How’s your learning from home going so far?
Learning from home has been essential in today’s globalized world. Learning from home can come with unique challenges depending on your preferred learning style, technology, home environment, and need for interpersonal connection. Even with its challenges, learning from home offers unique opportunities to develop healthy boundaries between your personal and professional lives, build a sense of culture between classmates and colleagues, and maintain a growth mindset.
Fortunately, today’s internet, and education allows an opportunity to gain new skills through learning virtually. The new normal of virtual education is here. And dealing with the new normal will take some adjustments.
What was it like for learning from home, and how did it affect the wellbeing of learners during the educational response in pandemic? The Learning Community has an extensive wellbeing framework that encompasses all stakeholders students, teachers, support staff, leaders, parents and families. We get to hear student and teacher insights and suggestions about their experiences with ‘learning from home’ and how they believe we can adapt and change to make sure learning is more impactful in an altered learning environment. We also talk about nurturing a community in the times of abrupt change and challenge and the ways we can create a culture that will help everyone thrive.
How can you make a good learning space?
The first step to learning at home is creating the perfect studying environment, where you won’t be interrupted. Secondly, try to keep your study space clean which helps you to get into a focused mindset. Without having anyone else for distraction can really get into the focus mindset and concentrate for longer periods of time, especially during online sessions.
Here are the few quick tips for staying focused when learning from home will help you get in the right mindset;
- Follow a Routine:
Managing an effective timeline is one of the most useful skills that you can learn. This is a lifelong skill that will benefit you in many ways. Following your normal routine will help you get into a work ready mindset. You should plan how much time you want to spend studying a specific subject every day and set yourself realistic deadlines.
When learning from home it is important to identify a timetable where you can focus and get things done. However, it is important to identify and follow your routine that can be yours and that you associate with productivity.
- Take Notes:
When learning from home it’s important to take notes. Taking your notes is very useful for reviewing your notes daily and learning in smaller chunks will help you stay organised and will lead to better knowledge retention. This will definitely lead to achieving better academic results. Taking notes does not have to be very stressful and time-consuming all the time. It is all about taking a different approach and finding what works for you.
- Take a Break:
It is important to choose the right type of activity for your study break because your brain can only take a certain amount of information at a time. If you do not take regular breaks, you will most likely find it difficult to memorise information and you will end up feeling stressed and frustrated. For every hour that you learn, you should take at least a few minute break to do something that takes your mind away from studying. Also, stay flexible about the conditions around you and open to change.
- Communication:
Effective communication is necessary in online learning. Virtual communication is the same as that of face-to-face communication- building links; sharing information; be heard and be understood. Communication is an essential strategy in online learning which can improve student outcomes and satisfaction. When and how you communicate with your learners helps foster a sense of community in live interaction classes, which helps them feel connected to you and their colleagues.
Participate in online discussion groups set up for your class. Making a connection with each other lets you know who to reach out to when you have questions. This also shows that you care about your academic performance which can eventually lead to improved grades.
- Eliminate Distractions:
Learning online can present a few challenges for students, and learners mainly due to how distracting our home lives can be sometimes when we are trying to study. If you are finding it difficult to focus while learning from home, it’s important to make a list of the things that distract your environment. Then, find ways to limit them during learning time which will help us to stay focused on the work.
The easiest and most obvious way we can help to focus our attention is by reducing the amount of distractions in the environment.
Online learning will help you get to the core of the problem and find the right solution for you. Positive reinforcement is a great tool for staying motivated. Staying motivated can be challenging. You should create a daily routine based on your timetable. Making a to-do list to help you complete and turn in work on time. And if you utilize these tips, you will be maximizing your learning potential.