Our Learnings from Distance Learning

 The pandemic has brought economic, emotional and educational havoc across the world. The education industry has adapted itself the most during the testing times. If we compare the current scenario of Edtech industry with pre-covid, there has been a paradigm shift. The attitude of education organizations, learners, and teachers has completely changed in the past one year. Those reluctant and apprehensive about online learning are left with no option but to embrace it.

Having said, let’s look at a couple of learning we have lately received from distance learning.

Planning is preliminary
If you are an education organization, planning beforehand is something that cannot be missed. Even if online learning doesn’t need physical presence, it demands solid planning to ensure implementation part is hassle-free. From choosing the right platform that meets the teaching and learning needs to ensuring it is simple to use for Class 1 graders to Class 12 graders, you have to take care of anything. Last minute decisions will always impact the results. So, plan beforehand and do not take distance learning lightly.

Interactive sessions are a need
Less interactive sessions is one of the drawbacks of distance learning. Though digital classroom solution for schools are already available through which teachers show videos and images to keep classroom learning interactive. This sort of interaction is missing in online learning. Teachers need to figure out other ways ensure there is two-way communication.

Curriculum needs to be customised
Classroom learning is entirely different from distance learning, so the curriculum should be customised accordingly. Teachers are finding it difficult to explain the concepts through activities, and students are losing interest because they have no helping hands to perform these activities. There comes the need of a syllabus that fits into the online learning model.

Need for better time and data management
Homeworks are difficult to keep track off, so is the assessment of every student. Teachers are conducting one-on-one interactions with parents, but that’s again a challenge because if one parent misses a slot, the others waiting for their turn suffer. So, it has become important for teachers as well as parents/students to manage their time in a more efficient way. Similarly, completing assignments, keeping a track of syllabus, and ensuring all the study material is in one place has also become challenging for everyone.

These are some of the things we have learned from distance learning, and will surely help in improving the outcome.