Virtual Lesson Plan Starts Monday March 23rd, 2020
UPDATE: We will go back to in person as soon as it is deemed safe to do so and will post an update when we make the change. We don’t currently have a timeline, but we will make this decision based on Government/ Health Canada’s recommendations.
Dear Students & Guardians,
During this uncertain time, our students and teachers’ health and safety is our top priority. Due to COVID-19, & as per the Social Distancing recommendations from Health Canada, HOC will implement a temporary Virtual Lesson Plan.
We hope we can collectively adapt to this new virtual structure so that students can continue regular music lessons. We would be endlessly appreciative to all our Customers cooperation so that our Teachers can continue to work, and House of Chords can continue to operate. Our music community is so important, and we hope to keep it thriving! We’re all in this together!
(NOTE: MARCH BREAK WE HAVE BEEN CLOSED FOR LESSONS. WE DID NOT BILL ANYONE FOR LESSONS MARCH 16-21, 2020 so no lessons virtual or otherwise to take place this week)
HOW TO USE GOOGLE HANGOUTS – CLICK FOR INFO
Timeline
We will go back to in person as soon as it is deemed safe to do so and will post an update when we make the change. We don’t currently have a timeline, but we will make this decision based on Government/ Health Canada’s recommendations.
Lesson Times
Everyone will remain in their current lesson time.
We hope you will keep your regular scheduled lesson time and enjoy virtual lessons with your instructors from the comfort of your home.
When we return to in-person lessons you will have held your lesson time.
Stop Lessons
If you choose to opt out, note that most policies remain unchanged, including our stop lesson policy – Please see attached policy sheet. When you wish to re-register please contact us, we cannot guarantee the same time or instructor once you stop but will do our best to find a great option that works. We hope you might consider trying virtual lessons as we will be continuing to offer top quality instruction using this method!
What is the Plan for Virtual Lessons?
Instructors will be available via “Google Hangouts” platform, which is a free video conferencing platform.
You can still have your weekly, 1-on-1 private music lesson virtually with your instructor at your regular scheduled time.
HOW:
- Your instructor can be reached via Google Hangouts at your regular scheduled lesson time
- Log in and call them via google hangouts at your lessons time.
- Each Instructor has been assigned a google account which will be their contact.
(Instructor contact info posted below along with Google Hangout instructions)
TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES? YOU WILL STILL GET A LESSON!
– Your instructor will wait up to 10 minutes from your lesson’s start time for you to call them via Google Hangouts.
– If you do not log in after 10 minutes, they will take the remaining lesson time to email you a virtual lesson. The format will vary, but it will be a combination of video recordings written documentation etc. The instructor will use their discretion to meet each student’s needs. This is only in the case that the student does not call in at their scheduled time.
-The email will be sent to the address you provided at the time of registration.
-This will ensure each student will have something to work on for the week, whether you are able to log in for the video conference or not.
ALTERNATIVE PLATFORMS
We will be using Google Hangouts as our preferred platform, as it is free and easy to use. We will try our best to provide alternate communication platforms where possible. This is something that can be worked out directly between each student and Instructor. Essentially, we are laying out a standardized method which will be adapted over time to meet each students’ individual needs.
Using Google Hangouts
CLICK HERE for instructions on how to navigate the Google Hangouts platform.
At the time of your regular scheduled lesson, log in and start a video chat. Your teacher’s contact is listed within this posting. You will need a free Google account. If you use gmail you already have a Google Account!
We created a brief video tutorial below to help you set up Google Hangouts step-by-step:
