How are technologies supporting schools during the pandemic?

Teaching remote is when a pedagogue is not always required in order for a learner to receive education, the learner can study independently. Training is carried out using telecommunication and computer technologies.

Teaching remote is conducted online:  the tutor or professor and learners interact in real-time and simultaneously - student-teacher interaction with an interval in time. Tasks from a pedagogue to learners can be assigned in different ways, for example:

• email,
• web services,
• messengers,
• social networks,
• pedagogue blog, special course blog.

Learners do preps and tackle tasks, then send from learner to learner and from learner to the pedagogue via e-mail, personal account, or chat on the educational portal.

Today's experience shows that remote learning is becoming an integral part of classical school, while complete e-learning is impossible, live contact and live communication is still necessary. Most likely, in the future, the ratio of offline and online will change: some things will be more efficiently transferred to online, for example, the automation of homework checking. In general, any analytics is better collected online, including school management solutions.

Even though we have almost returned to a normal life, this experience of impactful distance learning showed the prospective of its use further.

Simultaneous and Independent studying

Remote learning can be characterized as simultaneous and independent.

Synchronous remote teaching ensures maximum interaction between learner and pedagogue, as well as learners with peers. In this way, it is easy to create the effect of being in the classroom, thanks to the school management solution, and provide opportunities for the students to learn from the professionals’ experience. The most popular options are webinars and conferences. Some participants of the educational process practice online conferences, classes on corporate portals, in chats. This training format allows the learner to ask questions to the pedagogue easily and immediately get an answer. Using modern school management solutions, the pedagogue can arrange an interviewing and get clear answers.

Independent online teaching allows you to get maximum freedom in mastering any material. You can easy to ask questions while reading and get the answer quickly; you can focus on subjects you really want. The students develop critical thinking. They train to set logical tasks and cause-and-effect relationships between different concepts, construct their arguments, collect information, define problems, and improve their design skill under certain constraints. Independent distance learning, appealing to active independent work, promotes finding compromises and a balance between different resources.

Gadgets help to learn

Children and adolescents are already in many ways ready for teaching and learning remotely. They are familiar with gadgets from birth, can type before they learn to write, and instantly adapt to any electronic device. Using familiar and even favorite devices allows learners to become even more involved in the studying process.

Today, more and more learners and teachers use video conferencing systems, electronic educational platforms, books, textbooks, manuals, and other school management solutions that help in their studies.

Most of the interactive lessons and courses can be easily completed on a smartphone or tablet.

• Interactive education. The interactivity of the studying process, using different tools, games, boards, platforms, and many more, is one of the main reasons for its effectiveness. Classes at school are built on constant interaction between the teacher and students, but only communication is not enough; so such solutions allow you to maintain learner motivation. Training courses for studying mathematics, language, the surrounding world, even chemistry and biology are built in an interactive dialogue format.

With this format, the big task of all school management solutions is to create effective mechanics of involvement in the studying process and ensure that the learner's interest does not disappear.

• Game mechanics or gamification is actively used for business training, performance assessment, and even for creating and adopting corporate values. Originally built programs combined, for example, with the detective story of the characters, make the studying process exciting for children; they want to return to classes regularly and learn new things. For completing tasks, achieving goals, like in a computer game, they can receive points, additional rewards and discover new levels.
  

FAQ

• What are the benefits of distance learning?

You can gain knowledge from anywhere in the world. You can study at home or while traveling, in a café or in the country in general, wherever there is the Internet. That being said, you are not limited to a country or continent and time frames. Such accessibility is the main advantage of distance learning. As well, you can choose any educational establishment.

• What skills does distance learning develop?

Distance learning forms the skills of working with huge volumes of data and find exactly what you need; it develops independence and increases the child's level of knowledge and skills.

• What are the disadvantages of distance learning?

1. Luck of live communication
2. The access to the Internet should be stable.
3. The cost and maintenance of devices.
4. Grading system efficiency. However, this problem is appeared to be solved; for instance, Littlelives developed a unique solution.
5. Children with disabilities, especially hyperactive children, practically fly out of distance learning.

• Is it reasonable to change the traditional learning format to distance learning?

It depends on your situation. For people with disabilities or with a poor health condition, distance learning is the best option. Moreover, due to pandemic, it is better to stay at home. In terms of communication, the traditional approach is better.