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During the 2020 pandemic and the years that followed, schools started to use a lot more virtual and remote study options than ever before. Whether it was online classes or Zoom lessons, there was a much heavier emphasis on how teachers would engage their students over the internet. But now that the pandemic has mostly subsided, have students returned to their classrooms, or are homeschooling and online learning still more dominant?
While some schools have opted to continue classroom lessons now, there are many parents that are still concerned about the state of the pandemic. They want to ensure that their child is safe before they let them back out into the world, and others are concerned about the quality of education in schools. Some parents have even seen the positives of homeschooling and have completely switched over to a self-sufficient method of educating their children.
But despite the ups and downs that education has faced since the pandemic, there’s one thing for sure; remote study has changed education forever, and here’s why.
More parents are now open to the idea of homeschooling
There are a huge number of benefits to homeschooling these days, especially with the incredible amount of resources available on the internet as a result of the pandemic. Parents find that homeschooling can be a lot more flexible for both them and their children, resulting in a much more open schedule that fits their needs and the needs of their children. There are also no more school runs, meaning you can save a lot of money on travel expenses and there’s less time spent driving your child to and from their school.
Homeschooling even helps you connect with your child, making it a much more personal experience that helps you get to know your child better through their studies and how they approach certain problems. Lastly, it’s also a good way to encourage your child to take the lead when it comes to studying. Giving them the option to choose how they want to learn and the subjects they want to learn means that they’re a lot more assertive about the subjects they enjoy. This leads to an increase in their happiness when remote studying and makes it much easier for them to dive into a subject.
However, that’s not to say that there aren’t still disadvantages that need to be dealt with. For instance, while it’s a great way to help your teen study, there’s no denying that homeschooling makes it hard for them to socialize and make friends. The internet is a good alternative to this and you might even take them to clubs and events to meet other kids, but there’s no denying the social benefits of attending school.
So while remote learning will always have a disadvantage when it comes to creating friendships and building relationships, there are modern ways to get around this. Online friends and voice or video calls can be a good alternative, and there’s nothing stopping your child from heading out to play with their existing friends.
School systems are changing to adapt to the new circumstances
With the introduction of remote learning, more schools are learning to adapt to their new circumstances. For example, remote live proctoring has become a lot more important because it offers schools a way to observe students during examinations that are carried out remotely. This online tutoring has become an important way for schools to test their students without requiring them to physically attend an examination.
It’s also become a lot more important for schools to offer learning resources on the Internet. Whenever a teacher concludes a lesson or a professor concludes their lecture, it’s usually uploaded to the internet in some form so that students can review it again at home. It’s also a good idea for students that don’t want to attend lessons and prefer to remote study at home. Since all of the resources are available on the internet, it means that a student doesn’t need to be physically present for any classes.
This is a unique method of learning that gives students a lot more autonomy than before. It ensures that they can quickly access the resources they need, and they can still engage with other students and even faculty members by contacting them over the Internet. However, drastic system changes are required for this, and it’s become important for teachers to understand how to use various types of software in order to upload their lessons and provide their students with the right content.
In short, the push for remote and even hybrid student environments means that students have more options than ever before to choose how they want to learn. If they prefer a classroom environment then they are welcome to attend lessons and engage with other students and their teachers. However, if they find that they remote study better at home and only occasionally want to come to school, then that’s also an option for them.
The education system now offers more flexibility, but is it a benefit?
Flexibility is always a nice thing to have, but there are occasionally times when it’s better not to give our children so much choice. After all, they’re barely old enough to make their own decisions, especially regarding something as crucial as studying. However, the key theme with the future of education seems to revolve around one simple concept; encouraging students to engage with their studies and take a more assertive role.
Whether it’s child-led homeschooling or being given the opportunity to choose where and how they want to learn in school, these options give our children a lot more control over how they want to study. This is a fantastic shift that both parents and students can appreciate, and there’s always going to be a fallback option of going into class to engage with classmates and teachers. So no matter what your child prefers, there’s always going to be an option that meets their social needs and personal preferences.
