As we find ways to “flatten the curve” of the COVID-19 outbreak, the disease has posed a host of different questions for our current systems. One of the hardest questions today is: how to provide effective education without students being able to come to schools?
Is Closing Down Schools Necessary?
A school environment is suited perfectly for the spread of the coronavirus pathogens. Numerous students are packed into a single class, where maintaining a minimal distance of six feet between people is almost impossible. Plus, they change classrooms and form different groups when going for different classes. To top it all off, they are seated side by side in large groups when having lunch too.
Not just students, but teachers, administrators, janitors and cafeteria staff are all at risk when schools stay open. Although some might argue that children are not at high risk against the current coronavirus strain, they can contract it and be carriers of the disease. Closing schools is one of the best ways to slow down the spread. There also is plenty of evidence from past cases to support this action.
Researchers found that closing schools in the middle of the 1918 Spanish Flu outbreak helped reduce peak attack rates by 40% and lowered total cases by 15%. Another study, on the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, found that the attack rate could be lowered by almost 25%, while the rate of new cases could be cut by 50% by closing schools. Even the CDC has recommended that schools remain closed until the community spread can be contained.
MagicBox™ vs COVID-19
As schools close down, educational institutions and students are increasingly turning to learning with the help of robust digital learning platforms, like MagicBoxTM. The powerful platform provides all the tools necessary to provide engaging learning experienced in a virtual classroom. Some of the ways in which MagicBoxTM can help provide learning during the current outbreak are:
1. Mobile Learning
During times when social distancing is the need of the hour, MagicBoxTM allows education to be delivered and received at any place at all times. Whether students are at home or stuck at the airport or even quarantined, all they need is a laptop or smartphone and they can access lessons. The availability of an offline eReader means that they don’t even need to search for internet connectivity.
Teachers and students can hold live sessions together, creating their own virtual classroom. MagicBoxTM offers other features as well, such as screen sharing, which makes remote learning seamless.
2. Remote Assessments
A major challenge when it comes to remote learning is grading and assessments. But even this is taken care of with the help of MagicBoxTM. The platform allows teachers to complete grading remotely and provide detailed and personalized assessments for students. Since these assessments are personalized, they help students identify their strengths and weaknesses, so that they know where they need to improve. These assessments also help teachers offer personalized support, as and when required.
3. Higher Engagement
Studying in isolation can become boring at times. But with MagicBoxTM, learning becomes more than just going through page after page of text. The learning platform allows publishers and educational institutions to easily integrate audio, video, infographics and even gaming elements into the learning content.
These features not only make learning more interesting, but also much easier. Large sections of information can make students lose interest in learning. But with the help of interactive and gaming elements, information can be provided in the form of small digestible chunks. In fact, studies have found that for 67% of the students, courses with gaming elements are more motivating.
4. Accessible Learning
The use of MagicBoxTM also ensures that no student is left behind. The learning platform offers a plethora of features that make online learning much more accessible for those with disabilities. The interactive and gaming elements have been found to be greatly beneficial for those suffering from dyslexia and ADHD.
For the visually impaired students, text to speech features are available. The captioning and subtitles features ensure that hearing impaired students can access learning too.
5. Advanced Analytics
MagicBoxTM also provides publishers and educational institutions robust, customizable analytics about learning and content consumption patterns. This can help them fine tune the content for maximum engagement and efficiency for distance learning.
Ed Tech has come to the rescue of all participants in the educational sector during these testing times. If you too are looking for ways to provide seamless remote learning opportunities to your students, get in touch with us today!
