Term 3 Week 2 – yes, it’s already the second week of the new school term. How are we all doing? Well, truth to be told, 2020 is a year that is going to be spoken about and discussed for many decades to come. The COVID-19 pandemic has been so devastating and impactful. Hasn’t the pandemic forced us to rethink our way of life in almost every domain? Yes, and prominent among this has been the impact of COVID-19 in the sphere of education. Can you guess how big this impact has been?
A Turn Towards E-learning
A few weeks back, UN agencies reported that more than 1.5 billion students were out of their classrooms. A large number of students and educational institutions went online to counter the hurdles posed by the pandemic. In the years to come, the online option is sure to gain more prominence. As students in Singapore, we have ourselves been a part of this new online learning wave. But are we ready for that?
Taking Everyone Along
Accessibility is an important topic when it comes to education. When Singapore switched to online classes, there were some students who had to be provided with gadgets and other resources so that they could access the online learning functions. What would be the situation in more underdeveloped regions? The push for online education must be accompanied by a push to create a digital infrastructure that gives access to even the most underprivileged sections of society. This will be a major challenge. But with careful planning and targeted interventions from both public and private players, this can be achieved
Skilling For A New World
Our kids will need a different skill set than what was needed earlier. They will need to learn, constantly innovate and reskill themselves on the go. The online medium helps to bring in more innovative and attractive methods of teaching that would help them in preparing for this new world.
Preparing Teachers For Online Education
Gen Z is more adept at technology than any other age group. As a result, we frequently encounter a peculiar situation where students might know more about technology than their teachers. Whether it is by fortunate or unfortunate chance, teachers have to become facilitators in the world of online-powered education. How will their roles change? Whatever is taught in the conventional classroom today will be available at the fingertips of the online student. Therefore teachers will now have to focus more on providing students with the right sources and helping them separate fact from fiction. This is especially important when it comes to discerning real news from fake news. Our teachers themselves will be required to sharpen their tech skills and get acquainted with online apps and their features.
Safeguarding Students
Youngsters might also be quite adept at making use of the online space and gadgets. However, increased online time opens them up to a number of threats. Kids might not be prepared to face such issues that include cyberbullying, online sexual harassment and a lot of other issues. Both parents and teachers should take steps to prepare kids to face and counter such issues. At an administrative level, regulatory agencies must take steps to create a safer online space for our kids.
Carrying Forward The Merits Of The Conventional Classroom
The conventional classroom, for all its limitations, has provided great utility to us. It allows teachers to connect with students on a personal level. This helps them to spot issues such as mental stress, anxiety, etc and also resolve them. When we move towards more online learning, there also needs to be efforts to ensure that our kids remain in sound emotional health.
Education is set for a major revamp in the years to come. As technology prepares to play a central role in this transition, we need to ensure that the major issues related to accessibility, teacher training, safeguards and student emotional health are all adequately addressed. This will help us make the most out of the new opportunities. Let’s make sure that we are well-equipped with the necessities to help us get through this online learning storm!
“The students of the future will demand the learning support that is appropriate for their situation or context. Nothing more, nothing less. And they want it at the moment the need arises. Not sooner, not later. Mobile devices will be a key technology to providing that learning support.” – Dr Marcus Specht, Professor of Advanced Learning Technologies, Open University of Netherlands.
Exam Smart Tips
Exam Smart Tip #1 – How to Encourage Our Kids to Speak Better?
Exam Smart Tip #2 – How to avoid carelessness?
Exam Smart Tip #3 – Establishing Routines!
Exam Smart Tip #4 – Let’s Read Carefully!
Exam Smart Tip #5 – Beating the Exam Fever!
Exam Smart Tip #6 – How to Eat Right for the Exams?
Exam Smart Tip #7 – How to Avoid a Meltdown?
Exam Smart Tip #8 – Taking Stress out of Tests
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