Useful Remote Learning Tips You Should Know
The sudden adoption of at-home schooling found many schools unprepared in implementing. Some simply send home paper packages, while others make sure their students have the necessary devices, Wi-Fi connection and an online curriculum. Some networks like Success Academy and Uncommon Schools set up curricula for their students and give it free to the public. The high-quality school curriculum providers also offer free online education packages.
Even with the best curriculum being provided online, remote learning comes with its own share of challenges just like the face-to-face schooling. Research has shown that students who already have learning challenges are likely to be affected the most. Online learning requires prompt feedback, review and clarity just like any other instruction. The following remote learning tips can help to reap from at-home schooling.
Get students to participate
The first thing that the teachers should focus on is making sure that the students are showing up and are completing their assignments. It has been reported by many teachers that less than half of their students are not participating in the online learning. This has been attributed to students not having reliable internet connection in states like Los Angeles. According to Harry Fletcher, a UK based educator recommends teachers should make the goals of the remote learning as clear as possible. The teacher should communicate to the students when they are supposed to attend the class and the task they are expected to complete. Emphasis should be made on the number of students who are participating and incase of a dismal amount report it positively to encourage others to purpose to attend. Among the key remote learning tips for students is to know when they should be participating in the online learning and what they are expected to do.
Focus on content rather than comprehension skills
After the students have showed up for the online learning the next big question should be what to teach them. It has been proven that some of the district schools are making science and social studies optional and sticking to mathematics and reading. This should not however be the case. The hours spent in reading comprehensions are to a large extent wasted. The students should take more time in science and social studies and distribute the lessons over a long period of time. This is likely to build on the knowledge and vocabulary they would have learnt in comprehensions.
Rather than the students being subjected to finding ideas from disconnected passages, they should be asked questions that will make them deeply on the solar system or the parts of animals or any other content found in their curriculum. When the teacher is marking, he/she should look at the literal understanding of the topic by asking questions like, ‘what is an amphibian animal?’ the students will be expected to dwell on the characteristics and draw a clear boundary on how they are different from other animals.
The other possible way of getting the learners interested in remote learning and build their knowledge base is introducing the current COVI-19 pandemic. The teacher can first delve into history of other pandemics that affected the world like Swine flu, avian flu among others before introducing the current pandemic. This will create anxiety on the learner and they will draw more attention to the topic and make remote learning interesting. The students will be more engaged in doing their own research which builds their grammar and level of comprehension.
Make it simple
Simple and clear directions are the best for remote learning considering the fact that the teacher cannot gauge the level of understanding and confusion of the student. Make sure that the learning platform is consistent and use the same routine. The teacher should be very cautious when introducing new materials to the learner. Remote learning is mainly meant to remind the students what they already know. This means that the teacher should concentrate in reinforcing the same.
Connect the new and old content with examples
Since we do not know when the situation is going to be under control, teachers will be introducing new concepts. But before that, it is important for the teacher to link the new content with what the student already know. Begin by a recap of what they had previously learnt to jog their mind and remind those who had forgotten. As a teacher you should then build the new idea giving examples that the students can easily relate to. When teaching a new concept in mathematics, a teacher can show a video when calculating and on each stage give a reason or show the students a mathematical question that is already solved.
Wondershare DemoCreator in sending videos: the teacher can take advantage of the DemoCreator that will allow them create a video solving the question and edit where they require. The video can be saved and sent in the form of MP3, MP4, GIF or MOV formats which can be easily saved to your computer.
Roll Out New Information In Bits
It is important to understand that the concentration level of students drops significantly with time. Among the study tips for remote learning is embracing the spacing out effect when teaching new ideas. Since the students are not familiar with a new topic, it is highly advisable that you teach them in bits then revisit later. Ensure that the learning videos are shorter than 15 minutes when teaching a new concept or idea. This will help the student get engaged and can easily recall in the next lesson. Spacing out gives the student time to internalize the concept and get eager for the next lesson.
Make learning interactive
In a remote learning session, the students not only require listening to the teacher, but they should be actively involved. Some platforms like WonderShare DemoCreator allow the teacher to post quizzes to students and receive answers in real-time on the screen. The video PDF has the ability to allow the teacher pause and request the student to answer the question they post. This will create the retrieval practice that is important for students to absorb as well as remember what they have been taught. The teacher can then continue with the session and give the correct answer after a self evaluation by the students. Ideally, the teacher will not ask the question and hear the response of the student, but will guide the students to figure out the correct answer. One of the remote learning tips for parents is ensuring that the students have the requisite resources to facilitate in the online sessions. Using platforms like WonderShare DemoCreator, the student can save the session and refer to it later as part of their revision.
Balance the Synchronous and Asynchronous Sessions
A remote class can either be synchronous, when all the students are online together, or asynchronous when students are attending the session at different timing. It has been proven that synchronous sessions are difficult to achieve and that it does not allow practice. However, it is very important for the teacher to plan sessions when all the students are together to create connection and students feel being part of the group as well as offer prompt feedback to the learner. Platforms like WonderShare DemoCreator offer the teacher to conduct both synchronous and asynchronous learning with their technology to transfer videos and documents in real time which can be saved and reference made at a later date.
As technology is shaping the future of the education systems around the globe, educators need to understand the remote learning tips for teachers so that they can implement the curricula as expected in the education sector. Adopting technology in adding value for students can be a big plus in the education sector. Use of WonderShare DemoCreator can assist in preparation of the learning materials they require for teaching. The software allows the teacher to create videos and can edit them to suit the students’ requirements. It comes with a simple to understand tutorial that help the user to understand how to use it in recording, editing and sending videos among other features. The DemoCreator has a feature that allow you to add captions, banners, overlays, annotations and arrows that enrich the videos. You can also add stickers in the recording to emphasize a point. The Democreator videos can be saved in the form of MP3, MP4, GIF or MOV that can easily be downloaded and sent through any link or site.
Remote learning has proved to be the best method of getting students engaged during this period where learners cannot attend normal classes due to COVID-19. It will require all education sector stakeholders to come up with the best practices as discussed above to make it a success. The teachers should embrace the digital technology in preparing their teaching materials and the parents and the government to ensure that all the necessary infrastructures like stable internet connections and computers are available to the students.