We were recently joined by a Year 10 Student on a work experience placement. We asked her to research online learning platforms such as DB Primary to consider their place following the resurgence in interest caused by the pandemic lockdowns. Here is Patricia’s contribution to the debate:
Can we all agree that learning platforms are still useful now lockdowns are over?
Learning platforms are websites or apps that teachers, schools and students use to assist them in their teaching and learning. Some people may use learning platforms to gain better understanding in areas they don’t really understand, to gain more knowledge, to pre-teach, to consolidate learning or to revise key topics
Interest
Students in primary schools often have short attention spans and for one teacher to be talking to them for about 30 minutes straight, they won’t retain much information. Learning platforms offer children the opportunity to not only enjoy learning but gives everyone the opportunity to tune in and answer. Learning platforms give students motivation to learn and they may become more eager to learn as they provide services such as interactive games and instant feedback. In schools usually you would have to write down your answer or type it up and send it to the teacher then have to wait a few hours or days to get your grade, mark or what to do next. On the other hand, these platforms provide the feedback straight away, instead of having to wait those few hours. Students get feedback to whether their answer is correct or not instantly, as soon as they press the button to confirm they have finished the question and answered it. With this instant feedback they are able to correct their mistakes and are often given the chance to try again and get a better mark. Since it is online it is easier to access, especially as all schools always have access to internet.
Video
Listening to a teacher speaking about the same topic for more than 15 minutes can often get quite boring, having to sit there silently behind the desk trying your hardest to pay attention to what they are saying and having to try to remember everything. Learning platforms have a range of videos from other people explaining topics that children may have not understood when it was being explained or if it wasn’t explained in enough detail. They offer the opportunity for children to learn something but from another person’s point of view: instead of one person telling them from their point of view, there is more than one which could possibly allow the student to understand in more depth. Furthermore, learning platforms could be better for visual learners as there are some students that work better or understand better through games, videos or cartoons. Instead of having to sit in silence, they are given the opportunity to have fun whilst learning.
Home learning
An advantage oof learning platforms is that they can be used anywhere at any time. Some schools give the students a piece of paper or a booklet to do their work in, but will this work always be checked? Learning platforms offer students the opportunity to do their work wherever they are, whenever they want, with the guarantee that it will be marked, and a mark will be given back in contrast to waiting until the next time you go to school to hand in the work. Learning platforms give both the students the opportunity to give homework from anywhere and the teacher to see that the work has been completed and how many marks each student has received.
Booster classes
Booster classes are mainly for students studying for SATs in year 6 or for some groups of children to avoid significant learning loss over the summer. Such learning platforms offer extra support for students preparing for their exams. They offer resources, videos, games and practice exam questions. This is easier for students as rather than having to write everything on a piece of paper and having to look on the internet searching for answers, it is all on that one website or app. In addition to these answers being there, if there is something that the student got wrong or something that needs to be explained in further detail, there is always a video or example to show how to answer the questions in detail.
Conclusion
Though the lockdowns experienced by students across the country during the pandemic are a distant memory for most primary children now, it doesn’t mean the resources that were used effectively to educate children remotely don’t have a place in today’s world. Children and teachers can gain alike by the good use of online learning resources whether through access to quality learning resources or gaining instant feedback, whether it is accessing learning in different ways or being able to collaborate online.