As technology continues to become a central part of our lives, education specialists have started studying its correlation with schooling. The conventional schooling model is known for having very little reliance on technology.
Teachers deliver lessons using whiteboards/blackboards. In some cases, laptops and screen projectors are required for PowerPoint presentations, videos, and group exercises. However, that’s the extent of technology incorporation. For the most part, teachers rely on conventional means to deliver lessons.
While the conventional schooling approach was believed to be the ideal model, there have been many reconsiderations lately. Education specialists propose that incorporating technology into the schooling system makes it more effective and robust. How? And what are the benefits of doing so?
In this blog, we’ll dig deeper. We’ll also look at how we incorporate technology into our classes at Cambridge Home School Online. Continue reading, take notes, and feel free to ask any questions you may have towards the end of the blog. Let’s get started.
Key Takeaways
| Key Aspect | Takeaway from CHS Online |
|---|---|
| Engagement Through Technology | Utilising cutting-edge software and audio-visual tech in lessons enhances engagement, catering to the modern student’s attention span. |
| Class Interactivity | Small class sizes and quality tech in online classrooms improve interactions between teachers and students, promoting active participation. |
| Parental Oversight | Online platforms provide parents with real-time updates on student progress, offering transparency and peace of mind. |
| School-Play Balance | Efficient use of technology streamlines lesson time, preserving students’ energy for after-school activities and personal growth. |
| Personalised Learning | A rich online repository of tailored educational resources caters to individual learning styles, enabling personalised education paths. |
| Academic Excellence | Combining tech with an independent curriculum ensures in-depth subject coverage, resulting in notable exam success and university offers. |
| Flexibility for Parents | The online system allows parents the flexibility to monitor their child’s education without interrupting work or chores, easing the balance between supervision and independence. |
| Supportive Resources | An extensive library of academic materials supports personalised learning, allowing students to explore subjects at their own pace. |
| Comprehensive Curriculum | CHS Online’s curriculum covers a broader educational spectrum, providing a nuanced understanding for students. |
| Access to Expert Teachers | Direct access to MA/MSc/PhD qualified subject specialist teachers ensures high-quality education for each student. |
| Transparent Homeschooling | Parents have full insight into the learning process, with hourly updates on coursework and student performance. |
| Tailored Academic Support | The online platform’s resources are aligned with students’ unique learning personalities, fostering effective and nuanced learning experiences. |
| Globally Accessible Education | CHS Online offers a British online education that’s accessible worldwide, ensuring quality education regardless of location. |
1. Higher Levels of Engagement
The most common way to incorporate technology into schooling is by switching to the online learning model. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, online learning has popularised immensely across the globe, especially in the UK.
Parents are increasingly switching from the conventional schooling model to the online classes for secondary education learning approach. Why? Online school offers greater safety. Students can achieve a quality education from home, which reduces the risk of virus contraction, bullying, peer pressure, and harassment. Additionally, online classes are more engaging precisely because they incorporate technology to a high degree.
At Cambridge Home School Online, we use a cutting-edge online learning software system to deliver engaging, stimulating, and retentive lessons. Additionally, we use advanced audio-visual technology to make each lesson more fun and exciting for students, especially younger pupils.
In 2022, the average student’s attention span is roughly 10 to 15 minutes. The younger the child, the lower the attention span. For instance, a 7-year-old student is more likely to get distracted within 5-6 minutes, while a 15-year-old student may remain engrossed in their lesson for up to 10 minutes or longer.
These numbers are subjective, but they give us an idea of how long it takes before students begin to get fidgety and lose interest in their classes. Technology helps increase engagement levels. Students pay greater attention to things that activate as many senses as possible.
If an 11-year-old student is presented with a 2000-word-long piece to read, a visually appealing infographic, and a video, they’re more likely to reach for it. Why? Because it activates two of their senses: sight and hearing. The infographic would only activate one sense: sight. The reading would activate the same sense but to a lower degree since it only comprises text, not images/visuals.
Why are 3D and 4D experiences so popular? Because they stimulate more senses, making the experience more enjoyable for people. Understanding this logic is extremely important as students are prone to easily zoning out, especially younger pupils. If their classes aren’t engaging and stimulating, they easily lose the gist of the lesson and fixate on something else.
