Chess Made Fun is teaching beginning chess to seniors with OLLI at Kennesaw State University. We had our in-person classes all set for 2020 when the pandemic changed everything.
The KSU Olli program was able to offer in-person, or virtual classes for students based on their preference.
But how do you teach a game like chess traditionally taught over the board, virtually and in-person simultaneously?
Tasked with this challenge we knew traditional methods would not work. We had to adapt and adapt fast. Thankfully, we were able to use our new chess teaching software to kick-off our class at the end of last year.
We had senior students who had never played chess before eager to learn. Some came to class in-person where we taught in a computer classroom while others logged in at home through zoom to join the class.
Through this software Chess Made Fun now offers, we were able to teach all students in-person, and at home simultaneously. Coach Yvonne taught lessons, and students were able to play mini-games against each other. Once everyone knew how to play chess and understood notation, puzzles and tournaments were added.
The end result was a success, and the class size doubled for our first class of 2021. All though COVID-19 has changed much of our traditional teaching methods we are excited for 2021, and what our new methods will allow us to accomplish.
Looking to teach chess virtually or in person to seniors in your area? Contact Yvonne at 678-952-9897, or by email: yvonne@chessmadefun.com.
