Covid-19, Pandemic and Lockdown Measures

The Coding Club learning devices and materials are shared with three other schools in the Frankfurt area. The high quality materials are an investment and its flawless operation needs to be ensured by the Coding Club IT service. This share system is an integral part of the main Digitaltutor concept.

The main problem

We are aware about the risk that an infection in one school might be transferred with the Coding Club materials, i.e. iPads or robot products, to the next school. These are the cases identified as the main challenges:

Student with Covid-19 infection touches a device, the virus might be on the fingers and then sticks on the screen for some time.
Student with Corona infection coughs or “talks” droplets on the device and the virus sticks on the screen for some time.
Transfer of the virus from student to teacher and vice versa.

Prevent the virus from spreading

Efforts must be made to ensure that devices and materials used in the Coding Club do not carry the virus. 100% virus free cleaning after every usage would be every demanding procedure and it’s effect can’t be guaranteed, while cleaning with a disinfectant and a cloth before, during and after the club became the rule already back in February. This of course will not guarantee all germs a killed. That is why further measures will be enforced to prevent the virus from spreading on the materials.

The Coding Club hygiene plan

Disinfectants will be provided during the activity, materials will be kept clean as much as possible.
All students (and teacher) have to wash hands properly before the start of the club.
Everyone involved will wear a face mask during the activity. If the students sit and keep distance, they are allowed to take the mask off.
Keeping distance will be the main stance. During teaching it might be necessary i.e. to explain something on the screen next to a student.
In case of an detected infection outside of the Coding Club, AND if the infected student is a participant of the Coding Club, the CC teacher will be informed by the school. A possible spread will be traced and schools affected will be informed asap.

With these measures enforced I firmly believe the Coding Club materials won’t carry the virus to other schools. Infections between student and teacher will be prevented. Washing hands, keeping distance and wearing masks/shields are in line with public health measures. I discussed this plan with a doctor and he agreed that theses measure are effective for this special case.

No one left behind with the Virtual Coding Club

What about students who cannot attend Coding Club because of health issues? Or if the hygiene measures won’t fit parent concerns? As a separate offer, all parents can register their children for the Virtual Coding Club, an online activity based on high quality education software and a learning platform, in small groups of maximum 4 participants. This activity can be attended from home and will run throughout the year. It is organised outside of the school or Hort program by Digitaltutor and has to be booked separately on the website www.codingclub.cc (offer coming soon). Interested parents are invited to write an email to info@codingclub.cc.

Even with so many uncertainties ahead of the new school year I’m still looking forward to thrive further by teaching digital skills and creating a wonderful experience with the Coding Club.

Many school networks use very strict security settings both for their network and for their email accounts. As such, many completely harmless and safe automated emails from services are blocked inadvertently. Kodable has never, and will never, made any effort to circumvent these security systems, but there are a couple things you can do to make sure you receive emails from us.

While you are using Coding Club the following email address should be whitelisted:

Additionally, if you are on a Membership plan or interested in purchasing one, please be sure you whitelist the following addresses to ensure you have no interruptions in service:

Instructions for whitelisting vary by email provider, and you will most likely need to ask your IT admin to do this for you, but here are some instructions for commonly used providers:

Gmail

Select “Contacts” under Mail on the left side of the Gmail Inbox.
Select Create Contact on the top menu.
Enter the email address in the primary email box.
Select Save.

Yahoo

Open your Yahoo mailbox.
Click the address book icon under the Yahoo! Mail logo. When you roll your mouse over it, it will say Contacts.
Click “New Contact”.
Fill in the fields of your Contact.
Click Save.

Outlook.com

Select Options from the top right.
Select More options > Safe and blocked senders > Safe senders.
In the space provided, enter the address.
Select Add to list.
Ensure the safe mailing lists box has the address you entered, and select OK

Category: Troubleshooting