Without a doubt, the COVID pandemic was one of the biggest health-related obstacles our world has ever faced. With widespread illness, business closures, supply chain mayhem, and economic unrest; it’s hard to imagine that anything good could’ve come out of it. Surprisingly, just as COVID brought us tremendous pain and suffering, it also paved the way for an array of conveniences and efficiencies. It was proof that in times of struggle, we can all come together as a society to uncover new solutions and insights. Chief among those benefits was remote learning, which was made possible by the technological advancements of video conferencing platforms like Zoom. While many have balked at remote learning as a paltry substitute for in-class learning, I’m here to tell you that the benefits of remote learning are far more apparent than you may realize. Here are 4 benefits of remote learning that may not immediately come to mind.
Comforts of Home
You’re all familiar with the old expression “there’s no place like home.” This expression is almost universal in application, including being one of the key benefits of remote learning. Let’s face it, our home is not only comfortable, but it is familiar. Many children, particularly those with sensory processing issues, crave familiarity. New settings or noisy environments can wreak havoc on their systems, but the child’s home is a controlled environment that provides a sense of safety and security. It also gives the child clear-cut boundaries, which sets the tone for guided and systematic learning. As you can see, being in a familiar, safe, and distraction-free environment can certainly be a major benefit of remote learning, but this is only the beginning.
Convenience
Many children get upset when having to transition to another place. They feel as though they’re being upended from their safe and comfortable place. Depending on the availability of learning centers in your area, you could live as close as 10 minutes away or as far as 30 minutes or an hour away. The longer the journey, the greater the frustration for the child. By the time children arrive, they may already be tired, and the last thing they’re ready to do is sit down and work. The convenience of not having to leave the comforts of home is a source of relief for most children. They can choose their own study spot that is most conducive and best promotes sustained periods of focus and productivity. They don’t have to worry about the noises that other teachers and children may be making in the background. Learning centers can be unpredictable, but your normal and familiar environment is a source of ease, which can go a long way toward reducing that social anxiety that many children experience. So, it is not difficult to see how convenience can be one of the essential benefits of remote learning. In this category, parents may very well derive even more of the benefits of remote learning than their child does. After all, how many parents want to be lugging their children back and forth from the learning center to home two or three times a week?
Cost-effective
Often, when businesses are able reduce costs, they’re in a better position to pass those savings onto the consumer. For any of you parents out there who are trying to combat the current inflationary climate, this is among the greatest benefits of remote learning you’re going to find. What could be more welcome news than bolstering your child’s education, while saving money at the same time? With the success of remote learning, many owners of tutoring companies have elected to shut down their brick-and-mortar operations in exchange for a more flexible cyber environment. This enables them to drastically reduce their overhead costs, which creates an opportunity to reduce tuition prices. Let’s face it, times are tough, so this inflation-buster solution certainly makes this one of the top benefits of remote learning.
Consistent Results
Of all the advantages the digital environment offers, this is perhaps one of the greatest benefits of remote learning for children and parents alike. One of the most common questions I receive from parents is about results. The universal concern parents have is whether remote learning can rival the efficacy of in person learning. My response is always an emphatic… YES! While it may have taken a little tweak here and a little tweak there to bring remote learning up to speed, I can finally say that it has arrived. It’s all a matter of putting the right systems into place to achieve the necessary outcomes. While it may be hard to imagine, it is working… and it is working brilliantly! In many cases, the outcomes are even stronger for remote learning, and that’s perhaps attributed to the environment. As stated earlier, kids will generally perform better in an environment that is comfortable and familiar. When evaluating tutoring services, the number one thing parents are looking for is results. With that said, this is likely one of the greatest benefits of remote learning you’re going to get. Comfort and results… what can be better than that?
Conclusion
As you can see from the above, the benefits of remote learning cannot be understated. As we navigate new processes and a more advanced technological landscape, it’s important that we’re willing to embrace some of these changes. At the same time, it’s natural to be apprehensive, as we often grow accustomed to the status quo. Given the economic, efficient, and efficacy-based findings, it seems that there are not only inherent benefits of remote learning, but it looks as though it’s not going away anytime soon—and that’s a good thing.