Nowadays, some schools have to close their schools due to the pandemic coronavirus, a sub-crisis has risen in the mind of some parents: What will the kids do all day? The widespread school closures have caused a ripple effect in the parent communities, as many parents scramble to find ways to smoothly transition kids into at-home life. It’s one thing to entertain the children all day on the weekends, but for some parents it will be another when you have seven days a week to fill for an indefinite period of time. Some parents get frustrated with how to handle this kind of situation while some other parents also got confused and worry because their plan to enroll their child has to be postponed. Therefore, most of the parents lately decided to continue school from home by joining home learning that already provided by the school instead of their children just idle at home.
Home learning, that is commonly known as E-Learning, refers to the learning environment children experience at home in the context of their family support and community and mainly seen as learning aid. As we know that children most of the time learn by using their senses. It is assumed that the sense of sight and hearing are the most important senses in the learning process. E-learning itself has a positive impact on learning. Not only it helps children develop better hand-eye coordination and motor skills, but it also helps them to improve their emotional and social and problem-solving skills. Most children are more motivated to learn when they see an interactive colorful screen and more sophisticated gadgets.
E-Learning’s accessibility and flexibility also give it the potential to be one of the most open and friendly forms of education available in the world today especially during this pandemic. Well developed E-learning programs provide the perfect tools to engage users with additional needs and work with different levels. Children will be provided by materials that will be sent home which allows students to learn the materials at home. Teachers can upload plans, create a game out of learning, do grading, and provide feedback, while students can access the lessons, assessment and tutorials with supporting materials. There are some benefits that children can gain through E-Learning such as: allowing for repetition and mastery of learning, that allows them to be more independent and group learning in a controlled environment, and building more technical skills for older learners.
Children are more open to and engage better with play forms of learning. Moreover, the school usually assigns their teachers to engage and support parents in guiding their child’s learning and development at home following the milestones as required. With the support of the teachers and parents, children still can get a lot of benefits from home learning. Teachers working closely with parents to support children’s learning at home is an essential requirement to make home learning more successful and effective. For educators and parents alike, this potential for E-learning program could be a lifesaver during the pandemic situation.
written by Yenti Handala,
Center Director of Tutor Time Pluit