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Virtual and In-person Education – Will Students Soon Be Able to Choose?

Feedimporter — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 10:11:08 +0000

Is it time to move away from our group-of-students-in-a-class style of education? In the face of changing times and expectations, the sands are shifting under education systems worldwide.

For a long time now, educating 20-30 students in a classroom has been the norm, regardless of the differences between individual students. Teaching everyone the same thing at once has meant that students can be tested on their knowledge simultaneously, making it convenient for schools, society and employers to see where individuals will fit into the workplace once their studies end.

This works perfectly for some students, but it certainly does not work for all. Everyone learns differently. It’s not a modern phenomenon; the only difference is that previously we’ve always been able to brush over the cracks. Today, however, after the upheaval of the pandemic, those cracks have become chasms. Students are staying away from school in record numbers, in turn, prompting changes in education provision that, some may say, have been long overdue.

What has changed?

Student attendance rates right across the world are the worst they have ever been as more and more young people struggle with their social, emotional and mental health and other issues.

Attitudes have also changed. Going to school in person isn’t regarded as essential as it was pre-pandemic because, at that time, students could learn online – and the current thinking is, ‘If it was OK then, why not now?’ Add to that the number of parents working more flexibly, splitting their time between working in the office and at home; they may now be closer to their child’s struggle to attend school day after day. No wonder they are seriously questioning whether that education model is the right fit.

Education provision shakeup?

From a parent’s point of view, the conversation about whether their child could have a different kind of education suddenly makes more sense. Working from home means it has become a much more viable prospect for them to be on hand to support their child’s online learning.

If that thinking is indeed the case, and the market demands it, then we could be at the point of significant diversification in education provision; a split between in-person and online schools. This is the situation today:

• Physical schools – Many students and parents believe the in-person model is broken. Curriculum pressures are high; the mix of students in a class may affect other students’ learning; social issues amongst students can be hugely problematic, affecting mental health and wellbeing – and that experience day after day can take its toll.

Many parents believe school systems are stuck in an outdated loop and need to change their model to be more inclusive, meaning a less structured, less rigid, potentially hybrid way to engage in learning but at the same time not being something that's too claustrophobic.

• Online schools – It’s a fact: more virtual schools are appearing around the world, such as Cambridge Home School Online, The Online School and Crimson Global Academy. Most are currently only accessible to the parents who can pay but that could change in future if the demand is high enough. In time, that demand may also come from staff if they gain a position in a virtual school and then find they prefer to teach in that environment.s are stuck in an outdated loop and need to change their model to be more inclusive, meaning a less structured, less rigid, potentially hybrid way to engage in learning but at the same time not being something that's too claustrophobic.

Times are changing

As time progresses, hybrid and virtual schools that are potentially more inclusive will become increasingly relevant, particularly as technology makes the ability to interact, learn and engage remotely easier than ever.

That may not be a popular view. For in-person school principals, the argument will be that nothing less than turning up to learn in person will do. However, the head of a virtual school may beg to differ, pointing to the advantages of more focused learning and better wellbeing.

Ultimately, it’s not a case of one argument winning out over the other – as we said at the start: one size does not fit all. If change is driven by learners’ diverse needs, we can only surmise that all the pathways are relevant. In that case, we must ensure that if education systems are to offer choice, then all providers are consistent, credible and effective in what they offer.

The clock is ticking

Education authorities and bricks-and-mortar schools need to take a hard look their provision. Much has changed during the last few years.

Sticking our heads in the sand, doing the same we have always done and lamenting the outcomes will not change anything. We missed the great collective reset the pandemic offered us and instead catapulted stressed, socially deprived, traumatised and bereaved students straight back into ‘catching up’. The world has changed. Social norms have changed. Students have changed. Education must now adapt.

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11 months 1 week ago

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Virtual and In-person Education – Will Students Soon be Able to Choose?

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Is it time to move away from our group-of-students-in-a-class style of education?

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How Technology Can Reshape Education For Better Student Outcomes

Feedimporter — Fri, 12 Jul 2024 10:24:53 +0000

As the immediate impact of the pandemic recedes, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reimagine education in a post-COVID world. We can take the hard-won lessons from the pandemic, with online learning and hybrid education models, and use these learnings to reboot education systems so that they better serve our children and protect their future.

Christine Muhigana of UNICEF summed it up succinctly when she commented that, “The COVID-19 pandemic has fast-forwarded global education thinking on how to transform and strengthen education systems through technology that complements skilled and well-supported teachers, so that every child receives quality and inclusive learning.”

What have we learned?

