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Parents and students across the U.S. are heading into summer break, but on their minds is what will happen when it comes time to go back to school in the fall. Some schools are preparing to bring a third to a half of their students into the schools at a time, alternating days or weeks with the other half. Remote learning will likely remain in the mix.
The current situation with schools closing during the pandemic is an emergency response to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Remote teaching is a “temporary shift of instructional delivery to an alternate mode due to crisis circumstances,” says Rebecca B. Reynolds at School of Communication & Information of Rutgers University. “The primary objective is to quickly provide temporary, reliable access to instruction and support during a crisis, not to re-create a robust educational ecosystem.” Although it’s not ideal to continue with all remote learning in the fall, some online learning may be the safest way for students to go back to school.
Kindergarten through 12th grade
Although some children regularly attended online schools before the pandemic, the large majority of children had no prior experience with remote learning before the pandemic. For K-12 education, “online learning can be as good or even better than in-person classroom learning,” says Christine Greenhow, Associate Professor of Educational Psychology and Educational Technology at Michigan State University. “Research has shown that students in online learning performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction, but it has to be done right.”
Online learning can help students flourish. The best online learning combines elements in which students can go at their own pace and are set-up to think deeply and critically about subject matter with elements in which students go online at the same time to interact with other students, their teacher and the content, says Greenhow. The students can have more control over their learning process in an online learning environment.
However, there are disadvantages to online learning. Teachers need the right tools and support to teach online. Because of the pandemic, many have had to rethink their classes entirely and many are struggling under increased workloads while learning new techniques. It’s important to realize that learning online is not as simple as uploading and delivering content, says Michelle Miller at Northern Arizona University. “Experts agree that the power of online learning doesn’t come from the content itself, but rather from the active engagement students have with that content, with the faculty, and with one another.”
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