Parents and guardians considering online schooling for their children must ensure they properly vet the ability of a school to provide a holistic, meaningful educational experience coupled with excellent academic and emotional support, an education expert says.
“Just as parents would do their homework before enrolling their child at a contact education institution, they should also ask the right questions before deciding on an online learning institution,” says Colin Northmore, principal of Evolve Online School.
Northmore noted that many parents can attest to the frustrations experienced with online learning during lock down, where the quality of offerings differed.
“Parents will by now have figured out that what their school offered was more or maybe less effective than what their friends’ children were getting, and clearly not all online delivery models are created equally. So, a first step before deciding on an online school would be to enquire how efficiently current learners of those schools who had to move from contact to online were able to continue their educational journey during lock down.
“Online schools have clearly differentiated offerings, and parents should take care to interrogate and clarify a school’s offering before enrolling, and in particular ensure that the curriculum is more than just ‘paper behind glass’,” he says.
Northmore added that an online school focused on developing the child while ensuring that academic excellence is maintained must incorporate the following:
• Diagnostic testing to determine the exact level of proficiency of a learner before placement, and during the educational journey.
• Asynchronous learning so that learners can move through content at their own pace and according to their own proficiency, with direct access to teachers who will facilitate extra activation classes.
• Synchronous learning where learners will also be able to attend live interactive classes, and
• Socialisation opportunities with academies, studios and day camps so that learners can mingle with their peers and balance their screen time with green time.
He explains that parents should ensure that substantial support is available for learners because online schooling can be a very lonely and frustrating experience if such support is not available, particularly if an online school is merely copying and pasting physical classes into a virtual space.
“Schools must have life coaches or the equivalent, who can help develop crucial 21st century skills and global competencies, in addition to the regular curriculum,” he says, “and each learner’s learning experience must be tailored to their specific needs, so that they are encouraged to grow at a pace that suits their ability and enthusiasm.”
“It is not enough for an online school to simply focus on delivering a curriculum.
“For a rewarding and successful online schooling experience, there should be a strong focus on all skills – foundational, social and emotional.
“Our children are growing up in a world very different from the one in which we grew up. Things that we, as adults, deal with and take in our stride they are already facing at a very young age.
“Therefore, online schools should offer substantial support to help teach learners how to deal with issues such as stress and anxiety, while helping them develop important coping mechanisms, resilience and a growth mindset,” he concluded.
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