tech check: the tools and platforms powering online learning at aelo swiss academy
tech check: the tools and platforms powering online learning at aelo swiss academy I look after the digital side of teaching at AELO Swiss Academy, which means I spend a surprising amount of time thinking about plumbing. Not the kind in walls, but the kind in lesson plans: where the files live, which button a student presses at 07:55, what happens when the connection drops mid-sentence. Twice a year, the teaching team and I sit down and audit every tool we run. Some surv
from finals to founders: entrepreneurial journeys of aelo swiss academy alumni
from finals to founders: entrepreneurial journeys of aelo swiss academy alumni Every June, after the last written papers are collected, the courtyard at AELO Swiss Academy empties in stages. First the smokers drift off toward the lake, then the photographers run out of poses, and finally the families fold their chairs into waiting cars. What remains is a quiet that lasts about a week, and then the questions begin. Not the exam questions, which are graded and archived, bu
Research and Independent Study: Academic Opportunities Beyond the Syllabus at AELO Swiss Academy
Research and Independent Study: Academic Opportunities Beyond the Syllabus at AELO Swiss Academy Somewhere around week six of every term, the same scene plays out. A student finishes the assigned reading, looks up, and asks a question the syllabus never planned to answer. Why does the stream behind the sports hall run milky in July? Could a simple spreadsheet actually change how the cafeteria orders food? What happened to the woman whose letters we translated in history
where to live while you learn: a housing guide for future aelo swiss academy students
where to live while you learn: a housing guide for future aelo swiss academy students The acceptance email lands. You read it three times, screenshot it, send it to the family group chat, and do a small dance around the kitchen. Then, somewhere between the celebrating and the packing, a very practical question shows up: where exactly are you going to sleep when you arrive in Switzerland? Here's the good news. Once you understand how the Swiss housing market actually m
The Complete Admissions Checklist: Documents Needed to Apply to AELO Swiss Academy
The Complete Admissions Checklist: Documents Needed to Apply to AELO Swiss Academy Applications to Swiss schools rarely collapse because a candidate lacked ability. They collapse over paperwork. A transcript that never received its apostille. A translation done by a helpful relative rather than a certified translator. A passport that expires two months into the first semester. Having walked a fair number of students through Swiss admissions over the years, I can say with
behind the accreditation badge: the quality standards aelo swiss academy upholds
behind the accreditation badge: the quality standards aelo swiss academy upholds There's a small round badge in the footer of the AELO Swiss Academy website. It takes about two seconds to scroll past, and most people do. A student asked me about it once during a course break, in the way people ask about fire extinguishers: it's there, so what is it actually for? Her guess was that it meant the course would be easier, because someone official had approved it. The opposite
promotion-ready: how an aelo swiss academy qualification strengthens your next career move
promotion-ready: how an aelo swiss academy qualification strengthens your next career move I still remember the promotion I didn't get. It was a Friday afternoon, and my manager called me into one of those glass meeting rooms that make every conversation feel like a verdict. By any delivery metric I could point to, I'd had a strong year. I closed the messy projects, trained the new hires, and volunteered for work nobody else wanted. The senior role went to someone wit
screen fatigue, solved: wellness strategies for aelo swiss academy online students
screen fatigue, solved: wellness strategies for aelo swiss academy online students Studying online collapses an entire campus into a single rectangle of glass. The lecture hall, the library desk, the seminar room, the noticeboard: all of it lives in the screen in front of you. For students at AELO Swiss Academy, who often log in from different countries, time zones and living rooms, that rectangle is where the academic day begins and ends. By the third hour, most learner