Making distance learning work requires balance, patience, and flexibility. If the current pandemic should return in a second wave, thus forcing authorities to impose certain restrictions, such as online classes for all school children, the below expert advice from educators will assist you as parents to guide your children and make online learning fun from home.

Set (and keep) a schedule:

the closer this is to a ‘school schedule,’ the easier it will likely be on everyone. You can revise whatever you come up with at first, to fit your circumstance at home (your work schedule, sleeping schedules, etc.) but in the end this almost certainly means to use some sort of timer to at least clarify how much time is being spent on what.

Make sure they have any materials necessary to complete all assignments

Whether its pencil and paper, a stable WiFi connection, log-in information for all accounts, a PDF reader, or note-taking apps, provide your child with whatever they need to get the work done.

Provide an environment conducive to learning

This isn’t always easy. If they’re too isolated, it’s difficult to check in with them. If they’re at the kitchen table, depending on the child or their environment, they may be too distracted. This is even more challenging when everyone is home and the house is full. Background noise can help, as can music.

Create a daily plan

Creating a daily plan isn’t just a matter of scheduling. A daily plan looks at the schedule and then identifies to-do items for that day and combines the two for a specific plan for that specific day.

Don’t teach – help them understand

Helping students understand is one of the more obvious remote learning tips for parents. How this happens is complicated and varies greatly from student to student and grade level to grade level and content area to content area. The bottom line is that helping your child understand the content is definitely part of the ‘bare minimum’ range of tips.

Make sure all work is completed

And any work that remains incomplete is incomplete for a good reason and has a time-bound, actionable next-step (e.g., email the teacher asking for clarification on step 3 of the activity so that you can turn it in tomorrow by noon).

Help them check messages and communicate with school

Check for messages daily from teachers and other students and make sure to reply to any messages that require one.

Keep in mind that it’s about the child, not the work

This is obviously a parenting philosophy. The best way to approach this is to understand that assignments should serve the child rather than the child serve the assignments–or that this is at least partly true–then don’t over-emphasize ‘getting everything done’ over the well-being of your child.

Learn to identify the barriers

This is something teachers have to learn early on in their careers–how to pinpoint exactly what’s happening or going wrong. Diagnostic teaching is one approach that can help here, but the big idea is to identify precisely why your child might be struggling: Is it focus? Motivation? Too much or too little structure?

Use school resources

Contact your child’s school for support. The faculty is always there to help in any
way possible.

Personalize the learning

You can almost always personalize your child’s learning space (sound, light, room, equipment, etc.) and you can likely adjust their schedule. Use your child’s strengths and gifts and build backward from them as much as possible.

Encourage self-direction

The more children own their learning–and ideally have voice and choice in their work–the easier and more fulfilling everything will be for everyone.

Help them find their own motivation

Motivating a child is one area where parents are (ideally) better than any teacher could be. The idea here is to help them ‘want to’ learn, without punishing them psychologically or making all motivation external and independent from the actual value of the knowledge being gleaned.

Help your child build a learning network

Connect them with their peers–ideally peers with similar goals and approaches to ‘life’ to their own. Verita International School does this in every online lesson.

Last but not least, the parents should emphasize critical thinking (learning how to think) and learning literacy (learning how to learn) over content knowledge (academic knowledge). This is something that Verita International School is actually strongly encourages as part of its education platform.

To conclude, a parent can make online learning a lot more easier for their children by using the various tips and tricks presented, but also by conferring with the faculty of Verita International School for example, who are more than willing to impart their advice and knowledge to both the young and their
guardians.