Since April 2020, parents have been pulling their hair out trying to homeschool their children. It’s no surprise that it is challenging, especially when they need to work from home to support their families. Unless parents have chosen to homeschool their kids in the past, it is safe to say that they are not nearly as prepared as their children’s school teachers.
K-12 schooling made the quick switch from in-person teaching to virtual with distance learning, and the change has been complicated. There are students that do not have access to a computer and students that can’t get on Wi-Fi. There are also students with learning disabilities that need extra attention. Older students are more likely to not even attend while younger ones get restless at a computer for hours on end.
As of right now, there is no certainty that school will be back in session come Fall. Many educational institutions are at the point where they need to decide how they are going to proceed with their lesson plans. Unfortunately, there is a very good chance that school will return but in a virtual manner requiring students to have some sort of electronic device to complete their lessons, homework, and tests.
A lot of schools already provide students with some sort of technology for the year, such as iPad or Chromebook. Schools that participate in 1:1 computing allow each enrolled student to use an electronic device in order to access the Internet, digital course materials, and digital textbooks. A study has shown that students that are provided with a laptop or tablet in class are more likely to take notes, conduct internet research, share documents, collaborate with peers, and stay more on top of assignment due dates.
It’s no secret that children need in-person instruction. The American Academy of Pediatrics even stated that schools need to make children being present in the classroom a priority. If students are to attend school in person, there are sure to be new regulations and rules put into place to protect them. For example, schools in Denmark placed students in “protective bubbles” to ensure they are properly socially distanced.
The need for some type of separation in the classroom will lead to more struggles that hopefully integrated technology will be able to address. Distributing some sort of technological device, from a Chromebook tablet or iPad to a MacBook or Chromebook, might give teachers the extra edge they may need to better increase classroom experiences during this challenging time.
Whether teachers are trying to engage their students in-person or remotely, challenges are sure to arise. Beyond the classroom teachers have even less control of how well students respond to the work. Adding technology may increase learning capacity and make virtual and in-person learning more effective in the long run.
With another shutdown a strong possibility in the fall, there has been a substantial spike in technology device purchases by K-12 schools because of the need to learn remotely. This fact led to a substantial spike in purchases of insurance. Insurance coverage for Chromebooks, Tablets, iPads, MacBooks, and Windows laptops is important for students that are more likely to cause accidental damage at home.
Schools that decide to go the 1:1 program route should consider insuring their loaned property against damage, theft, malfunction, loss, and more. Securranty offers $0 deductibles for educational institutions looking to insure their devices as well as bulk discounts. Schools can claim unlimited incidents and repairs, and they can even choose the option of having parents pay for insurance as well. For more information about Securranty’s education coverage, click here.
