Distance learning opportunities are a godsend for many students and their families, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t remote learning challenges to overcome. This article addresses three of the greatest challenges of distance learning for students and their parents and tips to overcome them.
Overcoming Challenges of K-12 Learning Online
There are many benefits to distance learning. Students engaging in K-12 learning online enjoy the comfort, flexibility, and opportunities for mobility that learning and studying at home offers them. But that doesn’t mean students attending a virtual school don’t face challenges. The following are the top three challenges students pursuing an online education face and how to overcome them.
1.Staying Motivated
It can be hard to stay motivated when attending classes online. Without a teacher and other students in close proximity, it’s all too easy to zone out, lose concentration, and fall behind on deadlines. Procrastination often rears its head, and once you start putting things off, it becomes harder and harder to get motivated to catch up.
If you find that motivation is starting to wane, try these tips to stay on track:
- Look for ways to increase your interaction with your teachers and fellow students. During live sessions, raise your hand more to ask questions and offer your own insights.
- Set a schedule to meet short and long-term goals. Divide work into chunks with mini-deadlines, and reward yourself when you reach self-imposed milestones.
- Look into any resources offered by your school to help conquer procrastination and foster motivation. These could take the form of websites and self-help materials.
2.Conquering Distractions
It’s almost impossible not to get distracted when you’re attending classes online. There are going to be external distractions — like parents or siblings in the house, pets seeking attention, noise from outside — that draw your attention away from learning. And then there are the distractions of having access to your phone, games, music, and videos – unlike a traditional classroom situation, where there are restrictions on who is in your immediate vicinity and what outside resources you can access.
You can eliminate distractions in the following ways.
- Create your own mini-classroom at home. Set up a desk and a chair in a quiet space in your home. Set a rule with your family that no one is allowed to enter your schoolroom space while you are attending school. Ask everyone to refrain from making noise when they are near your school space.
- Put your phone on do not disturb mode and set it aside during school hours.
- Take a more active role in learning. Use techniques like taking detailed notes during class to stay engaged in what the teacher is saying.
- When working on your own, commit to staying focused on work for a set period of time and use a timer to keep track.
3.Overcoming Technical Issues
Pursuing an online education requires a certain level of technical knowledge and aptitude. But even if you have all the tech-savvy needed to be a stellar online student, none of that is going to matter if you lack the hardware, software, and internet speed required to thrive in a virtual school environment.
Follow these tips to help eliminate technical impediments to learning online:
- Set yourself up for success from the outset. Make sure you understand and comply with the school’s technical requirements before classes begin. And if you don’t have the right equipment or internet service, talk to someone at the school about how to acquire what you need well before the school year begins.
- Take any recommended software use tutorials prior to the beginning of classes. Whether you are the most tech-savvy person in the world or not, using new systems and learning new processes is going to take time.
- Know in advance who you need to call if you experience issues.
PA Distance Learning Sets Students Up for Success
At PA Distance Learning Charter School, we understand that cyber school learning comes with some unique challenges. That’s why we work hard to make sure every child who attends our home-based school receives a personalized first-class education.
To learn more about PA Distance Learning’s blend of teacher-led live learning and supportive activities, contact us today. Ready to enroll? Begin with this form or by calling our enrollment team at 1-888-997-3352.