While the pandemic has stopped kids from going to school, it should not pose a challenge to their right to learn. Education, after all, should continue. But how can educators get around the fact that, with protective measures in place, children are still not allowed to attend physical classes?
Technology holds the solution to ensuring the continuity of children’s learning. Distance education is very much possible. The infrastructure, tools, and methods are already there. It’s only a matter for schools to understand how they can fully access and utilize the resources that are available to them.
What are these resources? How can teachers use them in setting up their virtual classrooms? Let’s take a look at four of the most important ones that are possibly being used right now across the world.
IMAGE: PEXELS
Video Conferencing
With many students being told to stay at home, teachers can bring the lessons to them via video conferencing platforms. Google Meet, Adobe Connect, and Blackboard are some of the best platforms for hosting high-quality webinars for your students. They are easy to use and they come with features that give you control of your classes. You can send files, share screens, and record your sessions across different types of devices, from desktop computers to mobile phones.
Learning Management Systems
Aside from video conferencing, you also need to set up a platform that allows you to track assignments, post updates, and upload documents for your students to download. With an effective learning management system in place, you can give your students the convenience to access your resources at any time. Look along the lines of Google Classroom, Moodle, and Edmodo which are all great for most blended learning setups. Though you might need some time to learn how these platforms work, it will be smooth sailing once you have already mastered them.
Mobile Apps
Everyone has a smartphone nowadays, so if you are teaching kids from middle school and up, you can use mobile devices as an avenue for delivering learning materials and activities to your students. There are tons of fun and engaging apps on the market focusing on math, science, social studies, or everything all at once. If you have a great idea for a mobile app you can use in your virtual classroom, you might need help from companies like Goodcore Software Development that also specializes in developing apps for the educational sector.
Video Games
It’s an odd tandem, but it has the potential to help students learn in a fun and interesting ways. Gamifying your classroom would involve video games like Minecraft and quiz builders like Quizzizz that allow you to design lessons and assessments that appeal to learners and engage their need to express their creativity and solve complex problems. Though such possibilities have yet to come full circle, studies seem to show promising results.
School is out for an indefinite amount of time. But until physical classrooms start to reopen, we can rest assured that technology is here to support teachers, learners, and their parents.
If you are interested in even more technology-related articles and information from us here at Bit Rebels, then we have a lot to choose from.
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