Language Teaching Platform: Setup, Onboarding & Training

With each year, the landscape of education is evolving, and it is becoming increasingly necessary for teachers to rise to the challenge and be comfortable integrating new technologies and practices into their classrooms. With SmartClass, teachers can breathe easier knowing they have the tools and support essential for student success. 

Our language teaching platform and curricula were designed by teachers for teachers, which means we truly understand the need to keep up with the expectations of the modern classroom and are here to guide you. SmartClass is designed to eliminate complexity by offering a seamless experience and providing dedicated setup, comprehensive onboarding, and ongoing teacher training to ensure every educator can maximize the language teaching platform's potential from day one.

Language Teaching Platform: SmartClass Overview 

The SmartClass Language Teaching Platform is a comprehensive, digital, blended learning platform for K-12 and higher education. It combines CEFR-leveled digital curricula with an interactive teaching and learning platform, enabling teachers to facilitate more immersive lessons and promote focused speaking practice. Our solution can be used in a traditional, virtual, or blended learning environment. 

With real-time assessment, both teachers and students can ensure progress and growth. One of the best features is that teachers can not only use our ready-to-use activities, but they can also edit the activities to match their needs and create their own using any of our 20 activity templates. This ensures that teachers are able to meet not only their curricular needs but also to personalize and differentiate instruction based on their students’ needs. 

Why the Right Setup Matters

Seamless setup and training are crucial for schools that already struggle to find time for the day-to-day basics. SmartClass strives to empower teachers and to become the solution that makes daily instruction more interactive, engaging, and enjoyable. We provide not only the initial training on the platform and curricula but also help teachers to see how easy teaching with SmartClass can be. Whether teachers are using our teacher handbook, student resources, or digital platform, we make sure that they feel confident to provide more opportunities for students to engage with the language both inside and outside of the classroom. 

Our guided implementation for the language teaching platform

• saves teacher time and reduces frustration.
• ensures consistent use of the language teaching platform across all departments.
• maximizes the return on your investment in the language teaching solution.
• leads to better student engagement and learning outcomes.
  
  
  

SmartClass' Three Pillars of Success: Setup, Onboarding, and Training 

1. Effortless Platform Setup 

We start by creating a school access and an administrator account. A specific link is created for the institution and shared with the coordinator of the teacher accounts at the school. That coordinator then is able to create the necessary teacher login credentials and even has the capability to prepare classes, curriculum, and student registration for teachers as needed. 

Whether the account administrator sets up teachers’ classes or teachers create them themselves, the process is easy. A course and class name is needed, then one just has to select if SmartClass curricula are being used for that course or if the platform should be prepared for individual creation of activities. If the curriculum is being used, it can be downloaded in its entirety or filtered to focus on specific topics, skills, etc. 

Once the activities are prepared, there are three options for student registration:

1. Invite the students to register themselves with a web link
2. Import student rosters with a CSV file
3. Add one student at a time

2. Comprehensive Teacher Onboarding 

Though the SmartClass Language Teaching Platform is intuitive, we recommend personalized teacher onboarding to ensure confidence and success from the beginning. In the first training session, teachers are introduced to the platform and activity templates and are guided through the initial setup steps. It is a chance to share details of the teachers’ needs,  the reality of their current teaching environment, and excite teachers about what they can do with SmartClass. Teachers learn what sets our language teaching platform apart from other platforms in the flexibility of use, the ability to not only edit but also to create activities, and so much more. Teachers have the chance to practice setting up classes and explore content resources on the Account Portal. 

3. In-Depth, Multi-Session Training

Training session 2 dives deeper into the SmartClass curriculum. Teachers learn the structure of the teacher handbook and additional, printable student resources, and how to use them to plan engaging and interactive lessons. This also gives time for teachers to determine if edits would be beneficial to activities in the language teaching platform, such as allowing for student redos, setting a timer, or adding additional instructions for students. Once teachers have a chance to explore SmartClass ready-to-use activities, they are guided on how to create them themselves using our activity templates that fall under viewing, writing, quiz, speaking, video, or pronunciation. 

Training 3 focuses on assessment, grading, feedback, student progress monitoring, and the student experience. Even though over 50% of our activities are auto-graded and our AI-graded activities give valuable feedback, teachers always have the control to alter grades and provide personal feedback for students. That teacher's interaction equips students with the skills to successfully complete activity types within the language teaching platform.

There is also specialized SmartClass training for schools with a traditional language lab. The different functionalities, such as Pairing/Grouping, Monitoring Students, Live Testing, etc, are explored, and teachers reflect on which functions would provide more interaction and differentiation for students. Teachers are also able to record interactions students have while in the language lab and assess their conversations, and provide feedback. 

Common Questions: Language Teaching Platform  

1.  What is the recommended training for the SmartClass Language Teaching Platform?

SmartClass typically recommends 3 hours of platform training (with additional hours for Language Lab, if applicable) to ensure teacher confidence and success

2.  Can SmartClass be used to teach any language?

Yes, while it offers pre-made curricula for languages like English, Spanish, and German, the platform's 20 customizable activity templates can be used to teach any language.

3. How does this language teaching platform simplify my workload?

SmartClass saves time through features like auto-graded activities and streamlined class management, allowing you to focus on providing personalized instruction and feedback. 

At Robotel, we care about teacher and student success. For that reason, we support users by providing a comprehensive setup and encouraging onboarding and personalized training on the SmartClass Language Teaching Platform. We are confident that teachers and students alike will see what a difference SmartClass can make, and are asking you: “Ready to transform your language program with a fully supported implementation?