The change from face-to-face education to online, and currently hybrid, was sudden in the education sector. Teachers have had to learn to cope with adversity and find new ways to guide students in the new learning process. The problems they have faced have been varied, from those related to internet connection, on the other hand, parents also working remotely, and all the anxiety generated by the pandemic has required, and still requires, resilience and patience on the part of parents, students and teachers.
According to Belén Correa, regional director for Latin America at Turnitin, a global educational technology company, the challenges were many, but educators spared no effort to continue promoting good educational practices amid the pandemic. “The challenges of distance and hybrid education affect institutions, educators, students and families. Completely distance learning is not an easy task, but joining the face-to-face and online modalities can be an even greater challenge to secure the learning process. However, with the collaboration of all to find alternatives, it is possible to overcome some of the obstacles and even create new practices that can be carried out. Educational technology that supports the
The evaluation process and the development of the student’s original thinking, for example, is an aid in both remote, hybrid and face-to-face modes ”.
The challenges of remote and hybrid learning
1. Concentration. It can be difficult for a teacher to hold students’ attention during a remote class, and that has been one of the main challenges for many of them. In the home environment, distractions can be present all the time, not all students, and even teachers, have a quiet and peaceful space to study, in addition to the anxiety generated by being at home all the time.
On the other hand, Correa warns, having part of the students attending class remotely and part in person, as is the case with hybrid education, also brings specific challenges. “The teacher can propose short breaks of 10 or 15 minutes for the class to relax at strategic moments, you can also encourage the participation of students through games, questions and discussions. In addition, in the case of hybrid teaching, it is important to be careful not to sideline students who attend classes remotely in favor of those who are in person. “
2. Substantive evaluation. Another common challenge in the remote environment is the evaluation of students, a fundamental side in the learning process, in addition to ensuring academic integrity. And, it is not just a qualification, since it is the way in which the educator can know if the student is absorbing the concepts of the classes or not.
According to Correa, in the case of exams, it is worth limiting the time students have to take exams with an evaluation platform. “The time should be comfortable for students who know the material, but not so generous as to allow them to use electronic devices to find the answers. Also, design tests with
Open questions also help in the learning process, “says Correa.
The director adds that she has heard from partner institutions about how vital it is to maintain the values of academic integrity as a fundamental axis of the training processes. And that is why, to avoid faults in academic integrity, educational institutions are appealing to creativity, through the design of tasks, projects and evaluations. In this way, more specific concepts can be evaluated that promote critical thinking and the development of original thinking.
3. Connection and accessibility. Internet connection quality and desktop or laptop computers are not yet a reality
for all, in fact, many students have been monitoring their classes via mobile phones, for example, which certainly poses a challenge for remote education. Access and connection problems can be difficult to solve, but often institutions and teachers may not be aware of the problem.
“Talking with the students and understanding what their greatest current difficulty is and presenting alternatives such as the delivery of printed activities for some students, if this possibility exists, in addition to the use of messaging apps to send audios and videos, are solutions to consider” says Correa.
The change from face-to-face education to online, and currently hybrid, was sudden in the education sector. Teachers have had to learn to cope with adversity and find new ways to guide students in the new learning process. The problems they have faced have been varied, from those related to internet connection, on the other hand, parents also working remotely, and all the anxiety generated by the pandemic has required, and still requires, resilience and patience on the part of parents, students and teachers.
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