers to the parent (or other responsible adult or guardian) who works in conjunction with the online classroom teachers. There is no specialized knowledge necessary, only a desire to help students learn.

It is a rewarding role that allows being highly engaged with your child’s program and start new relationships as co-learners, explorers, and intellectual partners.

Challenge: Replacing an Unreliable Phone System

Greenfield Commonwealth Virtual School implemented a software solution for its PBX phone system. However, it did not meet the school’s needs at all. As the Director of Technology for GCVS, Chris Moody recalled it was not user-friendly and clunky. Their staff needed to log in to a website every time they wanted to check missed calls and voicemails or if they simply wanted to make a call. It was not inefficient and took so much time.

It also fell short when it comes to calling quality and reliability, that the school often experienced dropped calls. Sometimes, choppy and as if someone’s talking underwater.

Another issue the school encounter was when they could not get support every time their staff is on the road. It was almost impossible to stay connected with these employees because their phone system did not allow mobility. Their team, such as guidance counselors, family engagement coordinators, and school nurses, often visit their students’ homes. However, when they were on the field, the school couldn’t reach them using their existing office numbers. It was only possible to connect with them once they’re back at their desks.

It was not ideal because it stopped productivity and efficiency. GCVS needed a reliable phone system for virtual learning that would help them with the kind of set-up they have.

Goal: Search for the Best Business Phone Solution 

Chris Moody started searching for a better phone solution to meet all of their needs, which led them to RingCentral.

A few existing phone systems out there suit the virtual set-up, which Moody’s team narrowed down into a few worth talking to. The discussion went on with these companies with topics about what they have to offer from features, customer service, and costs. It was easy for the director to narrow down their search as they provided all the possible solutions.

When asked what GCVS was mainly looking for, Moody responded: text messaging capability, the app, the direct numbers for their staff, which they can use on their own devices, digital faxing, reporting, and valuable analytics. All these and if the price is right.

Moody also added how they did a proof of concept with RingCentral, and it all went smoothly. Everybody in the team was impressed with the solution, they knew right there that they found the answer.

Virtual Phone System from RingCentral

The Director of Technology appreciated how intuitive the interface of RingCentral was. It made the implementation far and away easier than their previous system. RingCentral’s system made it easier to check the health of the system anytime. At the same time, they can also view the analytics and fix issues themselves. Here are the reasons why RingCentral was the right communication tool for Virtual Learning:

Superb Call Quality. 

• From an administrative point of view, RingCentral’s call quality was a big leap from what they used to have. It provided the exact solution when they were looking for the perfect phone system. They could say goodbye to choppy connections or dropped calls. Having a smooth connection also made them appear leveled up.

System Tracking and Analytics

• Because the management can check the health of the system directly, they were also trained by the RingCentral team on how to troubleshoot specific problems. They found it easy to fix issues by themselves, and if anything comes up, RingCentral’s 24-hour customer service has always been a big help.

SMS texting is made easy by RingCentral.

• The faculty staff loves the SMS texting feature of RingCentral because they can’t always answer phone calls when they are in class. Sometimes students would text them, and they can get back to them later after the classes. Most of the students prefer to texts too to calls either. However, the teachers were reluctant to give them personal phone numbers. With the RingCentral SMS feature, however, they did not have to. They could text with students directly from their phones using the RingCentral numbers.

Flexibility and mobility.

• Because the RingCentral mobile app allows the staff to use their office phone numbers from anywhere and on any device, they could still answer calls and respond to messages even if they are in the field. The guidance counselors who travel a lot to meet students can finally stay in touch with their colleagues.
• Another example was when someone in the Greenfield offices needs to work from home on a particular day, there were no issues either. They can still communicate with their colleagues and students as if they are sitting in the office.

An intuitive interface. 

•  An intuitive interface is everything because it makes all kinds of implementation possible.

Improve the virtual learning experience for both faculty and students with a virtual phone system.  Call Flow Solutions can help direct you to the most fitting business phone system vendor. We provide you with our unbiased recommendations on the best business virtual phone systems in the market. Save precious time with a single discovery call