The past few decades have seen technology turn our lives into something that would have been unrecognizable to previous generations – with the Internet and smartphones leading the revolution. However, walk into a typical classroom in almost any country and you’ll see a scene that looks a lot like it did in our childhood or even fifty or a hundred years ago. The chalkboard being replaced by a whiteboard is probably the main visible difference.
The past few months, as most of the world’s students engage in remote learning, as a result of the spread of Covid-19, has put the process of remote learning into overdrive.
The World Economic Forum, in an article titled “The COVID-19 pandemic has changed education forever. This is how” cited research on the surge in online learning, adding to a trend that was already growing, with the online education market forecasted to reach $350B by 20205.
To the question ‘Is online learning effective?’ the research cited in the article has a clear answer: YES. Research shows that, on average, students retain 25-60% more material when learning online compared to only 8-10% in a classroom. This is especially true when learning is made fun, with the integration of clever games making students “fall in love with learning.”
Online educational platforms that were ready for this moment saw usage increase dramatically. At CodeMonkey we saw student engagement increase by 200% in March and April in comparison to previous months. Teacher engagement rose by 230% and time on site by almost 300%.
Educators, parents and kids have begun to wonder what the day after will look like. Will students go back to classroom learning? And do we want them to?
The answer is mixed. Physical presence at school clearly has its advantages, including socialization. But, as many have seen, remote learning also offers significant benefits for many students. A recent New York Times article pointed out benefits for students at opposite ends of the spectrum – both those who struggle in class, but now have the opportunity to learn without the usual classroom disruptions, and “high-achieving self-starters” who are no longer held back by the teacher’s having to keep the whole class moving at the same pace. The article concluded that “enough students are benefiting from this crash course in remote learning that parents and educators are wondering if, when buildings reopen, there are aspects that can be continued for these students, as well as lessons that can apply to everyone else.”
“The solution probably lies in a combination of the two,” says Boaz Zaionce, COO and VP Marketing at CodeMonkey. “Ideally educators will look for ways to combine classroom and remote learning to give students the best of both worlds, and to let students with different needs learn a little differently.”
The CodeMonkey platform has been developed with the flexibility to function well in a combined world. A teacher can use the platform’s detailed lesson plans in a classroom setting, but then the students can progress at their own pace, both in class and at home, with the game itself giving them corrections, feedback and encouragement to move forward. Teachers have visibility into each student’s progress through the teacher’s dashboard and can then provide feedback.
“We’ve believed for a long time in creating content that has the ability to ‘flow’ back and forth between classroom and remote learning,” concludes Zaionce. “I’m confident that when we go back to school after Covid-19 there will be a ‘new normal’, that will try to combine the best of both worlds, and CodeMonkey is perfectly positioned to provide a platform for the effective learning of coding in this scenario.”
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.
