The virtual classroom market or digital classroom market has been growing consistently over the years. But the shutdowns and lockdowns due to COVID-19 have accelerated the growth of the virtual classroom market in 2020. Most educational institutions leverage virtual classroom platforms to facilitate the learning process of students to deal with the disruptions caused by the pandemic.
According to the World Economic Forum,
“The COVID-19 has resulted in schools shut all across the world. Globally, over 1.2 billion children are out of the classroom. As a result, education has changed dramatically, with the distinctive rise of e-learning, whereby teaching is undertaken remotely and on digital platforms.”
But many parents find it challenging to manage the shift from traditional classrooms to virtual classrooms. They still believe that traditional classrooms are more effective than virtual classrooms in educating students. Many parents are waiting eagerly for schools to reopen so that their children can go back to learning in the classic traditional environment. If you are parents dealing with the same problem then it is time to understand how a virtual classroom can actually benefit your child.
9 Important Virtual Classroom Benefits for Parents in the Post-Pandemic World
No Need to Go to School
According to BBC.com,
“Even an effective coronavirus vaccine will not return life to normal in spring, a group of leading scientists has warned.”
The students still need to maintain both social and physical distancing to stay safe. Most educational institutions still lack the infrastructure and resources required to ensure that students maintain social distancing. The virtual classrooms enable students to learn without going to school by accessing the coursework from home using a variety of devices such as computers, tablets, and mobile phones.
Engaging and Intuitive Learning Materials
While teaching in a conventional environment, teachers often lack the option to integrate different types of learning materials. But the virtual classroom platforms enable teachers to create multimedia learning material by combining text, images, audio, and videos. The multimedia learning materials make it easier for teachers to explain and students to understand complex concepts. Also, the students can access the multimedia content at their own pace and convenience.
Establish Daily Routine
Several studies have highlighted the effectiveness of daily routines for students to develop confidence, discipline, and self-esteem. Parents often find it challenging to establish daily routines for their children as the schools remain closed. The leading educational institutions these days leverage virtual classroom benefits to set define daily routines for students. In addition to teaching students regularly, the teachers can use the virtual school software to assign homework and plan co-curricular activities.
Immediate Exam/Test Scores
Most educational institutions declare test scores or exam results several days after the examination. The teachers need time to evaluate the answer papers and assign scores. But the virtual classroom software allows teachers to publish exam results or produce digital progress reports in a few minutes. The teachers can further assess the skill and knowledge of students in a short amount of time by making them answer a set of multi-choice questions.
Asynchronous Discussions
Many virtual classroom platforms help educational institutions to set up online discussion forums. The online discussion forums enable students to share their ideas, join online discussions, and reply to questions posted by other students. Students can leverage the online discussion forums to discuss a variety of topics and concepts elaborately with their classmates. Also, teachers can monitor the asynchronous student discussion to assess a student’s skill and identify the areas of improvement.
Real-Time Skill Assessment
The features provided by sophisticated virtual classroom software enable teachers to assess the knowledge and skill acquired by students in real-time. They can assess the knowledge retained by students by making them answering a slew of multi-choice questions after each session. Also, they can interact with students during the class to check if they are understanding the concepts and retaining knowledge. The real-time interaction makes virtual classrooms as effective as school classrooms.
Options to Reduce Screen Time
Many parents believe that virtual classrooms impact the health of their children adversely by increasing screen time. But new-age learning management systems (LMS) or virtual classroom platforms help teachers to reduce screen time for children by adopting a blended approach. They allow teachers to include a variety of extracurricular activities – craft, painting, yoga, and storytelling session – in the online lessons. The innovative activities contribute immensely to the brain development of students without making them look at screens for a longer duration.
Hone Students’ Digital Skills
According to IndiaToday.in,
“21st-century education requires children to be competent in digital citizenship skills because they will help them in their future careers.”
The traditional school classrooms are not designed with features to prepare students to acquire and share digital skills. But the students can easily acquire new digital skills and sharpen their existing digital skills while learning in virtual classrooms. Many virtual classroom platforms these days come with built-in features to make children use essential digital tools and methods regularly.
Reduced School Fees
Unlike conventional classrooms, virtual classrooms do not require educational institutions to invest in infrastructure and other resources. Many educational institutions have already reduced school fees after switching from school classrooms to virtual classrooms. In many states, governments have instructed educational institutions to reduce school fees by leveraging online classrooms. Likewise, parents in many states urge schools and colleges to reduce fees by leveraging virtual classroom benefits.
The disruptions caused by COVID-19 make it essential for parents to keep their children safe by leveraging virtual classroom benefits. In the post-pandemic world, most educational institutions will use sophisticated virtual classroom software to bridge the gap between conventional and virtual classrooms. Also, they will integrate the virtual classrooms to elaborate and diverse digital libraries to deliver personalized learning or education. LMS is very beneficial for students today to bring out the best of their capabilities in this pandemic crisis.
At Mintbook, we have been helping educational institutions across the country to set up eLearning Solutions. Get in touch with us, if you want to setup a virtual classroom and LMS software for your educational institutions.
