Advantages Of Virtual Learning For Kids And How To Improve Results

Virtual learning, whether a homeschooling family chooses it or an unexpected circumstance such as the COVID-19 pandemic requires it, may seem daunting. At times, parents can struggle to recognize virtual learning benefits, but they do exist. By recognizing these benefits, parents can make their kids’ virtual learning experience more educational and enjoyable. ​

Virtual Learning Meaning

Virtual learning is known by many names including online learning, remote learning, distance learning, and digital learning. At its core, it’s using technology as a tool to connect educators with students instead of using a building where they physically connect. This type of learning has been available for decades, particularly at the college level, but it's become an increasingly popular option for parents who want their K-12 children to learn at home. 

Even traditional homeschoolers sometimes choose to do a hybrid model of in-person instruction and virtual learning. Recently, parents who never expected to have their children learn remotely have found themselves grappling with their students learning at home because of the pandemic.

​In the fall of 2020, it’s estimated that between 40% and 60% of US school districts went to full remote learning, according to NPR. Some other districts opted for a model where students stayed home some days and attended school in person on other days.

Regardless of why children are learning from home, there are bound to be virtual learning pros and cons. Focusing on the virtual learning benefits can be key in improving results of online schooling.

Virtual Learning Vs. Traditional Learning

Parents who are accustomed to sending their children to a school building for their education may wonder, “How does virtual learning work?” Virtual learning works by connecting educators with students through technology, usually a laptop or computer.

​At a set time, students log into their virtual classroom where their teacher engages the whole class with lessons, discussions, and activities. Students can interact with teachers and other students through text chats or by using a microphone on their device to speak audibly. 

Traditional learning, of course, takes place in a school classroom with teachers and students face to face. Students are all together, and they interact with the teacher and each other in person. Teachers can lecture the entire class at once, or they can work with small groups or individual students. While it may seem this is a better model than virtual learning, by embracing the edge that remote learning has in certain areas, a student’s experience can be enhanced.

Advantages of Virtual Learning

Of course there are both virtual learning advantages and disadvantages, but recognizing and embracing the advantages may counterbalance what some see as disadvantages. What are some of the benefits of the virtual learning experience? 

• Students have experiences they would not in an in-person classroom. Schoology points out that no matter where a student is in the world, virtual lessons allow them to experience places they can’t visit. They can visit places like the Colosseum in Rome, and if the online class includes virtual reality, they can feel as if they’re actually there. Students can also feel completely free to express their enthusiasm for these experiences without the concern of their peers teasing them about their enthusiasm.
• Virtual learning encourages digital citizenship. One of the advantages to virtual learning is that educators constantly reinforce appropriate online behavior, including how to treat each other with respect and kindness while online. 
• Students learn the benefits of routine while virtual learning. Learning via computer reinforces routine because students need to be on time for class. They also need to schedule time for study and homework.
• Students become comfortable with accessing their teachers through technology. Students can email or message questions to their teachers, and teachers can efficiently answer those questions. Students and parents should be aware, though, that educators are not available to them 24/7. Answers should be expected during a teachers’ office hours, even if the message is sent after hours. 
• Virtual learning offers students a chance to interact with peers. Learning at home can be isolating for kids. Their time with others in class gives them time to interact with others their age. 
• ​Online learning allows students of varying learning styles to thrive. Fedena points out, for example, that educators can point visual learners to videos and auditory learners to audiobooks.

Virtual Learning Tips for Parents

The advantages of virtual learning aren’t simply for students. Here’s a tip: parents have some advantages when kids are virtually learning, too. Here are a few of them.

• Parents can monitor their kids better. When students are remote learning, parents get to see where their children thrive and where they struggle, giving them the knowledge they need to provide extra assistance.
  
• Virtual learning can improve the getting out of bed struggle. With no long commutes to and from school, students will get more sleep and be less likely to ask to sleep in instead of going to school. 
  
• Virtual learning offers flexibility for families. Students can learn from home, of course, but they can also learn while they’re on the road, staying with relatives, or on vacation. It also gives families back some of their time when students aren’t spending time going to and from school on a bus or parents aren’t waiting in long car pool lines to pick their students up from school. 
  
• Parents can supplement virtual learning with fun games. Skills learned during virtual learning can be reinforced by playing board games such as Math Sprint that focuses on addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division or Continent Race that teaches geography and reinforces memory skills. 
  

By focusing on these advantages of virtual learning, students and parents can get more out of the virtual learning experience, regardless of the reasons why they are learning from home.