Homeschooling and online learning strategies — the education sector’s response to COVID-19
With governments issuing stay-at-home guidelines due to COVID-19 pandemic, students worldwide are stuck at home but that doesn’t mean they cannot continue to learn. Advancements in computational, online learning technologies and education tech have enabled online learning opportunities for students to develop skills in programming, and also complete the curriculum as per schedule.
COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the traditional chalk-talk teaching methodology as online learning comes to the rescue. A multi-pronged strategy is necessary to manage the crisis in the education sector which is the most affected due to lockdown and closure of schools. That’s the reason, parents are investing in online learning platforms and also unsmiling the abilities of their kids in coding, mathematics, computational technologies, software engineering and other disciplines as there is a pragmatic shift in technology-driven online learning methodologies all over the world.
Another advantage of investing in online learning is that the kids need not learn at the same time as others. This self-paced learning allows the students to create their own learning schedules. They need not pretend that they understood something while they didn’t. Instead, they can review the study material on the learning management system (LMS) as many times until the concept is clear before moving to the next step. Interactive elements in LMS such as videos, games, puzzles and entertaining graphics help with the pace at which different students learn and progress along the learning curve.
Driving engagement at scale
In online learning, students gain access to lessons on-demand to understand key concepts. KidoCode’s highly focused courses in coding, computational thinking and other skills with gamification elements make the concepts easier to understand as they are taught in digestible chunks that resonate with your kids’ learning abilities. Online learning solutions by KidoCode ensure continuity of your kids’ education and drive engagements at scale.
Increasing the effectiveness of learning and teaching
The education industry’s current response is in stark contrast to previous health crises such as SARS, swine flu, and Ebola outbreaks where students had limited resources available to them. We now have wide opportunities and tools to receive professional-grade education at home. For many, online collaboration platforms have become the only way to learn programming and other skills. As a response to COVID-19, KidoCode’s pedagogical methods seamlessly integrate classroom learning with e-learning modes to let your kids continue their learning in an uninterrupted way.
Better outcomes with parental involvement
Some parents may feel isolated as they are unsure of where to go if their kid needs help. Parents should be aware of the tools available to their kids and use them. Parents’ involvement correlates directly to students’ success. Virtual classes deliver better outcomes with positive parental involvement in the students’ learning process.
Addressing the latent issues
Parents’ role and impact on student’s success are both critical and apparent in online learning as they need to serve as secondary educators with more involvement. Responsibilities of today point to larger parental attention than ever. They can support their kids by setting the pace and creating a dedicated physical space at home intended for learning. As a parent, you should know when to lean in and lean out of your kids’ learning experiences. You can also reach out to instructors and seek help with teaching strategies to address the latent issues. You need to remind your kids that it is not the long-extended breaks, and they must have respect to schedule, including breaks.
Help your rising star succeed on their own
Parents should engage with kids’ learning in a constructive way. They can easily disrupt a kid’s learning rhythm in an online learning scenario where the instructor is just a screen away. They should be task-oriented and not authoritative as the approach can rid the student of their independent learning style, while an overly supportive behavior will make the kid reliant on you. You need to adopt appropriate coaching behavior as per the needs of your growing kid and help your rising stars succeed on their own by creating stronger scenarios for success.
A structured environment for the most effective outcomes
As kids are easily distracted, it is important to provide a structured environment for the kids that promote inclusion and personalisation as the younger children may lack motivation for online learning to be effective. Online learning allows students to use the technology that they are already familiar with to better engage with learning. However, many people wonder whether online learning will continue post-pandemic. Well, our take is that it will transition to hybrid routines (mix of home and school) and blending learning (mix of online and offline learning) with online learning becoming an integral part of school education in many parts of the world including Malaysia.
