From flexible hours to learning in your sweatpants, many Americans have seen the perks of remote learning and homeschooling over the last two years. Whether you now consider yourself a pro or are just getting started and need remote teaching tips, there’s no time like the present to make sure everyone learning from home can finish the school year at the top of the class.
The digital experts at GetWindstream have compiled a list of tips to help students and teachers ace the school year. Check them out below before you hit the books!
1. Evaluate Your Internet Plan
A solid internet connection is the cornerstone of success for remote learning or homeschooling. If you often find yourself waiting on long upload and download times, watching a buffering screen, or listening to choppy audio, your internet plan could be at fault. Here are some features to look for in an internet plan that is suitable for home education:
- High-speed internet, ideally 400 Mbps speed or higher
- Symmetrical upload and download speeds
- No data cap or overage fees on data
- A fiber network (where available)
2. Blend Notetaking Approaches
One great opportunity with remote education is the ability to learn how to take notes at home in a way that works for each unique student. While some students perform better with handwritten notes and others thrive with digital note taking, 40% of students prefer a combination. If you’ve only ever taken handwritten or digital notes, try combining them to see how well you retain information—you may be pleasantly surprised!
3. Create a Space Exclusively for School
It’s important to have a balance between work and rest in your home, and the waters can get muddied if you don’t have a workstation that’s only used for educational purposes. Whether you use a home office or a corner of your bedroom, create boundaries between your relaxation and work zones. Further separate your work zone with noise-canceling headphones to eliminate distractions.
4. Update Your Technology
An old computer or outdated modem might work for casual browsing online, but remote learning and homeschooling require tech that can keep you connected during school hours. If you find that your high-speed internet plan doesn’t feel very speedy, check the ages of your router, modem, computer, and any accessories like HDMI cables and Wi-Fi extenders. An upgrade or two may be all you need to stay focused and improve your grades while at home.
5. Test Out Time Blocking
Time blocking is a method where a person creates a detailed schedule of tasks to complete in a day. For example, for one hour you may work on statistics homework, then read for 30 minutes, and then take a 10-minute break before moving to other tasks. If you struggle to focus at home or feel overwhelmed by the workload, this technique can help you re-focus and prioritize the work that’s most important in a way that feels less daunting.
Extra Tips for Teachers
Homeschool and distance teachers alike can use the tips above to improve their home education setup, but we also have a few bonus tips specifically for educators:
- Pick your favorite elements from your classroom and apply them to your home workspace. If you would use charts and diagrams on the walls of your classroom, you can easily turn those into a Zoom background while you teach different topics.
- Review the settings on your video conferencing app. Often, you can reduce background noise, optimize screen recordings, and create customized shortcuts for your go-to controls while teaching.
- Don’t forget to celebrate your wins—teaching at home can be a challenge, and you deserve to be recognized for your hard work!
If you’ve been frantically searching for remote teaching tips or are looking to improve your homeschooling strategy, we hope this guide will help you on your path to success.