With the rise of online paper services such as Essayexaminer, it becomes evident that the school system is insufficiently preparing students for academic life. Strangely, even in the time of social media, proper communication such as reading and writing are underdeveloped in children.
On top of this inherent inefficiency, we add a global pandemic that forces both teachers and pupils to conduct classes remotely. While my regular tasks involve writing a Writemypapers review, I decided to shift gears and look at remote learning. Here are a few strategies that could improve that experience.
Understand the drawbacks
Even in the coziest office, using the latest tech, nature has a word to say. The nature and structure of our brains are not designed to facilitate learning from a screen. All of your efforts, no matter how great, cannot hope to compare to in-person instruction. It’s just how neurons work.
As a teacher, you will be working with a handicap. You must realize the differences generated by distance learning and adapt accordingly.
Don’t copy others
For hundreds of thousands of years, humans have adapted to spot liars, charlatans, and people who are acting dubiously. Most of us have a very finely-tuned perception when it comes to “fake” people. This ability also applies to children. Most likely, they are aware of your general temperament and personality.
A pandemic is not the time to experiment and try to copy other teachers’ styles. The students will spot it from a mile away, and it will just seem insincere.
Given the crisis, we are already dealing with a hefty amount of dissociation due to a lack of contact and virtual classes. If you were doing a good job before, try and stay the same.
Teachers, at least, should be the anchors in this unfamiliar new landscape.
Stimulate and don’t overwhelm
Just doing a Google search on distance learning will reveal a sea of letters, articles, suggestions, reviews, and more. There aren’t enough hours in the day to try them all.
Still, you are faced with the task of holding your student’s interest.
Already, most kids consider learning to be boring. Studying via Zoom calls arguably makes it more tedious. So it does fall on your shoulder to innovate, yet learn when it becomes too much.
There are tools that you must also learn to use: Graph tools, MS Powerpoint, and screenshotting software.
After basic teaching needs are met, don’t go overboard with the tech. You should aim to keep the process as accessible as possible. Both students and teachers must be able to access info with ease. Having people jump through hoops such as login requests, email input, password setup will only frustrate them more.
Many teachers are merely posting problems live via Zoom and having the children take pictures of the answers. This approach is optimal.
Don’t forget about writing.
Even the most optimistic among us can agree that the lockdowns will do irreparable damage to the current generation of students. Technology is often a double-edged sword.
For example, as a student, I could calculate very large decimal numbers in my head. Nowadays, I struggle to perform even the simplest calculations. Like a muscle, that ability has atrophied because I did not use it.
Teachers should not insist on tech-heavy tests and problems, even though the classes are digital.
Inside your brain, learning should be a symphony of memory, problem-solving, and repetition. Just as we mentioned before, going against the nature of things risks causing severe inefficiency.
Don’t just have your students check a box to answer or present a multi-choice form. This method will lead to astoundingly poor results. Also, it encourages short-term memory storage, not long-term retention.
As much as possible, make them do the work.
Handwriting is another factor. It is a scientific fact that handwriting your notes makes you remember them more. Learning isn’t a process designed for complete and utter sedentarism, despite the way modernity views it.
Animal brains learn by doing, via the movements of the body. While being much more complex, the human mind functions due to the same mechanisms. Engaging any motor function boosts retention.
Design your tests and homework around handwriting, and only use online forms if necessary. Admittedly, this will make your job harder. Checking 150 pictures of notebook pages is more demanding than merely having a program tell you the scores.
Yet, abandoning handwriting will cause untold damage for an entire generation.
Organization is key
If you are a teacher, you will have to worry about multiple classes, hundreds of documents, schedules, special needs, new software, etc. All of this new information can overwhelm you if you are not careful.
Set aside time for organization, and never compromise on that time. If you stay ahead of your work and have everything in its rightful place, you will make your life much more comfortable.
Conclusion
There is no upside to remote learning.
The drawbacks are severe, and true damage can be assessed only when current-generation graduates enter the workforce.
Still, it is our duty to make the best of a bad situation. At least remote learning is better than not learning at all. It can be further improved via propper organization and an emphasis on the psychology behind learning, and not just the process of checking boxes and regurgitating information.
