When students approach their courses with a resolve to start, respect, appreciate, and actively engage in the content, discussions, and group activities, the distance learning environment may be educationally and personally gratifying. The value of the interaction between students and instructors in online schooling programs has been extensively discussed. The internet peer group’s enormous power is receiving more attention.
Peer learning acknowledges that students are a valuable source of information in addition to teachers and course materials. Students are active learners, not inert receptacles to be filled with knowledge. Being a part of a learning network entails participating in activities that promote reciprocal learning, and absorbing fresh viewpoints. And exchanging experiences to help make sense of the material. In a community of other learners, learning occurs via conversation, reflection, cooperative working, and—most importantly—taking the initiative. And the responsibility to listen, inquire and apply critical thinking.
The IsBerne online school is the International School of Berne, as Online classrooms with asynchronous learning allow students to pause and consider their comments before responding. Students get a lot of knowledge through sharing their views with others and participating in events where they may pick up knowledge from their peers. They learn how to create and coordinate learning activities, collaborate with others, provide and receive feedback, and assess their learning.
The IsBerne online school believes that one of the key tactics for effectively creating an online learning community is taking the initiative to contact students in a digital setting. When we asked many online students to discuss the value of peers in the virtual learning environment and how they went about creating online learning networks and connections, they gave us some insightful responses:
- When I am having trouble in my classes, these interactions support me. Strong ties with my peers are a crucial part of my support system since they can completely relate to my situation.
- I need to establish a few positive ties with my classmates because, as an online learner. And it might be simple to overlook the fellowship that frequently prevails in a traditional classroom. The same online community keeps me motivated and interested in my coursework.
- Talking to someone who has taken the course before can be helpful since they can explain what to anticipate, go through homework, and offer insights.
- Teachers will have to balance many new activities due to the shift to online learning, which can be challenging. Peer-to-peer learning is advantageous in these circumstances since it allows for plenty of peer-to-peer conversation, learning, and even grading.
This strategy has several advantages, including motivating students to take ownership of their work and those of others, improving comprehension of the evaluation criteria, and fostering peer discussion and debate. Peer-to-peer features are available on many online learning systems and are simple to incorporate as activities in online learning. One such technology is Interactive Document, which requires students to work from a single document. And sometimes an academic essay or a related article. Students must join in on conversations that their classmates have begun. And create their own, all of which must be based on the same paper and annotated in the appropriate places. This keeps conversations open-ended but focused.
Some students find it much simpler to type out their ideas than to speak them aloud in front of the entire class. Everyone has the chance to engage, voice their opinion, and learn about other people’s viewpoints. And pick up conversational etiquette in an online discussion forum. Students may ponder about a subject and create their views and opinions whenever it is convenient with this type of learning exercise because they are not under any time constraints to respond to all of your questions.
This student involvement technique may be included in your hybrid teaching.
Utilize technologies that have been deemed secure and trustworthy by your school or by other teachers. Your tool can be a platform (like an LMS with a forum) that enables you to construct an online discussion board; you won’t likely need to discover anything new on your own.
You may also make shared spaces (groups) for your lessons on social media. Create threads and topics related to your class’s topic or your course. If students want to initiate a discussion, encourage them to propose their ideas or themes.
One of the groups most impacted by COVID-19 is educators and kids. We know how challenging it is to adapt to the current state of teaching and learning. But because of technology, we can continue with schooling! Remember that online schooling is the best option to increase your kid’s participation. If you merely ask more of your students, engagement in online learning may occasionally increase. The IsBerne Online School is aware of this. If they are given a challenge, some kids grow more driven. Being a good teacher also entails understanding how to demand effort. Of course, this does not imply we should push them too hard or make them feel depressed. By pushing kids to their limits, we can teach them how to take chances, succeed or fail, and keep trying.