By incorporating audio-visual technology into our online lessons, we help make the learning process more enjoyable for students. The more they enjoy it, the better. They pay closer attention and absorb more knowledge, which is the ultimate goal. High levels of knowledge absorption and retention result in excellent learning outcomes. Students learn better, sit their exams with confidence and clarity, and secure top grades.
Technology helps students achieve excellent academic success. However, it must be incorporated into lessons in moderation. The schooling experience cannot, at any point, turn into an entertainment fest. Yes, the classes should be as engaging as possible, so students develop a genuine interest in their lessons. However, there should be a razor-sharp focus on covering every facet of the homeschooling curriculum closely and comprehensively.
At Cambridge Home School Online, we don’t lose sight of this. Our teachers use an independent curriculum to cover greater educational breadth and depth. As a result, our students develop an academic edge. We offer greater detail across a wider range of topics and subtopics than the national curriculum. Our students develop a nuanced understanding of every topic due to our comprehensive approach.
This approach has helped our students perform exceptionally well in their examinations. In June 2021, 86% of our IGCSE students secured A*s and As in their target subjects. 83% of our A Level students secured two As and a B or higher, as requested by top universities. Moreover, all students who applied received offers from some of the best universities globally. By equipping students with technology-backed academic resources and tools, we help them excel.
2. Greater Class Interactivity
The online schooling model makes use of technology to help increase class interactivity. How? At Cambridge Home School Online, we keep our student-teacher ratio as low as possible. Between 8 and 10 pupils are taught in a single classroom. We don’t exceed this number under any circumstances.
This approach is very intentional. We want to ensure that 8–10 students and our MA/MSc/PhD qualified subject specialist teachers can have frequent and quality interactions. We use a high-quality cloud-based video conferencing system to ensure that every student can listen to their teachers and peers with impeccable clarity. Moreover, students can raise their hands and ask questions at any point, which further increases class interactivity.
Since there aren’t too many students in the classroom, the risk of crowding is eliminated. This is the case in most conventional classrooms. In some cases, as many as 25 or even 30 students are taught in a single classroom. This affects the overall engagement and interactivity levels of the class.
Technology and class size reduction collectively help elevate these levels and optimise the learning experience for every student and the classroom as a whole. At Cambridge Home School Online, we plan a range of technology-assisted activities to further improve the learning experience for students. By incorporating tech into each class, we ensure that students don’t get distracted and remain focused during the entirety of their lesson.
3. Parental Ease
As a parent, you should focus on ensuring that your child receives a quality education. However, you should also take special care to determine whether your child is actually learning well in school or not.
At CHS Online, we often highlight the importance of consistent learning. Children who don’t benefit from this approach struggle to secure good grades and progress well from one academic stage to another. If your child attends conventional school, you’ll struggle to track their performance.
Once technology is incorporated into the schooling system, parents become more aware of how their child is doing in school. As part of our online software system, we provide parents with 24/7 access to their children’s coursework. You can track your child’s performance at any point. Our systems are updated every hour, which means that parents receive the most recent updates.
A technology-driven schooling approach helps parents heave a big sigh of relief. Since our systems are supported by technology, we also don’t require parents to continually intervene between classes. When making the switch to online schooling, many parents worry that they’ll be required to check in on their children throughout their online classes.
This can be tricky for working parents. If you’re handling an important project or running errands, checking up on your child can become difficult and almost impossible. Incorporating technology into our lessons ensures that parents don’t have to worry about this. Our teachers and tech-smart system work simultaneously.
For starters, our teachers moderate each class exceptionally well. As stated earlier, our classrooms only comprise 8–10 students. As a result, our teachers can easily track each student’s activity. If a student gets distracted and zones out, our teachers will assiduously and promptly help them get back on track.
Our technological incorporation also makes this extremely easy. As highlighted earlier, our systems are very efficient. Our teachers are provided with live alerts throughout the lesson. If a student needs help, they don’t just have to raise their hand. Instead, they can also alert our teachers using the in-software features available to them.
Collectively, these features help make the learning process more seamless our both our students and teachers. Parents don’t have to worry about being absent during their children’s online classes.
Our teachers and tech-savvy systems expertly take the reins, so you can rest assured that your child will have a great learning experience in your absence. While you will not be required during the sessions, you can oversee your child’s activity if you prefer. Many stay-at-home parents enjoy doing this.
It’s ultimately your call; we leave this choice up to you. However, you don’t have to feel pressured into staying; rest assured that we have everything under control. This flexibility goes a long way in helping parents resume work and chores with ease.
