The children, after spending a year and a half without attending the classrooms, are beginning to resume a new school season that again incorporates, to some extent, distance learning. According to reports from several countries in the region, the lack of availability of vaccines, especially for the educational sector, and health protocols are among the reasons for continuing with this teaching model.
However, the majority of Colombian parents are concerned about the impact that virtual classes have had on their children’s learning. In fact, 61% of them consider that the quality of education has decreased while 58% say that the retention of educational content decreases with online classes.
A Kaspersky study entitled “Parents, teachers and students” revealed that parents in Colombia consider, as other disadvantages of online education, that children spend a lot of time in front of a screen (65%) and that it is difficult to work remotely having to help their children with virtual classes (36%).
On the other hand, more than half (53%) of the teachers consulted in the country assure that learning is less effective with online classes, since students do not process educational materials in the same way as they do in a classroom .
This scenario leads to 26% of Colombian parents responding that they do not want the online class format to be maintained at the end of the pandemic; In contrast, 60% of the teachers responded that, after confinement, they would like the classes to have a hybrid scheme, that is, some days with face-to-face classes in classrooms and others with online classes.
Daniela Álvarez de Lugo, general manager, North of Latin America, at Kaspersky, said that “distance learning during the pandemic has generated stress for all those involved: children, parents and teachers. Online classes will not disappear completely while the virus of COVID-19 continues with us; therefore, all those involved in the educational process must make safe and efficient use of digital tools that have made it possible for children not to miss classes during this long confinement “, and reiterated the importance of parents, teachers and students maintain good practices online.
For parents, teachers and students to be safe during their online activities, whether for work, study or entertainment, it is recommended:
- Enable your children digitally: although we know that children’s digital activities require certain parental control measures, it is also important to recognize that they are a great ally to offer entertainment to children, and even a source of learning.
- Install updates to operating systems and software on all your devices, whether you use them for work or your children use them for academic purposes.
- Protect your home Wi-Fi with a strong password and don’t share it with neighbors.
- Consider using a trusted security solution that will provide you with timely advice to significantly reduce online risks.
–
