What happened in the past if you wanted to learn a new course or acquire new skills? You would most likely search for a school near your home, make an application, and wait for the invitation letter. What if the local schools did not offer some of the courses you were searching for? The only option was to relocate near a school that offers the same.
Times have changed, and we now have remote learning. Internet penetration has revolutionized many sectors. Gamers can play remotely, gamblers bet online on platforms, homeowners shop at the comfort of their homes, and learners join their favorite schools remotely and still get the desired skills.
Our expert, Martim Nabeiro, elaborates on how to improve learning experience, what is expected from the teachers and learners. In this article he will discuss what various stakeholders have to do to make this a reality with focus on the teachers and the learners.
Instructors/ teachers
These individuals are charged with the responsibility of passing their knowledge to the students. They have to guide, instruct, and check on the progress of the students. A remote learning experience means that the students and the teacher do not interact physically. The following are some of the things that instructors are expected to make learning experiences better:
Create a self-learning environment
You can share your teaching materials through different platforms such as Google Drive or even Microsoft Teams. Your teaching material can be in the form of PDFs, YouTube videos, text, or even audio. The idea behind this approach is to ensure that learners can refer back to their notes at their own time.
You should format the content in a way that students can access with ease. For instance, videos and audios can be perused at any time. Familiarize yourself with some of the most popular content forms and create a few variations.
Give class time assessments
You need to figure out if the learners are grasping the content you are sharing. There are hundreds of tools out there that you can try for this approach. These assessments should be timed, and it can vary based on complexity.
The ideal tools allow you to offer instant feedback and point on the areas of improvement. Some of these tools even allow students to tackle the assessments anonymously. Students can even gain access to their assessment results once the session is over.
Organize students in groups
Teachers should teach students the importance of teamwork, and grouping them is one of the best approaches to achieve this. You can group these students based on their capabilities, where the bright ones can help the average students. It even gets better when you have students from different regions as it brings about inclusivity.
You can give every group a topic of discussion that they can explore and research on. They can select leaders amongst themselves for presentation purposes. Such groups should share their presentations through video conferencing tools and ensure that every group member takes part.
Give students homework
Teaching students through online platforms, may not be enough. You may also not get time to cover everything within the given time frame. Giving the students homework makes it easy to understand whether your students are on the right track. It can be anything from making an SEO analysis to creating a business plan for a brand new affiliate project.
The choice of homework will depend on the subject, the number of class sessions, and the teaching arrangement in place. It is a chance for students to go deeper into their books beyond what they learn in class. Set deadlines for the submission of the homework but give them enough time to tackle everything.
Invest in continuous assessment tests
It is one of the best approaches to determine if the students are ready for the final assessment. You can have several assessment tests depending on the semester’s length and the subject you teach. There are platforms where the students do the assessments online if you want to curb possible cheating cases in exams.
A timed-assessment that you can monitor is the best approach to gauge a student’s capabilities in real-time. You can share the link to the assessment several hours to the session. You can either decide to have an impromptu assessment test or inform the students in advance.
The learner
The learner is the one that does most of the work when it comes to any learning arrangement. The teacher is there to instruct while the student does the learning and applies the studies in real-life. The sad news is that not every student who attends a class grasps the concepts as expected.
The following are some of the tips for learners to improve remote learning experiences:
Prepare for the experience
Remote learning is very diverse. You will have online class sessions, assessments, groups, homework, and final assessment. Every part of remote learning requires a different preparation approach. For instance, online class sessions demand a strong internet connection, while homework can be downloaded and tackled later.
As well as in normal education, in case of remote learning you should take breaks for rest and entertainment. To have fun safely, you need to study the reviews of the sites. One of the sites with reviews of online games is casinoportugal.online. Make sure that the site where you are going to lie down, safe, and take a break from studying the right amount of time.
Ensure that you have everything in place before you start any of the sessions. You should also be flexible to accommodate any need. For instance, some instructors may decide to give an impromptu assessment test, which demands that you be prepared in advance.
Eliminate distractions
The freedom that comes with having no one over your shoulders can be a disaster in waiting. The urge to check your social media profiles, listen to music, or even watch a movie while the class is in session are always there. Ensure that you have the right learning environment that is free of distractions.
Avoid your couch, and have a dedicated space where you do your study. Switch off your phone and TV when you are studying to increase your concentration levels. Identify all the possible distractions and eliminate them.
As you can see, to answer the question, ‘What is remote learning’, one must go deep and discuss the various players who make it a reality. It takes the two main parties’ coordination to make remote learning successful and ensure that the students acquire the necessary skills.
