Online Classes for Primary Students: Know it All
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The pandemic gradually seemed to be coming to an end. We were finally starting to get out of our homes, go for vacations, and attend school physically. However, it did not last long and before we knew it, everything had shifted online yet again.
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By now, most of us are well-equipped with online classes and other online situations. But, it gets a little difficult when primary school students are required to do the same. These kids had hardly started to go to school but then the schools were shut down yet again and they were required to sit for online classes. But, for primary school students, online classes were a tough job.
To help parents know more about online classes for primary school students, Ezyschooling, in association with Borad EduGames, conducted a panel discussion on ‘Online Classes for Primary Students: Know it All’. The discussion had the following esteemed panelists:
- Dr. Rajeev Gupta, Founder Director at Golden Bells Pre School and De Indian Public School,
- Mr. Rahul Utamchandani, Founder at Borad EduGames,
- Ms. Sadhna Jain, Administrative Head at Don Bosco School in Malda, West Bengal,
- Dr. Priti Shrimal, Principal at Billabong High International School in Vadodara,
- Ms. Sudha Sivadas, Principal at Modern Public School in Noida Extension.
Why are online classes essential?
Online classes are surely essential in times like these. Given below are a few pointers describing the essentiality of online classes.
● The Pandemic: The second wave of the pandemic has hit us hard. The situation around us has made fear a part of our lives. In such a case, online classes help children to keep their education going even in tough times.
● Easy Access to Learning: Online classes allow students to sit for their classes from the comfort of their homes. There is no traveling involved. This saves expenses involved in traveling and also saves time spent in going from one class to the other.
● Individualized Attention: Online classes give teachers the ability to focus better on each student. Students can also choose to speak to their teachers for an extended amount of time. There is an increase in the communication of students and teachers.
● Efficient Learning: Teachers and students can efficiently share notes, PDFs, videos, etc., in online classes. Teachers can also make use of other learning tools available on the Internet to increase efficiency. These tools make learning interesting.
● Increases Interaction: Many children shy away from getting their doubts cleared in front of the class. But in online classes, the classmates are not physically present which encourages the shy students to voice their concerns without shying away.
Have you read? How can an Active Imagination Help in a Child’s Development?
How have things changed for the teaching fraternity?
As Dr. Rajeev mentioned in the panel discussion the curriculum of the primary school students has not undergone any changes as of now. It is only the methodology of teaching that has undergone a change by shifting online.
The online methodology of the teaching-learning process has caused a huge transition for the students as well as the teachers, also impacting their families. The online classes have definitely enhanced the teachers’ abilities. But the teachers have also experienced an inability to portray things as they want to due to the limitations of online classes.
Also, as Priti ma'am pointed out, teachers have learned a lot in the past one year. Managing an online class is not easy, yet the teachers have put in all the hard work towards learning to do it and are actually managing it quite well. Hence, it is definitely not any easier for teachers to continue with online classes. And as Rahul sir mentioned, the perseverance that they have shown is surely laudable.
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How to prepare primary school students for online classes?
Online classes have now become a necessity for everyone due to the pandemic raging outside. As Sudha ma'am mentioned, many parents were reluctant to send their primary school kids for physical classes even when the situation was a little better a few months ago. Most of the parents said that they would send kids to school only after they were duly vaccinated against the virus. To parents thinking of avoiding one school year for their primary school kid, Sadhna ma'am says that it is not at all a good idea to let one academic year of the child go to waste when we can easily set up online classes to make up for the loss.
As mentioned earlier, it is no easy task to make primary school students attend online classes. To begin with, these kids are still young enough to be getting used to school, and doing it online might not be helping them at all. Then again, it is always difficult to focus primary school students’ attention on certain topics of study and online classes make it worse by increasing the distractions.
Here are some tips to help prepare primary school students for online classes.
● The Right Environment: It is very essential to create the right environment for attending an online class. Create a study corner to keep your child motivated to study. Ensure that the study corner is free from all distractions.
● Follow a Schedule: No doubt, the school will make a routine regarding the timing of the class. However, it must be ensured that there are enough breaks in between classes. Breaks help the kids to clear their minds and sit afresh for the next class.
● Charged Gadgets: Remember to keep the gadget used for online classes fully charged. This ensures that the low charge does not disturb your child’s learning. Also, it’s advisable to not use gadgets while in charging, so get it done beforehand.
● Internet Connection: Ensure that the Internet connection is smooth enough that the online classes do not get interrupted. Remember to check if the Internet speed is satisfactory. Use a Wi-Fi router if the Internet connection keeps fluctuating.
Before making kids sit for an online class, it is important to make sure that they are in a mood to study. One interesting way towards this is by introducing a fun game just before the class.
Sir Rahul Utamchandani agrees that students are likely to get bored every day, just sitting for online classes and not being able to do the fun activities that they did at school. He recognizes that a school is way more than just book learning, be it the general chit-chats, the lunch breaks, or the PE classes. That's where Borad EduGames comes into the picture.
Thanks to Borad EduGames, students can now access board games that are fun as well as can help them with their studies. Rahul Utamchandani and Ayush Anand, the two founders at Borad EduGames, believe that learning should be fun and not just a monotony. To achieve this, they have developed four different board games that can help children with four different subjects of study.
Initially developed as a college project, Borad EduGames went on to become a successful start-up after receiving rave reviews and gaining podiums in several start-up competitions. As a start-up Borad EduGames has certainly influenced many children by introducing them to the fun in learning.
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