Who would have thought that virtual school would become the regular schedule everyone would follow? If you’ve had to rearrange schedules, delay vacations, shift work hours, or perhaps stop working all together, you’re not alone. Parents are having to find new ways to cope with virtual school and their work schedules.
When the coronavirus outbreak started closing schools in early 2020, parents had to learn how to juggle their everyday schedule. Learning to cope with competing interests like virtual school and work schedules can be challenging. One of the major to-do items of seeing that their students made it off to school had been eliminated. They had to now accommodate being a tutor, a teacher, and an IT technician when virtual school doesn’t go as planned online. Some parents were already working from home, and making the adjustment was not too difficult. Other parents had to continue going to work, and allowing their students to be at home alone trying to learn from a distance was a major struggle. If you’re trying to find ways to better the virtual learning environment for everyone, you might give these tips a try:
Have a Designated Area for Virtual School Work
Your student should have their own space to learn in. Something that is organized to their liking, and to what makes sense for their study habits. They may need a complete room, just a desk and laptop, or a bean bag chair where they can go to school every day. They need their own comfortable space to do their work and learn.
Ensure You Have the Right Equipment for Virtual School
The items needed for virtual school will include a laptop, a mouse, and headphones. A few pens, pencils, and paper to write on may be optional. Every school should have a recommendation list of supplies your student may need to be successful with virtual school. Be sure to check the list of recommendations from Sno-Isle TECH of what should be available for your student depending on the classes they are enrolled in.
Create a Daily Schedule with Study Breaks Included
Your work schedule usually has a fixed or rough time to start, eat lunch, take breaks, and when to quit for the day. It works well for your schedule, and that is something similar for your student. Create a daily schedule that your student can follow every day they have virtual school. It will keep them in the habit without breaking their routines. In between classes you can also have some study breaks that your student can catch up on what else is going on in the world. Check their email, look at social media, or maybe go outside and get some fresh air. The goal is to allow their brain to digest what they just learned in class and rest a little before going to the next subject.
Keep Them Focused with Non-School Activities
Adults usually have a hobby outside of work. That may be outdoor sports, it could be fishing or hiking on the weekends, or it could be a project car in the garage. There is something else outside of work to keep you focused. Your students need a little break from virtual school too. They may have been in an afterschool club, played music with a school band, or played sports. With the onsite schools shut down, those activities may have been canceled. Whatever they enjoy doing most outside of school, they should try to keep those activities going as best as possible. They need social interaction, and hopefully their favorite activities are still available with virtual school.
It’s easy to make accommodations for students to learn from home. Add the right technology, a dedicated work space, and keep them on a consistent schedule for success. But what about parents that were used to going to work in the morning, and now have a similar situation to their students? They now have to work remotely, and keep productivity up. How can they do that from home?
The tips above could easily apply to their situation. Add a dedicated workspace that is organized to their work habits. That could also be a complete room, or perhaps the same room if space is a constraint. Make sure the right technology is available, and any extra materials needed. Keep a consistent schedule and make sure to schedule time for those outside extra-curricular activities to stay focused.
A recent survey in June 2020 found that parents working from home were more productive 44% of the time vs. 31% losing productivity working from home during the pandemic. The other 25% or work-from-home parents stayed consistent. That means some were able to cope better with the change, some haven’t been able to find the right setting yet, and the remainder made the transition without too much fuss.
Remote virtual school may be a new concept this year for students, parents, and some teachers. Everyone may need some time to fully adjust to daily virtual school, from planning lectures, attending the lectures, and completing extra work on time. Planning a set schedule or routine with the right environment will allow discipline to keep everyone focused and progressing as virtual school continues. If you need support for your students, or for yourself, contact us at Sno-Isle TECH. We’re here to offer support to ensure success for every student, and to help parents who juggle virtual school and work schedules with the transition to online learning as best as possible.
