In a few short months, the world has gone from normal to a global pandemic, with lockdowns currently happening in many cities around the world, and aside from the obvious health issues, education has been one of the worst hit sectors. Of course, we cannot have our children in close proximity with one another, indeed, many schools have already lost half an academic year because of the pandemic, and this has seen the emergence of distance learning.
The New Normal
Many experts are saying we will never be able to go back to how things were before Coronavirus appeared, and with a second wave happening now and a third expected at the end of 2020, it is difficult to see how we can return to normality. Many parents have taken to home schooling, as they do not wish for their child to lose out over this, and with affordable school staging systems available online, you can easily turn your dining room into a classroom. If you have a good Internet connection at home, your child could study at home, either via a virtual classroom or with you, using the Internet as a learning resource.
Government Announcements
All the major governments around the world are currently looking at setting up a virtual education system that all children can use, which will replace the regular school and classroom. Indeed, many schools have started the new academic year with a full distance learning program, so don’t be surprised if your child’s school follows suit, as the protection of our children is paramount. More and more American parents are now home schooling their kids, as this article shows.
Quality of Education
Of course, this is a prime concern for educators and parents alike, and online learning does require a high level of discipline from the student, who is remotely located. The issue will be mainly with the younger children, and once you reach the high school grades, this is no longer a factor. Rather than being the passive learner in the traditional classroom, where the teacher actually instructs, the remote learner needs to take an active role, and it is essential that the parents understand this. Here is a link to a WHO PDF file for schools to prepare for remote learning, which is an informative read.
The Benefits of Online Learning
Let’s take a look at the benefits of online learning,
- No Travelling.
- No Risk of Infection.
- More Freedom & Independence.
It isn’t necessary for the children to be online for the entire learning day, indeed, with older students, the remote teacher can assign work that the students can do using the Internet as a resource. The typical schedule for a day might be a one hour session in the morning when the students talk to each other about the previous day and the remote teacher assigns the work, then they all come back online after lunch for another hour, then the afternoon activity, which each student does remotely, before they all come back to the virtual classroom at 3pm, when the teacher assigns homework and discusses the day with the students.
We all have to adapt to the new normal, and this will involve your child studying remotely, and hopefully, it won’t be long before we can go back to how things once were.