Online Learning

Understanding the Online Learning Experience — for Students, Parents and Teachers

In March 2020, COVID-19 disrupted all our lives in myriad ways — with the education of our children being particularly impacted. Having worked with Canadian independent schools for nearly 25 years, we watched and were impressed by how schools pivoted so quickly from delivering in-person to online education in a physically distanced world. Berlineaton surveyed a handful of schools to gain feedback about this experience and to create actionable insights to improve the experience of students, parents and teachers.

Key Team Members
Shelly Berlin
Ashka Wirk
Tobias Mehra
Mackenzie Farrell

A Profound Experience

To support our independent school clients as they shifted from in-person to online learning in the wake of shutdowns due to COVID-19, Berlineaton’s Data & Insights team designed and administered a survey to three stakeholder groups: parents, students and faculty. Our reporting included analytics and benchmarking. Our objective? To help schools achieve success in this new form of delivery as quickly as possible. 

Practical Solutions

Berlineaton’s Online Learning Survey was designed as a pulse check — to gather quick, actionable insights about specific aspects of the online learning experience of students, parents and teachers, including:

  • Demographics: To gather data about grade-level, the current household situation and technology
  • Communication: To gather feedback about how well the school has been communicating with students, families and teachers
  • Online Learning Experience: To gather feedback about student engagement, submission of homework, and access to information, teachers and additional supports (including wellbeing support). 
  • Community: To seek feedback about the school’s approach to online learning platform and ability to maintain a community feel
  • Open-ended Feedback: To gather data about what has gone well and what needs improvement or additional support

Bolder Futures

The survey findings helped participating schools to respond, in virtually real-time, to important community feedback and make appropriate adjustments to their online learning offerings in the spring and to plan for the start of the next year.

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    Shelly Berlin

    BA, MBA, FCMC, ACC
    Strategist, Confidante, Entrepreneur.

    Shelly is a co-founding partner of Berlineaton and has over 25 years’ experience in management consulting in strategy, process improvement and leader development.  

    She’s worked extensively with public and private sector organizations, and she is a professional facilitator, expert in the design, development, and execution of strategy. She is a certified executive coach and a Fellow of the Canadian Association of Management Consultants. 

    Shelly’s passion is to help leaders and their organizations achieve extraordinary success through bold thinking, courageous risk taking and disciplined action planning. Dark chocolate helps too.

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    Ashka Wirk

    BSc, MBA, CMC, ACC
    Architect, Builder, Crystal Gazer.

    Ashka is a certified management consultant and executive coach, specializing in board-governed organizations in the education, health care and technology sectors.  

    She is an expert in using qualitative and quantitative data to guide the development of strategy, and then developing tactics and measurement systems that help ensure an effective execution.  

    Ashka’s passion is to lead disciplined, engaging and evidence-based projects that improve organizational effectiveness. To do this, she draws on her extensive and varied background in the fields of science and business. When Ashka’s not with her two school-aged children, you can find her in her gym or garden!

    Ashka is an Associate of Berlineaton’s.

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    Tobias Mehra

    BA, MSc, MIB, CMC
    Problem Solver, Ear-Lender, Globetrotter.

    Tobias is an Engagement Lead. He joined the firm in early 2019. He draws on his various academic and professional experiences in business strategy, market research and corporate sustainability to provide simple and elegant data-driven solutions. 

    Tobias discovered his passion for working with people from a diverse set of backgrounds and enjoys helping organizations confront complex challenges with simple data-powered solutions. 

    Originally hailing from Austria, he moved to Victoria in 2018. Tobias loves exploring the outdoors and loves Vancouver Island as much as he loves Austria. His newest love, though, is his daughter, born at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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    Mackenzie Farrell

    BSC, MMgmt, CMC
    Collaborator, Community Builder, Go-Getter.

    Mackenzie is a Senior Consultant at Berlineaton, known for her experience in strategy development and execution. She brings an innate sense of curiosity, meticulous attention to detail, and a strong interpersonal focus to all aspects of her work. She works across all practice areas to support leaders in creating stronger, more effective organizations.

    Mackenzie specializes in working with independent schools, helping them to navigate unique challenges and build stronger, more sustainable institutions. She has worked with over 20 schools across Canada.

    With a deep-seated passion in helping organizations foster visionary futures for themselves, Mackenzie excels in guiding organizations through an engagement and people-centric approach on growth and improvement. Her strategic insights and commitment ensure that her clients achieve sustainable success.

    Outside of the office, she can be found taking advantage of all the world-class access to nature that the West Coast of Canada has to offer, including her favourite past times, skiing, surfing, and hiking with her husband and dog Molson.