Are you confident Zoom is configured correctly and provides a safe and suitable remote learning experience for your staff and students? Here are some effective practices and things to consider when using Zoom for your virtual classrooms.

This is the second article in our series on how schools and universities can adapt to new learning environments, prepared in response to the many questions we have received from our members in recent weeks. 

'Campus closed' vs 'school closed'. The language we use as international leaders influences this conversation and should give assurance to the community that the mission and vision of the school guide the decisions we make as a Board.

Schools and universities are making extraordinary efforts to support their communities right now. This is the first in a series of articles to address challenges and the many questions we’ve received, explaining how to keep students safe and protect their well-being in new learning environments.

There's been a recent surge of online learning activity as schools and universities around the world look for solutions to continue their teaching, learning and student support while institutions close due to the outbreak of Covid-19/coronavirus. While this surge will help to protect the well-being of their students, these institutions now face the additional challenge of how to protect students while they learn virtually.

On #SaferInternetDay (11 February) we join thousands of you in promoting the safe and responsible use of technology for young people. Where do you start when tackling such a broad and complex topic in an international school context? We called on our colleagues at Childnet International and 9ine Consultancy for information, guidance and resources.

When our university members seek out students from CIS member schools, they want to diversify their own campus with students who want to continue their development as global citizens. Consequently, some of our university members actively incentivize students from our school members with scholarships, grants and other attractive opportunities.

A new year begins. And with it come our resolutions; taking on the challenges we have been avoiding, at long last solving recurring problems, reaching out to those who need our help, stepping up to take action where we know we can make a difference. What would these resolutions look like for those of us responsible for leadership in international education? 

As some of us pack away the fairy lights, baubles, and tinsel from the festive season, we also try to find time to pause and reflect. We reflect on what we do, what we have achieved, and where we are going. Occasionally we may go one step further and reflect on why we do what we do? 

Global citizenship is an often-used term and means different things to different people. Setting the tone for 2020, our Symposia on Intercultural Learning will provide a stage for a diverse group of international educators to present their latest research and techniques from their own cultural perspectives and contexts across the globe.

I’d heard first-hand from colleagues and members of our community about the profound and perhaps confronting experience of attending a CIS Child Protection Workshop. Harsh realities are brought into sharp focus and participants leave with an urgency to take positive action. 

Life is made up of a tapestry of transitions, big and small, simple and complex. By developing ways to positively navigate transitions as early as possible in life we are in a far stronger position to deal with future significant ones as they occur.

Earlier this year I was invited to attend a gathering of university presidents from around the world as they considered trends and shared strategies to Reinvent Higher Education. We examined issues set to impact academia, government, and the private sector as the future workforce continues to be buffeted by change.

We belong to a community of problem-solvers, people who are keen to improve the quality of international education. At our second Summit of school and university leaders we looked at admissions reform, global citizenship and work-readiness, and supporting well-being across and beyond education.

The term “global citizenship” has been a popular and often-used term for over a decade. When I joined Tupperware Brands in 2006 as VP Global Social Responsibility, I was told by the company’s Chairman & CEO, Rick Goings, that he expected me to lead the global citizenship agenda for the company.

An experimental and ambitious initiative was launched in 2008 to reform secondary education across Kazakhstan. Just over a decade later, a network of 21 “beacon” schools are setting standards for education, both across and beyond the country.

Data protection found its way onto my list of responsibilities, and it got there unexpectedly. Like many leaders, I began to pay closer attention in 2018 when a new law, the European General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR as it is commonly known, was about to be  implemented. Initially, I wondered, just how much time are we going to have to devote to this?