Online Schooling & Limited Social Interactions

Hello there. In this education post, I talk about limited social interactions due to online schooling. Many schools are adopting online learning for social distance measures and being risk averse from the coronavirus. Students can still see each other online but can no longer eat lunches side by side, share stories, play card games during school break.

This topic is motivated by a student I worked with in my online Mathnasium work. This student does not like online learning as she finds it a bit isolating. She is away from her friends and some of the students in her online classes are from other schools within her region.

Limited Social Aspects In School

One of the most exciting parts of school for young people is seeing friends regularly. With schooling done mostly online, social distancing policies and limited capacity policies, the social aspects of school and life have been limited. The fun has been sucked out of the students. For some personality types, being at home and not seeing people is not very fun. School would feel more like work. From an enjoyment perspective this is not good for young students but from a workplace and career perspective this can be good practice for adult working years.

Online Schools Can Include Collaborative Work

Even though students and teachers cannot meet face to face in three dimensions, there can be still be ways for some social interaction between the students and teachers.

Online Presentations

As long as information can be shared, presentations are possible. Instead of doing a presentation if front of the classmates it would be in front of a webcam with the classmates watching. There are opportunities to show nice graphs, charts, websites for demos and videos while presenting.

Online Group Work

School assignments and tasks can still be done in groups online. Scheduling a time for people to meet online is not much different versus scheduling a time to meet in person. Some obstacles when it comes to online group work include internet connectivity issues, understanding online tools, monitoring work progress and effective online communication. As workplaces are adopting an online work environment, students have chances to practice working online in a low-risk setting where money is not involved.