eLearning Tips For Parents: A Guide To Supporting Your Child’s Learning Journey
As online learning becomes increasingly popular among children, you may have considered it for your family as well. Alternatively, it might have become a necessity for your child at their school’s request or due to a personal interest they wish to develop. Whatever the case, being doubtful about this new learning concept is understandable. However, you mustn’t let your doubts and concerns keep your child away from the numerous—let alone proven—benefits of eLearning. In this article, you can find 8 eLearning tips for parents who want to support their children through the eLearning experience, help them make the most out of it, and avoid any possible drawbacks.
8 eLearning Tips Parents Can Use To Support Young Online Learners
1. Become Your Child’s Learning Coach
Children, especially younger ones, cannot take full accountability for their learning journey. They need guidance from a parent or guardian who can make sure they are receiving the necessary help and support. In other words, they need a learning coach to help them build a weekly schedule and stay loyal to it, understand the material, complete assignments, and overcome any hurdle that might come up. eLearning is a great choice for working parents who have to take on a learning coach role, as the flexibility it provides helps them strike a balance between their various responsibilities.
2. Assess The Quality Of The eLearning Course
Despite the large number of eLearning courses for children available in the market, not all are suitable for your aspiring learner. Apart from the subject matter not being to your kid’s liking, some may target a different age group, require more advanced tech equipment, or simply not reach the desired quality standards. Considering that children are not able to make these distinctions themselves, a tip for parents is to make the selection of the eLearning course so that they can ensure their child starts off their eLearning journey on the right foot.
3. Foster A Supportive Learning Environment
The effectiveness of your child’s learning journey heavily depends on the learning space they have available. Although you can’t replicate an exact school environment, a designated learning area will help them stay focused and stimulate their creativity. That’s where they’ll be able to find their supplies and the device they use to access the eLearning courses (along with accessories) so that they don’t waste any time searching instead of learning. Apart from providing your kids with a learning space, make sure it also supports the technology needed for eLearning. A stable and fast internet connection will keep away any interruptions and ensure a smooth learning experience.
4. Ensure Learner Engagement
Whether embarking on eLearning is your child’s choice or a school requirement, it’s important for them to stay engaged throughout. And when their interest fades, it’s up to the parent to get them back in the groove. Stay close to your child and be prepared to step in when you notice signs of disengagement, such as a decline in progress or poor time management. There are various steps you can take to recapture their interest in the learning process. For example, you can modify their learning space to make it less or more stimulating. Or, you could establish a reward system that encourages them to keep up with the schedule.
5. Bring eLearning Into The Real World
Another way to keep children engaged, as well as a particularly useful eLearning tip for parents, is to bring eLearning to life. Sure, listening to podcasts or watching documentaries related to the subject your child is exploring in their eLearning course is a great way to gain extra knowledge and form a connection with them. But imagine taking it a step further by performing experiments and playing games as a family, going on museum field trips, visiting the zoo, etc. Any space your child can visit to gain a deeper understanding of the content will fill them with enthusiasm and urge them to finish this eLearning course and initiate more.
6. Encourage Independence
The fact that children cannot be fully accountable for their learning doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be allowed any freedom. Small decisions here and there may not affect the learning course overall but will make children feel more independent and in charge of their education, thus boosting their engagement. Things your child can decide for the day include the time at which they access the course, which extra resources they want to explore, or perhaps the space where they will study. We did mention how important it is to have a designated learning space, but shaking things up from time to time makes things more interesting and less monotonous for kids.
7. Practice Safe Online Learning
eLearning platforms are secure and only include content that is suitable for the intended audience, but the same cannot be said for the internet as a whole. Since young learners usually have to conduct online research, they and their parents must be aware of some essential online safety guidelines. For example, identifying a safe website (HTTPS), never sharing a username and password, or learning about the dangers of phishing. In general, a practical tip for parents is to create a parent-controlled profile for their child on the device they use to access online courses. This way, access to certain apps and features will be limited.
8. Maintain The Balance
At times, engagement can become a bigger issue than disengagement. You might want your kids to be motivated to complete their eLearning course, but you certainly don’t want to contribute to excessive screen time. Just like in school, kids need breaks at regular intervals to eat, decompress, play, or do a physical activity. Since time management is tricky for children, you are responsible for maintaining the balance between learning and all other aspects of your child’s life. Follow the schedule you have set but don’t forget to set aside time for your child to stay active and socialize with their friends face-to-face.
Conclusion
Navigating this new world of eLearning may be difficult for parents who are watching it invade their children’s lives. However, there is no reason to view it with doubtful eyes, as it can become an invaluable learning tool. To enjoy all the benefits eLearning has to offer kids, you must learn how you can help them navigate it to provide them with an effective and meaningful learning experience. Follow the eLearning tips for parents we shared in this article and become a supportive learning coach.