As we introduce more technology into classrooms, we need to ensure that teachers are well prepared and trained to be able to reimagine how learning and teaching take place. The aim for technology is that it should underpin great classroom practice, and seamlessly integrate so that it becomes and enabler, not the focus. Technology won’t replace good teachers. Instead, it can help then not only with the knowledge acquisition journey their learners need to make, but also enhance skills acquisition. Skills such as collaboration, critical thinking, resilience, and agility, which together with digital literacy, are necessary for them to be able to become active contributors to the global digital economy.

Hybrid and blended learning pedagogical models combine the best of in-school and remote learning, with digital engagement. But these models are more than just a quick fix for disrupted learning. They are ways in which we can enhance and accelerate learning by providing student-centred approaches to meet diverse learners’ needs. That’s why at Microsoft, our aim is to empower educators and students to teach and learn with technology through doing and exploring. In other words, enquiry-based active learning. For educators, clear educational transformation plans will be mission-critical to help to solidify the technology competency gains made during the pandemic.

At Microsoft, we believe that technology, applied in new ways can shift behaviour and motivation, enabling educators to assess learning in new ways and supporting students as they learn to be adaptable and resilient through exploration, simulation, and gaming. The goal is to encourage students to learn through doing – solving problems, practicing, progressing, and having fun, with real-time feedback from educators. This can lead to much deeper knowledge retention and more than this, support students to show what they can do with what they’ve learned.

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2 years 6 months ago

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How Technology Can Reshape Education For Better Student Outcomes

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As the immediate impact of the pandemic recedes, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reimagine education in a post-COVID world.

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Do Your Students Have the Confidence to Keep Themselves Safe Online?

Feedimporter — Fri, 12 Jul 2024 10:31:52 +0000

While much of it may be innate, knowing the key components that we can work on is invaluable – and many of today’s students are lucky enough to learn about them in school.

Self-confidence is much more than being brave enough to stand up in front of the class and speak, perform a role in the school play in front of parents, or sing a solo in a school concert. It’s about having the self-belief to speak out and share ideas or concerns and, crucially, be able to express them in a way that people will take them seriously. Having a well-developed sense of self helps us to navigate through life, empathise, get on with others, stand up for our values and act responsibly. And when we have the skills to trust our own values and judgements, self-confidence, self-belief and self-esteem build.

Modelling and embedding approaches to building self-confidence

Learning positive social behaviours has both individual and group benefits. Many students are lucky enough to be able to absorb these traits at home from the examples modelled by their parents/carers, but unfortunately, that’s not the case for others, which is why it’s so important that students experience social-emotional learning in school.

Small gestures and comments are really effective and it can start with something as simple as teachers giving positive feedback about a student’s actions, character or achievements. This can be especially encouraging for those who are rarely praised at home. It can lead to greater motivation and engagement, as well as improving attainment – and all from a teacher’s kind, considered and carefully chosen words. Furthermore, the benefit of praising something about an individual that is unique to them can help them start to believe in their self-worth outside of school, too.

Self-confidence can be further fostered in schools where there is a focus on oracy. A strand that runs throughout every subject of the curriculum, oracy skills help students gain the confidence to speak out, enabling them to better engage with others and express their own ideas and views. There are positive impacts for students’ engagement and progress – and, recognising this, schools across Dubai are increasingly seeing the benefits of incorporating it into their lessons to help students further develop their confidence and belief in themselves.

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2 years 11 months ago

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Do Your Students Have the Confidence to Keep Themselves Safe Online?

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What is self-confidence and why do we need it? Some people have it in abundance; others would love to have more.

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UAE's Digital School to educate 20,000 underprivileged students in first year

Feedimporter — Fri, 12 Jul 2024 10:32:58 +0000

The Digital School — the first integrated, multi-platform and accredited Arabic online school — is all set to embark on its mission of empowering refugees and underprivileged students in the region and around the world. It aims to reach 20,000 students this year, and in five years, it hopes to educate as many as one million pupils, it was announced on Monday.

Read the full article at: www.khaleejtimes.com

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3 years 4 months ago

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UAE's Digital School to educate 20,000 underprivileged students in first year

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The Digital School — the first integrated, multi-platform and accredited Arabic online school — is all set to embark on its mission of empowering refugees and

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6 million Saudi children benefited from Madrasati remote learning platform

Feedimporter — Fri, 12 Jul 2024 10:33:05 +0000

About 6 million Saudi schoolchildren took advantage of the Madrasati remote learning platform during the 2020-21 school year as the Kingdom battled the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a World Bank report.

