Remote Learning Isn’t Going Anywhere. Let’s Make It the Best It Can Be

The global Coronavirus crisis is going to leave the world a different place than it was only months ago. The health, personal and economic pain this epidemic has caused will have far-reaching impact for years to come.  But on the other hand, there are also positive lessons that we are learning from this unique global experience.  Many companies are realizing that flying their employees across the country or the world is not always necessary to conduct business, and often zoom will suffice.  Many companies are already planning to incorporate more working from home options for employees, even after it is not necessary to do so to avoid infection.  Hopefully one of the beneficiaries of this new normal will be the environment, and another a better home-work balance for many people.

Another group that can benefit greatly from the lessons we are learning today are students. Remote learning will likely not simply disappear on September 1^st.  On the practical level, we will probably, unfortunately, face waves of infection that will make school attendance a delicate back and forth dance through 2020 and perhaps even 2021.

On the upside, many students are discovering the value of remote learning in an accelerated way during this epidemic.  Eighth grader Veronique Mintz laid out a very convincing argument for remote learning in an op-ed this week  in the New York Times titled “Why I’m Learning More With Distance Learning Than I Do in School.”  The simple fact that students like Veronique now learn without classroom disruptions is a major improvement.

Urgency to deliver personalized online learning has ramped up due to Coronavirus, but it also should have been explored prior to the pandemic. This kind of virtual education includes on-demand math support, increasingly adopted on mobile such as the Yup Math Tutoring App. Yup has been developing its distance learning approach since 2016

One of the barriers to effective remote learning is the varying ability of teachers to make use of online tools and platforms effectively.

“This challenge was clear to us from the very beginning,” explains Jonathan Schor, CEO and Co-Founder at CodeMonkey. “One of our goals was to make it possible even for teachers with a very limited background in coding – even none at all – to teach coding through the platform.” 

CodeMonkey’s programs for school settings come with detailed lesson plans and teacher guides, one of the things that make our platform so unique.

Demand for CodeMonkey has spiked in the past few months, as educators and parents look for effective online learning platforms.  We’ve received thousands of requests from teachers and schools in the US alone who requested access to the platform.

And we’ve stepped up to the challenge.  In the framework of a global UNESCO initiative we are offering our full curriculum for free (with registration- at this link) for all schools that are closed due to COVID-19. The program options are varied and include tailored options for pre-k through 8^th grade, in block-based coding, Python, game creation courses and more.

We have also been providing both teacher-geared and student-geared webinars on a variety of topics, in order to help teachers and students get the most out of the platform.

In addition, CodeMonkey is giving out free access to all the courses on our “Hour of Code” program, which include teacher notes and do not require registration.  These programs also over pre-k through 8^th grade options, with content ranging from block-based coding, Coffeescript and Python.

On the home front, CodeMonkey is experiencing growth of over 300% in paid home subscriptions, so parents who are looking for an effective (and fun!) coding learning platform for their kids are clearly finding us.

Remote learning was on the rise before Coronavirus, and the epidemic has put it into overdrive. The impact of it will be with us for years to come, and hopefully will change learning for the better.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Mickey Singer is a Entrepreneur and marketing professional, with rich experience in marketing, branding, advertising, business development and sales. Background working in sectors including: cybersecurity, publishing, non-profit, hi-tech, cleantech (water and energy), agritech, braintech, Edu-Tech, publishing and film/TV. The texts she writes are always informative, based on qualitative research but nevertheless pleasant to read.