1.2.3 Practical Solutions to Distance Learning Problems

4 Practical Solutions to Distance Learning Problems for Students

Fortunately, it’s possible for educators to mitigate distance education issues and challenges for students. Here are four steps that teachers can take to help position e-learners for greater success in the virtual classroom.

• Share Time Management Apps and Resources for Students

Effective time management is a fundamental skill for distance learners. Encourage your students to take advantage of the numerous time management apps and resources that are available to e-learners — many of them for free. For example, National University offers a comprehensive suite of time management resources for students, including daily planner worksheets, infographics, links to apps, helpful time management tips, and even a time management calculator. 

Education experts also recommend periodically surveying your students, which provides you with actionable insights into how your students allocate their time toward various tasks. Once you identify the trouble spots that are slowing your students down, you can offer them tailored guidance — especially if you notice patterns emerging in your survey data.

• Utilize Educational Technology (“EdTech”)  

Just because communication occurs over the internet doesn’t mean it has to be lagged or asynchronous. In fact, there are countless tools — many of them free to use — to help students and teachers communicate in real-time. For example, you can use video conferencing software to have live conversations with your students, either one-on-one or in group settings. This gives your students a chance to ask you questions, raise concerns, and work through complex course material more successfully. In addition to video conferencing software, you can also use instant messaging apps for students who prefer to communicate via text. Examples include Skype, Google Meet, FaceTime, Zoom, and Google Hangouts.

• Increase Peer Review

Students need timely, meaningful feedback in order to gauge and improve their performance. There are several ways you can improve the feedback your students receive. 

One method is to schedule one-on-one or group sessions with your students — for instance, on a weekly or bi-weekly basis — that are dedicated to providing feedback on recent assignments. Providing verbal feedback lets you save time on writing and editing documents, without sacrificing the detail or quality of your evaluation. As a result, your students receive better feedback, sooner. 

• Provide Clear Grading Rubrics

Rubrics and syllabi are important tools in the traditional classroom. Make use of them in the virtual classroom, too! Be sure to provide your online students with a clear and detailed overview of the course, including information about: 

• What type of material you’ll be covering
• What items each student will need

• How each type of assignment will be graded

• How to share or upload documents

• What to do if they experience technical issues

• Deadlines, exam dates, days off, and other special calendar events 

• How to contact you 

While there are many distance education issues and challenges for students to overcome, there are also countless opportunities for them to seize — and the approach you take as an educator can make all the difference. We hope that, by sharing some of these solutions and strategies, we’ve made it a little easier for you to help your e-students turn their challenges into success stories

Source Online article, Challenges of Distance Learning for Students, National University 

https://www.nu.edu/blog/challenges-of-distance-learning-for-students/ ;