“If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow,” said John Dewey, the American philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer. Remote learning has become ubiquitous, and students are now expected to have a range of technologies that help them with their studies. Here are five of the essential tech tools for all remote learning students.
1. Reliable Video Conferencing Software
Today, the most critical piece of technology for home education is video conferencing software, which allows students to join live classes, engage in group discussions and chat with their teachers. The most popular tools are Zoom and Google Meet, which offer various interactive features that duplicate in-classroom experiences for teachers and students, including breakout rooms, screen sharing, and live messaging chats.
Besides having a good setup with tech tools enabling you to join your online class, staying focused and taking the academic workload piece by piece is extremely important. If a student is a novice user of several digital tools affiliated with a course, following and balancing several assignments becomes a challenge. Often, learners ask a troubling question: “Who can do my homework for me?” as their workload becomes too much to handle. Students can benefit from professional writing services to relieve academic pressure. Therefore, they can focus more on learning these tech tools associated with learning and utilizing their potential to improve the quality and quantity of learning they acquire within these sessions/classes.
2. Comprehensive Learning Management Systems (LMS)
A Learning Management System (LMS) is a computer program used for delivering, tracking and administering coursework and training, allowing learning and administrative tasks to be conducted online. Canvas and Moodle are perfect Learning Management Systems (LMS) and do a great job consolidating and putting in a central hub course materials, assignment tracking, messages from faculty, etc. At the individual level, a learning management system’s (LMS) primary function is to bring structure to students such that they follow their courses week to week, access all the readings, submit all the assignments on time and be able to communicate with their faculty. In short, everything a student could ever need to be successful in a course is consolidated into one place.
3. Digital Note-Taking Apps
As the Online Education market is projected to reach $185.20 billion in 2024, the demand for efficient digital tools like note-taking apps becomes increasingly crucial. Different types of note-taking apps, such as Evernote or Microsoft OneNote, are essential for learners, as they need to be well-organized when saving their study notes in different formats. These apps have features like cloud syncing, multimedia support, and essential data in a searchable database. Students can access their saved notes successfully through any device and anywhere.
4. Task Management Tools
To remain organized during remote learning, look into task-management tools such as Trello or Asana. A Trello board is a visual to-do list and workflow that can be adapted for almost every assignment, homework, deadline or project. Boards can even be shared with classmates and coding staff for group projects. You can easily break down tasks into small pieces and set reminders for due dates and times you plan to work on them.
5. E-Book and Resource Libraries
Digital resources are vital for remote learning, offering several crucial benefits:
- Instant access: you can immediately pull up Google Books or the Kindle app and access your textbooks or literature.
- Space efficiency: if you choose digital formats, you no longer have to figure out where to store all your study materials.
- Institutional Support: The school’s digital library helps you download thousands of free scholarly articles and necessary materials.
- Convenience: These tools allow you to access all of your materials for one class at once, carry them wherever you need to be, and use them for as long as a single battery charge lasts.
This approach provides students with a complete “toolkit” of learning materials, all just a tap away. This makes learning easy and pleasurable, as these are made available within their smartphones – where users spend most of their time.
