Earlier this year, the COVID-19 pandemic thrust unsuspecting parents and students into a virtual learning environment. While most are adapting to this new way of life, it still presents some challenges. From difficulty focusing to time management issues, virtual learning families have had a lot to overcome.
Luckily, developing good habits can help combat many of these problems and set students up for success. Here are a few of the top virtual schooling tips.
1. Set a Schedule and Stick to It – It’s important for virtual students to maintain a sense of normalcy. The best way to do this is to schedule specific start and end times for the school day. While it’s tempting to keep the schedule flexible, students will do much better when everyone in the household commits to regular school hours.
2. Create a Designated Schooling Space – The home learning environment is full of extra distractions, and it’s important to manage them. This includes noise, clutter, distracting visuals, and other people. Every virtual student needs a specific designated space for schooling. Siblings and visitors should be instructed to stay out of this space during school hours.
3. Practice Good Time Management – As the school day goes on, it’s completely normal to feel both physically and mentally worn out. This means that students will do best if they start each day by tackling their hardest assignments and then finish up with ones that are less mentally tasking.
It’s also important not to spend too much time on any one assignment as this will only cause frustration. If a student is struggling for too long, it’s time to take a break, then set it aside until they can ask for help.
4. Take Breaks -Slaving over a desk all day long isn’t good for adults or children. Not only will this cause mental burnout, but sitting all day isn’t physically healthy. Encourage students to take a two to three-minute break every 20 minutes or so. This could be as simple as getting up to get a glass of water, stretching, or having a short conversation with someone else in the home. Just make sure the breaks don’t last too long and the student gets right back to work when the time is up.
5. Stay Organized -A lack of organization can be catastrophic for a virtual learner. Keep all of their physical materials together in a box and organize an online file system for their digital work. Also, make sure they keep an assignment calendar so they don’t miss any important deadlines.
Each of these tips seems very simple, but combining them can make a huge difference in your child’s educational success. Start implementing them today and you’ll be surprised by how quickly you’ll start to notice improvement.