Tag: education

Some of the Ways the Coronavirus has Impacted Education

Mary Finney
students walking

Since last year, many of us have been facing the impact of the Coronavirus. As a result of the rapid spread of the deadly virus, some sectors have been impacted differently. Most countries were forced to close several institutions, including schools.

Something most people agree on is that education is essential. Unfortunately, the education sector has been receiving negative impacts since the virus was first discovered. Many parents and students are worried about their future as some schools are still closed. The good news is that we are starting to see the situation normalizing.

Through the World Health Organization, some health measures have been issued on controlling the spread of the virus. Several countries are making a breakthrough in creating vaccines that work. Here are some of the ways the Coronavirus pandemic has impacted the education sector.

Online Learning

using laptopOnline learning is gradually becoming popular across the globe. The spread of the Coronavirus made many look for alternatives to traditional methods of learning. There has been a lot of students who were forced to stay at home as schools were closed. As a result, an achievement gap in education was created.

Students were unable to graduate to the next classes as they were not able to learn. With online learning, the achievement gap during remote learning reduces as many can learn without physically going to learning institutions.

At the moment, many online learning platforms teach numerous courses to those that utilize them. Apart from online learning, some parent chose to home school their children. Traditional schools also choose to continue teaching by using online video applications like Zoom.

New Restrictions

As the situation started normalizing, some schools were allowed to reopen. It is fair to state that how things operate in schools drastically changed. It was discovered that the virus could spread through contaminated surfaces. As a result, schools had to ensure that they clean their surfaces regularly to limit the Coronavirus spread.

Students currently attending school have to maintain a form of social distance and wear a face mask. Both students and teachers are encouraged to wash their hands with running water regularly. Also, regular Coronavirus tests are done in learning institutions.

As the world is still facing the novel Coronavirus pandemic, the education sector is changing. More people prefer online learning over traditional schools. More learning institutions are heavily relying on technology to ensure that learning continues. More changes are most likely to happen in the long run.

The Non-Negotiable Pros of Face-to-Face Learning

Jean Holland
teacher

The debate between online education and face-to-face education is like a never-ending battle. It is no secret that online education is becoming more and more popular. With the ease of access to information and courses and the flexibility of learning from home, it is no wonder why people are turning to online education in droves. In fact, many people also debate which is the best online course platform: udemy vs coursera. However, face-to-face learning has many benefits that cannot be found online. This blog post will outline the non-negotiable pros of face-to-face learning.

Better Critical Thinking Skills

In a face-to-face learning environment, you constantly interact with your peers and instructors. This allows for better critical thinking skills as you can have discussions and bounce ideas off each other. In an online learning environment, you may not get this same interaction, leading to poorer critical thinking skills. In fact, a study by the Community College Research Center found that students in online courses were more likely to fail or withdraw than in face-to-face classes. One of the reasons for this is that online learning can be quite isolating.

activity

Stronger Social Skills and Emotion Development

Aside from that, a study from the University of Arizona found that face-to-face learning also helps with the development of social skills and emotional intelligence. This is because when you are in a face-to-face setting, you can read people’s body language and cues which helps you understand them better. You are also able to build relationships more quickly as compared to online learning. It is easy to feel isolated and lonely in an online setting as you are not physically around people. This can lead to poorer social skills and emotional intelligence.

Superior Collaborative Learning

disciplineAs students will have to work together in a face-to-face learning environment, how they interact to solve problems results in better collaborative learning. In an online setting, it is easy to feel like you are working alone, leading to poorer collaborative skills. However, in a face-to-face environment, you can build relationships and trust with your peers, making it easier to work together. This is because you can communicate more efficiently and get immediate feedback. A study by the University of Pennsylvania found that students in face-to-face courses had better collaborative skills than students in online courses.

Well-Developed Accountability and Responsibility

Lastly, face-to-face learning also helps to develop a sense of accountability and responsibility. When you are in an online setting, it is easy to feel like you can get away with not doing the work or not participating. However, in a face-to-face environment, your instructors and peers are right there with you, and they will be able to see if you are not participating. This will help develop a sense of responsibility and accountability as you will know that you have to do the work if you want to succeed.

All in all, there are many benefits to face-to-face learning that cannot be found in an online setting. If you have the opportunity to take a face-to-face course, we would highly recommend it. Not only will you develop better critical thinking skills, but you will also have stronger social skills and emotional intelligence. You will also be a better collaborator and have a stronger sense of accountability and responsibility.

Five Effective Project Management Hints

Jean Holland
learning protect management

Project Management is not a simple career, because in some instances you will have to do your best to satisfy different stakeholders with limited resources. Yes, you heard me right! The situation even gets worse when you are given a short duration to complete a complex project. With time frames that look impossible, you might not complete some projects within the given deadlines.

Besides, you might have to deal with difficult people, constantly changing environments among other constraints. Presented below are some pointers to help you conquer any project thrown your way.

Define Success Parameters

If you fail to define the parameters that will bring success to your project, then the chances are that you might break it. You must make the same goal with other stakeholders to ensure the success of the project. The parameters should be objective and traceable to make your project a success. Defining the success parameters of your project in advance will direct you towards achieving your dreams without much struggle.

Plan

Just like when doing everything else you must come up with a comprehensive plan to make your project a success. However, you will have a challenge when it comes to determining the time required to analyze and get measurable results. Furthermore, the implementation part of your project as well as gathering the information about potential risks might also trouble you.

Make sure that your list contains a checklist at every step required to measure success to break it into workable chunks. Don’t forget to take care of the projects pitfalls otherwise; they might spell doom to your project.

Approximate Project

If you want to approximate how long your project will take then you should do so regarding effort, not calendar time if you use calendar time to approximate your project then its worth noting that you might be distracted by other tasks that require priority, meetings as well as other uncontrollable factors. Take advantage of the eighty-twenty rule to allocate time to your urgent project to beat the given deadlines.

Furthermore, you can use technology to estimate project deadlines.

Stay Calm

Don’t show members of your team that you are anxious. If you realize that your project is going off track, the best thing is to look for practical solutions to bring it back on track. You will be more focused and achieve your objectives without struggle once you remain cool, calm and collected. Don’t forget to be strict about deadlines and know how to achieve them.

Remember that you are working with humans and not machines thus their chances of not helping you to complete the project on time are high. The calmer you stay the better for your future clients as well as projects.

showing the project

Follow Up

You must have a closer look at the outcome of your project. Will the results that you achieve have a permanent effect? If your project is successful, don’t forget to congratulate those who helped toy to achieve your project. Thanking your partners as well as your clients will help them realize that they played an essential role in making your project a success.