Educators, parents, and students have had to reimagine various facets of learning during the pandemic. With some students still learning remotely, and others donning masks and following strict rules inside classrooms, we have learned a lot from schooling during this period. Online learning has shown a wide gulf in access to technology, and learning institutions have realized remote learning can be more effective. Here is what we learned about students from the pandemic.
Improve Emergency Remote Learning
The face-to-face translation of classroom teaching to online teaching is known as “emergency remote teaching”. When teachers provided online education to students, there was no time and enough support to develop different learning designs. From what the pandemic period has indicated, there is significant room for improvement in schools. There is a big risk of treating students unequally, since not every online student has access to the same devices and communication platforms.
This means that schools and education systems need to use improved learning technology to apply and enhance building blocks for effective teaching and learning. Schools should ensure that all students have access to user-friendly learning platforms like Pronto. Pronto connects students and teachers via chat and video, so they can learn faster, work smarter, and communicate seamlessly.
Online Platforms Are Key
Due to the pandemic, many learning institutions shifted their courses to the online environment. They took advantage of learning and administrative platforms to connect teachers and students remotely. Online platforms usually allow teachers to upload learning resources, teach virtual classes, as well as track student’s work. The sudden increase in demand for online platforms reflects the importance of institutions keeping current with online platforms and continuously training their teachers and students to use them. While some places across the world had previously trashed online learning in favor of traditional teaching methods, they have now seen the benefits of incorporating online platforms, such as Pronto, as part of their key learning options.
Plan Ahead and Organize
We have learned that conducting online lessons for students comes with its own challenges and requirements in terms of preparation. Students and teachers can’t afford the time to fumble through notes and hesitate through lessons during an online class. Also, students cannot afford to fumble around a communication platform trying to figure out how it works while classes have already begun. This means that students require enough training before hosting classes virtually. This gives them adequate preparation and helps them to be organized when the classes start.
Also, this makes it important for learning institutions to incorporate easy-to-use platforms that students can quickly understand and utilize seamlessly. Pronto is one of the easiest platforms that learning institutions can utilize in their online teaching. Pronto communication platform allows participants to join via video or audio-only, record their class sessions, share class materials with up to 20 participants all streaming video, or up to 400 participants observing. This is, therefore, a great tool to help students and teachers stay organized throughout their classes.
Foster Students’ Social Connectedness
During online education in the pandemic, we learned how important and complex it is to promote social connections online. However, the more we learn online, the more important it becomes for learning institutions to invest in online activities that foster relatedness as well as a sense of belonging. Teachers can foster social connectedness by issuing assignments that require students to collaborate via video-conferencing and messaging platforms. Teachers can also use brief online videos in which they stimulate students to learn together in their respective locations. This is key to promoting students’ social connectedness even when learning remotely.
In-Class Learning Doesn’t Fit Every Student
There has been a lot of success with the hybrid model of learning, which combines in-class and at-home learning. This has allowed students to take greater ownership over their learning at home. Also, this has allowed teachers to focus on students that need extra attention in classrooms. Teachers that think every student works best in a classroom have been proven wrong.
Some students have done exceedingly well when working by themselves remotely. This clearly shows that in-class learning doesn’t fit every student and learning institutions should embrace video-conferencing platforms for students that can perform well while at home. Balancing between in-class and at-home learning methods empowers students to study in means that best suits them.
Conclusion
With Pronto, you have access to a communication hub that connects teachers and students via chat and video. Thus, allowing students to learn faster, work smarter, and communicate seamlessly. Unlike email, Pronto conversations stay organized and are easier to access. Unlike consumer chat apps, Pronto has enterprise-level security, privacy, and administrative controls. Create a free account today to get started with Pronto.
