"Currently, 100% of schools in NJ are closed. Instead of children going to school, they are utilizing online platforms from home where their teachers and students can keep track of assignments digitally." Per an article written in the Star-Ledger Newspaper by journalist Riley Yates named
"As schools in NJ go virtual, these kids are getting left behind." https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/2020/03/none-of-us-were-prepared-for-this-in-low-income-districts-schools-scramble-to-address-technology-divide.html
Educators are faced with the hard decision today of figuring what online tools work for kids. Trenton NJ alone has "12,600 students" homeschooling "amid pandemic." And many are finding an online school learning system isn't as easy as one would think. Our new reality of students, although younger than the students participating in "Social Media and Peer Feedback" research, finds that knowing how to utilize online platforms for elementary as well as high school children necessary.
Per our case study, educators wanted to know how students felt about using online social media resources within their courses. The primary social media utilized in the study were Facebook and Wikileaks. The target population was college-age students that majored in "Arts and Sciences, Fine Arts, Theology, and Health Sciences," for the most part.
The study was named "Social Media and Peer Feedback: What do students think about using Wiki and Facebook as platforms for peer feedback. Published June 10, 2015, Research Articlehttps://doi.org/10.1177/1469787415589530 Study's administration was in the spring semester of 2011-2012.
The study concluded that female college students utilized online platforms more effectively than their male peers. But these are college students, not 7 to 12-year-old children.
Psychology today offers us a piece of calming advice as we look forward to the possibility that children may be homeschooling during Fall 2019 months. Per Bobbi Wegner Psy.D Mar 9, 2020, article "Forget Homeschooling, Add Pleasure, and Help Others How to redefine education anxiety. Family life during COVID 19," Dr. Wagner states, "The reality is that your kids are not going to learn a ton immediately." https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/perfectly-imperfect-parenting/202003/forget-homeschooling-add-pleasure-and-help-others
She suggests that the structure of children gathering for their classes so that they can see their teachers and classmates is essential." She suggests to " redefine education at home: Let your children cook, & do laundry, with you." And at all times, teach your children to "build empathy for people outside your walls" Teaching children to be considerate of others is "educational." She further states that "kids have many years of sitting in a classroom ahead of them." So don't sweat the small stuff.
As adults, we are natural protectors, but we will also have to be "the calm" despite the storm of COVID 19. Empathy towards our kids and others is the goal at hand. What are some of your suggestions when homeschooling your kids?
