Tips how to support your elementary, middle, or high school student in transitioning to virtual learning
While virtual learning environments have many similarities to traditional physical schools, there are also many discrepancies that families themselves can prepare for to ease the K-12 student transition to eLearning.
What’s more, at private online schools like MGM Academy, parents and other guardians of students are referred to as «learning coaches» because they are encouraged to play a proactive role in helping their children succeed in their educational process.
Three online Learning Tips for K-12 elementary students
Elementary students who transition to virtual learning often benefit from more hands-on involvement from their learning coach as they learn more about behavior and how to progress in online school environments.
Here are three skills you can use to get your elementary school child off to a great start:
- make new friends and work well with peers: although students will learn at home, virtual school allows them to interact and interact with their peers. In elementary school, this is usually done through online collaborative games, in-class interactions, or play dates, either remotely or face-to-face.
- Learn to use technology: teach your student to become familiar with computer tools or orient them to specific skills, such as typing or video calling. If possible, practice these skills in the programs the school uses before the first day to ease the start of classes.
Also, consider setting technology rules so your child doesn’t wander off into unsafe places or get distracted when they are supposed to be concentrating on live lessons or school activities.
- Create a routine: An ongoing e-learning routine can help provide structure for students of any age but is especially helpful for younger students who need to figure out how to become familiar with fitting school into their daily lives.
Sit down with your student and their teachers to establish a daily schedule, and create an agenda with primary dates and notes. Place the calendar in a central location where your child can see it, and remember to review the following priorities at the beginning and end of each week.
Online learning tips for high school students
In high school, students go through different stages of development as they gain more independence, discover new interests, and experience changes in their social life and self-image. Help them manage these changes and K-12 Student Transition to eLearning high school with these tips for students:
- Surf the Internet safely and responsibly: as kids get older, they take more risks on the web, so it’s important to remind students of online safety rules and etiquette, as well as talk about the warning signs of cyberbullying. Be alert to signs that your child is being bullied (or bullying other kids), and ensure they know the difference between productive and unproductive screen time.
- Manage school frustration: As students thrive, their school activities become more challenging. It’s normal to sometimes feel tired, bored, or angry during the school day, so help your student become more resilient by identifying each obstacle and dealing with it appropriately each time one arises.
- Take on more responsibility at school: During high school, your child should begin to rely less on you as their learning advisor. Ensure your child feels comfortable asking for help whenever they need it when contacting the teacher would solve the problem.
- Participate in clubs or extracurricular activities: In high school, students develop tastes and interests in new things. While it may be easy to devote time to a single routine, encourage your child to try new things and be outgoing and involved in their locality.Online school students can take advantage of the flexibility of virtual classes to get some volunteer work, try out for local sports teams, and pursue their passions; this can also help K-12 student transition to elearning.
4 Tips to Help High School and K-12 Student Transition to ELearning
Once students reach high school, they must focus on planning for their future and performing successfully in school. Students should be mostly independent, so remind them to concentrate on these priorities and take advantage of all the resources the school has to offer:
- Consider and set goals for the future: it’s time for your child to start sensibly appreciating valuable questions, such as «What will I do after I graduate?» and «What should I study in college?» Both should think about things that will be important after high school, such as SAT scores, resumes, and more.
As an online high school student, your student will have school counselors and other college and career planning resources, so make sure they dynamically avail themselves.
- Find an internship or part-time job: one skill your child needs to develop for life is learning how to get a job offer and interview. Because online school students can schedule lessons during the day and don’t exactly have to work after school, let your child decide when to take shifts and how to make the most of study time.
- Face the challenges of a busy schedule: online high school students have to handle extra privileges and responsibilities and more complicated schoolwork. If your child is up for a new challenge, they could enroll in online advanced placement or honors courses.
But remember that, as an independent learner without continuous supervision, your child needs to be motivated and organized. There are many virtual time management resources for high school students that can provide an example for transitioning to online learning school.
- Start researching different career options: online schools offer students the opportunity to try traditional and non-traditional career options. For example, Career and Technical Education courses are available for students who want to embark on employment opportunities or pursue a college major while still in high school.
And because virtual schools have flexible course schedules, students can pursue job opportunities or internships during business hours. Ultimately, students in online schools have identical needs as those who attend traditional physical schools; there are many ways you, as a learning coach, can help meet them.
With these suggestions for supporting your students at all grade levels, you’ll give them the help they need to make their transition K-12 student transition to eLearning easier and enable them to find their unique fluency.