What is remote teaching anyway? Remote teaching is an online distance learning concept that allows for a student to learn from a remote location such as their home/office/ or on the go. In recent years and this past year, in particular, remote teaching has grown exponentially. With the growth of online teaching tools and general improvements in e-learning infrastructure, numerous methods of remote learning have been created to fill a variety of roles and niches. For teachers, remote teaching means the freedom to work safely from their home while still having an impact on people’s lives just as they would in a classroom setting.
So what does all this mean? Why is it important where we learn? Well as this past year has shown us, the location, medium, and method of learning are things to consider now not just for education but everything in our daily lives. The advent of online courses and e-learning platforms has made it easier than ever to learn not only safely but also effectively since the designs of platforms, tools, and methods have all grown. This will continue and remote learning and teaching will be a larger part of education in general as the infrastructure that once was centered around classrooms begins to move online for a variety of reasons.
Why is online teaching important?
The importance of online teaching can’t be understated since in this critical time we have seen that the in-person option will not always be available to everyone. With the pandemic raging across the globe, in many places, it is unsafe to fully commit to 100 percent in-class studies. The Covid-19 pandemic is not the only reason online teaching is important. The ability to teach remotely gives teachers some advantages that they had not had in recent years, such as the materials used as well as the ability to adapt their course time-wise to better adjust to their and their student’s schedules.
So who benefits from online remote teaching? Well, in theory, everyone; however, there are some people who might benefit more than others in a relative sense. The first and main beneficiaries are the students who can work and study in a safe environment without fear all the while improving themselves and preparing for their futures. The other beneficiary as was mentioned earlier is the teacher who now can work with students without fear of the tumult of school closure. Lastly, the biggest winner in remote teaching is society. While that might sound strange, the fact is that this will mean more students who are both academically and technically savvy for a globalized age where those skills are paramount.
Another reason online teaching is so important is it disposes of issues that might otherwise plague schools, teachers, and learners. Even without the pandemic, in-person learning was not perfect. As with most systems, it existed for lack of a better idea. Well, the better idea is in many ways here. The importance of being able to avoid problems such as sick students, infrastructure issues in buildings, limited financial resources, and the general issues that arise in a school such as student behavioral issues that might otherwise act as a detriment to the studies of other students.
Advantages of distance teaching
The advantages of distance teaching far outweigh the negatives. From the perspective of the teachers, it is a great tool for being able to help students in a virtual classroom setting due to the ability to share information such as videos, documents, and other media that require tangible objects in a classroom (projectors, printers, tv’s…etc.). This is also coupled with the decreased overhead in costs. Frankly, it is cheaper to teach from a distance. Schools need electricity, support staff, building costs, and so forth which means those savings can be either passed on to the students or into the teachers in the form of increased resources for materials that can be purchased and used online.
Lastly, I would be remiss if I were to omit the obvious advantage of distance learning which is of course student and faculty safety. With distance teaching, there is a lower risk of transmission of illness and even other potential accidents. The most abhorrent of these negative possibilities being the oft-spoken Covid-19 pandemic. In this way, distance teaching provides an altogether safer way to teach and to learn for teachers and students respectively since they can continue to engage their material at a high level without having to sacrifice their own health in the process.
What is the purpose of remote teaching?
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The purpose of remote teaching is no different at its core than what people consider “normal” teaching, which is to say the passing on of knowledge. The purpose here mainly refers to the remote aspect which exists for a variety of reasons. Obviously, at the moment that is the global pandemic, but that is not the only reason. Another purpose of online teaching is to give teachers and students the possibility to engage either in a one-to-one setting or in a virtual classroom when it might not otherwise be possible to meet in person. Remote teaching allows teachers to work from anywhere so they can pass on their information to students who may even be on the far side of the world.
E-tools for teachers
There has never been a better time for online teaching due to the abundance of materials that are available to teachers and schools. These can range from detailed lesson plans in the forms of premade PDFs, Superteacher worksheets, Video conferencing platforms such as Zoom, Skype, or Proficonf. There are a number of other resources that can be used as teaching materials and tools. For teachers, there are many websites that offer free materials, guides, and premade materials that can help put their students and themselves in a position to succeed.
Remote teaching has surged all around the world, but not only for schools but for tutors, language teachers, and many others with knowledge to impart to their students. Although there is a great deal of change going on in the global education system, there will continue to be a growing trend toward remote teaching.