Reshaping Education Part I: Advantages of Remote Learning

For the past months, the world continuously battles with the unprecedented outcomes of the Covid-19 pandemic. As a global threat, it is unlike anything we have witnessed before. No one ever imagined that in our busy lives, with all the innovations around, we will experience a human crisis in this lifetime.

A crisis where our social structure and stability are under a lot of pressure for who knows how long?

So much has happened, a lot of changes took place, social, economic, and even the reshaping of education. The lives of millions are affected by the global crisis, but little by little, we are now trying to adapt to the “new norm.”

Just like the rest of the world, education faces a new change. As per Jack Canfield, “Change is inevitable in life. You can either resist it and potentially get run over by it, or you can choose to cooperate with it, adapt to it, and learn how to benefit from it. When you embrace change you will begin to see it as an opportunity for growth.“

The world’s educational system is challenged to come up with stronger solutions to further prevent losses of learning. At this point, there seems to be no other way, but to keep moving forward.

The impact of the pandemic took everyone as well as the educational sector by surprise, thus reshaping education to aid in continuity in learning cannot be avoided.

As a result, most of the countries affected by the pandemic choose remote learning, pointing out its advantages, which will help students learn better even while at home.

Some institutions started uploading lessons or lectures on YouTube, while others implemented the use of platforms like Google Classroom and Zoom App to help teachers and students have collaborative learning. Remote learning is an innovative approach to aid in continuity in learning. Undoubtedly, remote learning has its advantages.

Advantages of Remote Learning (Synchronous/Real-Time Learning)

Students/Instruction-Led Learning

• Students can learn in the comfort of their homes. There is no need to go out and be exposed to different diseases.

• The students’ digital knowledge will be further improved with the help of the available tools and platforms.

• They can access information from anywhere, anytime. Besides, distance is no longer a barrier to learning as long as an internet connection is available.

• Immediate results, feedback, or assessments are available right away for the learners, as well as immediate updates or changes and additional learning resources for further study.

• Lessons and tools are available to cater to the needs of students through multimedia, gamification, interactive learning, which make learning more engaging and motivating.

• Linking of various resources in varying formats are possible.

• Remote learning is an efficient way of delivering courses online.

• With the additional online resources, students can practice and improve daily.

• Real-time interactions and collaborations with classmates and teachers are done through chats and discussion boards.

• The video instructions/recording of the lessons can be replayed if there is a need for or when the students want to have a review of the lessons previously discussed.

Teachers

With most schools adapting online learning, teachers need to be adept at technological advancements.

Though teachers have their style of teaching, they usually adjust their approach to cater to the needs of students. A well-balanced teaching style keeps all students engaged and not just a few. Through online learning, teachers will be able to improve their teaching methods.

• Remote learning allows teachers to stay connected to their students even after class hours. This way, they may exchange ideas or resources.

• Teachers can receive constant feedback from students on whether they understand the lesson or not if they engaged in the material and others.

• Due to remote learning, teachers will save time commuting and therefore, can focus more on learning concepts. Also, it is cost-effective, since travel expenses and paper consumption will be reduced.

• Remote learning offers transparency to parents. They can see how their kids are studying and preparing for the lessons. Also, this gives way for better communication between parents and teachers.

• Various platforms are available for teachers, so they can make their materials any time that they are free. They can also review these materials for improvement before students use them.

• Teachers can improve their digital knowledge, which can help them be more innovative and efficient in teaching students.

• Teachers develop creative thinking processes since they have to be more versatile and creative to keep students engaged.

• Remote learning keeps teachers connected with colleagues wherever they are, where they can share ideas and gain insights.

Indeed, new technologies have evolved significantly with remote learning becoming one of the alternatives for continuing the student-teacher interaction.

Nevertheless, balancing these advantages and maximizing the use of technological tools play essential roles in the success and future of education.

“We know what we are, but we know not what we may be.” – William Shakespeare

We only know our current situation, but we do not know what will happen in the future. What we can do today is to remain hopeful and positive that after the rain, there will always come a ray of sunshine.

Shakespeare reminds us that our imagination, our creativity is limitless. Each day is a new beginning, a new opportunity to be experienced.