Read the full article at: www.arabnews.com

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3 years 5 months ago

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6 million Saudi children benefited from Madrasati remote learning platform

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About 6 million Saudi schoolchildren took advantage of the Madrasati remote learning platform during the 2020-21 school year as the Kingdom battled the COVID-19

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Parents think their children will get remote teaching from school if they take them on holiday, Ofsted finds

Feedimporter — Fri, 12 Jul 2024 10:33:06 +0000

'Some parents think that remote education can be provided for non-Covid-related circumstances, such as being on holiday, which leaders have to explain is not the case' Ofsted said.

Read the full article at: inews.co.uk

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3 years 5 months ago

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Parents think their children will get remote teaching from school if they take them on holiday, Ofsted finds

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Some parents think that remote education can be provided for non-Covid-related circumstances, such as being on holiday, which leaders have to explain is not

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Is Blended Learning Here to Stay?

Feedimporter — Fri, 12 Jul 2024 10:33:06 +0000

But this is just the start. In 2021, schools alternated between in-person and online learning, blended or hybrid classrooms, or a mix of the various teaching modalities.

During the epidemic, schools did the best they could with the resources they had, including government funds dedicated to supporting hybrid learning, the patience of family and caregivers, and the inventiveness and endurance of teachers all over the world.

The reform of the education sector has a lot riding on it, not least the hopes of students and instructors who have already had their digital abilities tested. While everyone wants to go back to school, blended learning helps to build a more resilient education system by allowing for more personalization of learning while also increasing accessibility.

Flexibility, scalability, and agility are critical as IT executives aim to build on their transformative success while also providing longer-term advantages and supporting a digital environment appropriate for the future.

What is blended learning?

Blended Learning has, in fact, been the solution for many students for several years. Blending learning as a concept and learning style has been around since before the turn of the century, going by titles including "hybrid learning," "technology-mediated education," "web-enhanced training," and "mixed-mode instruction."

While definitions differ, most agree that blended learning, as its various names imply, is a hybrid learning style in which face-to-face education is coupled with technology-mediated training throughout the course of a course or module.

So, what are the effects of online learning and hybrid classrooms on students? What about teachers?

Many people are concerned about how effectively children learn online and the impact on educators of having to support both in-person and virtual learning at the same time. Others, on the other hand, have witnessed directly how beneficial online learning can be, and students are prospering as a result of the advantages of a hybrid learning environment.

Students who require extra time for specific assignments owing to learning difficulties or who require unique tools or equipment to succeed in the classroom, for example, can get what they need on their own time. Others choose project-based learning or gaming, both of which have grown in popularity in the hybrid learning period.

Is hybrid learning a viable option?

According to a review of the research on hybrid and blended learning, hybrid learning boosted student involvement, success, and a favorable perspective of the learning process.

These tried-and-true ways of student involvement are also included in hybrid learning:

Personalized learning has been found to increase students' math and to read scores, and it is easier to implement in hybrid classrooms.
Students' communication abilities improve as a result of blended learning.

Personalized attention

Teachers are able to devote more time to one-on-one face contact with each of their pupils by utilizing digital technology to save time when it comes to basic education. Teachers can also automate tailored feedback on a bigger scale by utilizing the processing capacity of internet technologies.

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3 years 5 months ago

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Is Blended Learning Here to Stay?

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In 2021, schools alternated between in-person and online learning, blended or hybrid classrooms, or a mix of the various teaching modalities.

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Remote learning proves importance of parents in education, says UAE minister

Feedimporter — Fri, 12 Jul 2024 10:33:10 +0000

In his latest article on the UAE education system, titled: "Parents are a key component of our educational system" and "Vocational education is a key focus of our future efforts", which was published on social media, Hussain Al Hammadi, UAE Minister of Education noted that parents had a great impact in achieving "our country's educational aspirations from the very beginning, by ensuring the education of both boys and girls, and instilling in their daughters and sons the importance of science, which is a foundation for the UAE human capital to achieve our comprehensive national renaissance.

Read the full article at: www.khaleejtimes.com

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3 years 6 months ago

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Remote learning proves importance of parents in education, says UAE minister

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Abu Dhabi schools must offer remote learning option to students

Feedimporter — Fri, 12 Jul 2024 10:33:14 +0000

Following the announcement of the Abu Dhabi Emergency, Crisis and Disasters Committee for the gradual return to in-classroom learning model, the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK) has announced updates for the return to face-to-face learning for Private and Charter School students. External school trips and activities to be suspended until further notice.

Read the full article at: www.khaleejtimes.com

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3 years 6 months ago

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Abu Dhabi schools must offer remote learning option to students

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