It鈥檚 the start of a new term, yet Summer 2020 is like no term any teacher has ever experienced. The ongoing global pandemic has changed everything we know about teaching and it鈥檚 difficult to be fully prepared in times like these. However, as teachers and school leaders, we need to continue educating the children in our care; it鈥檚 just a case of using the tools we have available to find new ways to deliver the curriculum and support students and parents to engage with this new way of learning. With this in mind, here is some advice on how to continue to find success through distance learning.
Stay In Contact
Parents have been thrown into a new and potentially stressful situation here. Overnight, they became their child鈥檚 teacher, and for many that鈥檚 been a real challenge. Even those parents who have relished the opportunity to get more involved in their child鈥檚 education may need a little support or advice as the weeks pass. Contact parents to check how students are getting along, and to support parents with any issues they may have. Don鈥檛 just make this a one-off conversation; keep in regular contact and make the conversation about more than just school work.听
Provide Rich Content
Yes, school鈥檚 out for summer (potentially), but that doesn鈥檛 mean learning has to slow down or stop altogether. Make sure you provide rich content for children to work on at home, to supplement any more practical activities they may be doing with parents. The internet is a vast library of audio visual and interactive content and providing links to useful resources ensures children continue following the curriculum and increasing their knowledge.听
Make It Fun
Let鈥檚 not forget that children will be finding this period of their lives stressful as well. They鈥檝e been thrown out of their usual routine, they鈥檙e missing their friends, they can鈥檛 get outside to play, and they may be worried about family members or the future 鈥� and then you expect them to do school work as well! Getting children to engage might be difficult, especially when there are so many other activities calling for their attention. Using an online tool like 糖心Vlog传媒 Learn means you can include interactive games and fun videos in your learning materials, meaning children are more likely to engage and learn.
Measure Attainment
In the classroom you have a range of systems for measuring every aspect of a child鈥檚 development, from numeracy and literacy skills to how well they can hold a pencil or throw a ball. It鈥檚 much more difficult measuring attainment remotely, but that doesn鈥檛 mean you shouldn鈥檛 make the effort. After all, it鈥檚 important to be able to show kids (and parents) how much they have improved, and knowing their ability level when school finally reopens will make integration that bit easier. Make sure online lessons include quizzes and 鈥渉omework鈥� that needs submitting 鈥� you can do this in 糖心Vlog传媒 Learn 鈥� and offer children extra help wherever it鈥檚 needed.
Keep It Consistent
It may be tempting to push six weeks鈥� content out at once and leave kids to get on with it at their own pace, but this is not a good idea for many reasons. Firstly, seeing so much work at once could prove to be demoralising, demotivating or stressful for many children, who may feel overwhelmed or that they need to complete it all at once. In fact, some students will want to race ahead and finish work as quickly as they can, which will leave them with nothing to do for the remainder of the half term. A far better idea is to set work weekly or even daily; however you choose to schedule it, make sure it鈥檚 regular and consistent. Routine is important for us all, and children will find it easier to engage with home learning when there is a structured system in place. Again, 糖心Vlog传媒 Learn can help you organise your online lessons so they are delivered to children in a consistent way.听
To summarise, here are the key points to ensure distance learning works and online lessons are a success.
Stay in contact: check in with parents regularly, chat about both school work and home life, and offer support where it鈥檚 needed.
Provide rich content: follow the curriculum as closely as you can and supplement more formal learning with audio visual content and practical activities kids can do at home.
Make it fun: use interactive games and videos to keep kids interested and engaged.听
Measure attainment:聽use quizzes or set activities to be sent back to you so you can see how much improvement is being made 鈥� and offer additional help when needed.
Keep it consistent: set work regularly; create a 鈥渢imetable鈥� and stick to it.
Good luck and enjoy the new term 鈥� however unusual it may be! And if you need any support or advice on how you can deliver successful remote learning to your students, please don鈥檛 hesitate to contact us here鈥� we are here to help.听