While you will not be required during your child’s live classes, we recommend helping your child with homework and revision once their classes conclude for the day. Parents should play an active role in their child’s academic growth and development. Following your child’s online lessons, discuss their learning for the day and plan related activities to strengthen their academic base. This is an excellent way to further cement what they’ve learned.
Students who are provided with qualified teachers and attentive parents perform exceptionally well in school. Their teachers offer a world-class online schooling experience during school hours. This is followed by one-on-one parental help. Collectively, these two approaches help students become well-rounded, capable, and creative learners. Technology further improves the experience.
4. The Right School-Play Balance
In most conventional schools, students shuffle in and out of classrooms, attend protracted lessons, and return home feeling worn out. Following school hours, students should ideally play sports, socialise with their friends, explore their hobbies and interests, and develop new skills. This process is disrupted as students simply don’t have the energy to partake in these activities.
The learning process ends a lot sooner than it should. As a result, the school-play balance is thrown off. Students are overworked, which prevents them from achieving optimal personal and social growth. Over time, they may become burned out. This, in turn, affects their academic performance.
Technology helps make communication faster, easier, and significantly more effective. When technology is incorporated into the education model, it improves overall communication efficiency.
Students and teachers collaborate and communicate more effectively and seamlessly. This helps cut down on unnecessary hours. Students don’t have to attend online classes for hours. Well-structured and well-delivered, online classes start on time, end on time, and have a defined duration. Technology plays a big role in sustaining the learning process and helping students retain their energy levels throughout the day.
5. Personalised Learning
At Cambridge Home School Online, we offer our students access to a vast online library of educational resources. These include previous catch-up lessons, videos, study guides, PowerPoint presentations, activities, worksheets, past papers, and a range of other tools and resources.
Students can utilise our online repository when they’re completing their homework or revising for the day. Introducing technology into the learning model ensures that every student has a personalised learning experience.
We strongly believe that every student has a unique learning personality. They learn at a unique pace and have different learning strengths and weaknesses. Identifying, understanding, and assessing these patterns is extremely important.
Using these insights, our teachers have put together a comprehensive repository that doubles down on academic growth and skill-building. We also offer videos on soft skills like time management, memory improvement, etc. Each student’s learning personality is carefully analysed, and relevant resources are added to the online library.
Our teachers carefully redirect students to resources that can benefit them. This approach plays a big role in helping our students have a personalised learning experience. They don’t develop generic insights. Instead, they have a more nuanced, hyper-specific, and effective online schooling experience.
At Cambridge Home School Online, we provide a quality British school online education to students across four homeschooling programs: Primary Prep/Key Stage 2 (ages 7 to 10), Lower School/Key Stage 3 (ages 11 to 13), Upper School/IGCSEs (ages 14 to 16), and Sixth Form/AS & A-Levels (ages 17 to 19).
As one of the best online schools globally, we’re committed to helping our students excel. If you want to make the switch to online learning for your children, please explore the following resources:
- Homeschooling Process
- Term Dates
- Application Form
- Scholarships & Bursaries
- Grades & Fees
- Online Reviews
- Homeschooling Curriculum
We’re excited to have you on board! If you have any questions, please feel free to speak with our chatbot. We’re happy to answer any questions you may have.
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FAQ
How does technology enhance student engagement in online learning?
Incorporating technology in online education, such as audio-visual aids, can significantly boost student engagement by stimulating multiple senses, making the learning process more enjoyable and retentive, which leads to better academic outcomes.
What are the benefits of a lower student-teacher ratio in online schools?
A lower student-teacher ratio ensures more personalised attention for each student, allowing for higher quality interactions and a better learning experience. It also facilitates more active participation and interactivity in the classroom.
How does online homeschooling provide transparency for parents?
Online homeschooling platforms equipped with technology enable parents to have real-time access to their child’s progress and coursework, ensuring transparency and allowing them to track academic performance without needing to be physically present during lessons.
Why is maintaining a school-play balance important, and how does technology contribute?
A balanced school-play schedule is essential for personal and social growth. Technology in online schooling helps streamline communication and lesson delivery, allowing students to retain energy for after-school activities and preventing burnout.
Can technology in online schools offer a personalised learning experience?
Yes, technology enables online schools to create a repository of diverse educational resources, ensuring that each student can access tailored content that aligns with their individual learning styles, strengths, and needs.
