Online Education v/s Home Tuitions The new emerging teaching options to continue our children’s studies. The coronavirus and resulting Covid-19 pandemic have caused distress across the country, leading to changes in the way we lead our daily lives.
The new emerging teaching options to continue our children’s studies.
The coronavirus and resulting Covid-19 pandemic have caused distress across the country, leading to changes in the way we lead our daily lives.
One of the major areas that the coronavirus has impacted our lives is in the way our children study and how their education will continue in the days ahead.
Since sending children to schools soon, may not be possible, some of the options that many parents will have to consider are online education and home tuition.
Both these methods have their own merits and disadvantages, which given the scenario we are facing seems to be the only options available if we need to continue teaching our children.
In this article, we look at the merits and demerits of both these emerging methods of education.
Online education
An interactive method of teaching using computers or smartphones, the format usually used for online education is having a teacher or instructor, explain and brief about a subject through a video. Notes and assignments on the subject can either be downloaded or are sent via mail to the student for their reference.
Some formats of online education are also accessible through an interactive app, that the students can use to access different lessons and tests.
While a convenient way to study, with the student being able to watch the videos whenever they want, it faces many drawbacks with the main difficulty being in getting the student to focus and pay attention to the entire video.
Also, there is no monitoring system to ensure that the student is paying attention to the video and is thorough, understanding the subject being taught. There is also no classroom-type feeling while studying online, which can be a major disappointment for many students.
Given the fact that education is all about personal attention and being able to answer any queries on the spot, online education seems to be an inappropriate medium for studies, especially for younger students.
Some schools have started experimenting with the online medium to keep teaching students in the lockdown periods, but have not achieved significant progress due to the lack of a feedback and supervision system.
Home Tuitions
One of the oldest formats of personalized coaching for students, home tuitions are now back in demand as a safe and suitable alternative to keep the studies ongoing, during these social distancing times.
A highly interactive medium it helps students understand the subjects in-depth and also resolve any problems or queries they have on the spot, with the guidance of the teacher.
What however makes it very popular and a great alternative to online education is the individual and personalized attention a student gets from his teacher with no distractions whatsoever. Classes can also be scheduled as per the convenience of the students, to ensure that they can focus on it without any disturbances.
Due to the highly focussed sessions teachers are also able to cover the subjects in-depth and ensure faster and better coverage of the subjects being taught, while students can grasp and study the subjects at their own pace, without any worries about lagging in their studies.
Home tuitions due to their personalized nature may raise questions about possible infections and health issues, but these can be addressed by following appropriate safety precautions and ensuring proper disinfection procedures are followed by both the teacher and student.
Online Education v/s Home Tuitions
While both these methods differ vastly from each other, the prime goal of both of them is to keep the education of children ongoing in these social distancing times.
While online education has the advantage of being accessible whenever a student wants, its highly impersonal nature is a very big disadvantage. Home tuitions on the other hand, though very personalized and in-depth, need adequate safety measures to be followed by all concerned.
Online education can be made interesting by using interactive content along with cartoon characters that students can relate to. The content though needs to be constantly updated, to be in line with the current curriculum.
A home tutor on the other hand is more update with the latest trends and teaching practices, due to his direct and constant interaction with students. This can help him adjust and plan his sessions accordingly, to give the best guidance and assistance to the student.
Conclusion
Parents looking for the best education practices for their children can give both online education and home tuitions a look, before deciding the one that will be the best for their children.