Today we have selected Svetlana Savova to take her interview. She is the Author, Partnerships, and Sales Director at Vedamo.
Tell us about your background and why you came to VEDAMO?
I started my career as a teacher, and now I use that experience to help VEDAMO reach as many different educational groups as possible. As the Director of Partnerships and Sales, I have a unique position that sets students, teachers, and administrators up for success worldwide with their online learning journeys.
How have schools been impacted during COVID times?
When the pandemic sent students home from school in early 2020, teachers scrambled for a solution to keep their students learning on track but also engaged while they learned at home. At first, schools implemented business tools like Zoom and Microsoft Teams designed for employees, not students, creating a challenging and distracting learning environment. Unfortunately, students began to fall behind in the classroom, beginning the American “Grade Depression.” However, schools implementing purpose-built edtech solutions with interactive whiteboards and distraction monitoring saw significantly more success with virtual learning students. Overall, COVID taught us that technology could be a powerful educational tool when wielded correctly.
How has COVID affected VEDAMO?
Founded in 2013, VEDAMO was created for educators by educators. Our company’s goal has been to develop innovative e-learning solutions for all types of learners. The VEDAMO virtual learning environment was created to promote equal access to high-quality education for students worldwide. The platform allows teachers to conduct live online classes with our virtual classroom regardless of their location, create an online academy to manage their courses, content, and learners, as well as the ability to manage and blend traditional face-to-face tutoring with online learning easily. Additionally, VEDAMO can be used in the traditional classroom and for language learning centers, special education, coding schools, vocation training, and corporate training.
COVID impacted VEDAMO in a big way. Suddenly, millions of schools were looking for edtech solutions, and many of them turned to VEDAMO for help. The pandemic provided VEDAMO with the opportunity to show educators the value of reliable, innovative education technology.
What are the main capabilities that are most important for teachers?
The three marquee capabilities of our platform are distraction monitoring, custom interfaces, and interactivity. First, VEDAMO can notify a teacher if a student is distracted in their classroom session. If the student has another webpage open or is looking at their phone, the platform will alert the teacher to re-engage the student without disrupting class. Distraction monitoring helps combat student disengagement, so learners will not miss any material. Additionally, with unlinked business communication tools, VEDAMO has the ability to create custom classroom interfaces to help keep students engaged. With primary and secondary interfaces, teachers can create a dynamic learning environment for younger learners who need a more experiential classroom and advanced technology offerings.
Finally, the interactivity capabilities VEDAMO offers are unlike any other solution on the market; interactive breakout rooms, shareable lesson templates, personal class notes, and multi-user screen sharing create a sense of a real classroom experience. As teachers move into hybrid learning environments this school year, VEDAMO will provide students at home with an enriching and engaging learning experience.
Your Final Thoughts
If the pandemic has taught us one thing, it is that all students can learn online. In fact, some students actually prefer this teaching method and have found more success in their education than ever before. For example, bullied students have fewer distractions learning at home, allowing them to focus on just their school work and not on their peers. Students who participate in extracurriculars and must frequently miss class due to early release or practice now have a platform where they do not ever have to fall behind. In addition, students who are sick or have family emergencies can now have immediate access to their classroom and teachers while they are away from school. Although most students will eventually return to the classroom, online learning tools like VEDAMO should be kept in place to help benefit students who need to miss the occasional day of school. As discussed earlier, online learning tools specifically built for education will help minimize the “Grade Depression” and create continuous student success stories, regardless of their location.
- Spokesperson: Svetlana Savova
- Company: Vedamo
- Website link: https://www.vedamo.com/