The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly changed schooling, leaving the students and teachers to try and navigate through distance learning for the time being. While a traditional classroom interaction is not readily available right now, online tutoring has become the ultimate helping hand for some struggling students to make their way through the more difficult assignments.
In a time where it seems as though everyone is operating on the internet, it’s more important than ever to assure that your connection to the World Wide Web is strong enough to allow your student to perform at their peak, with their online schooling or online tutor.
Understanding Internet Speed
When looking for the best option for your internet service and provider, it is important to consider how much of your day, week, and even month is spent online.
Internet service providers, or ISPs, provide varying connection rates that they may advertise as “high speed,” but in reality, may be as slow as a good old-fashioned DSL dial-up connection. For interactive video-chat experiences like FaceTime, Skype, or Zoom, it is recommended to have a router that provides a speed of at least 1.5 Mbps, (or, megabits per second).
Any lesser than that 1.5 Mbps can lead to connectivity issues that can definitely inhibit online learning, such as slow internet page display, portal performance, or playback of course videos. There’s also issues that could occur with online assignments or exams that could end up having a deep impact on your student’s grades, and overall GPA.
Fast, reliable Internet connection is highly recommended for web portals to accommodate a two-way interactive connection. Lower bandwidth connections limit what a computer network can accomplish, with minimalized capabilities in handling massive amounts of data or streaming successfully.
Beyond selecting an ISP with remarkable speed capabilities, there are even things you can do within your own home to ensure fast performance while your student is practicing distance learning, such as:
- Reducing the number of devices connected to the internet at one time, to allow greater WiFi connectivity for a computer or tablet in use.
- Shutting down applications running in the background that can occupy bandwidth.
- Changing your Wi-Fi channel frequency by taking a deeper look at the settings on your router or modem.
Understanding Options In Remote Learning
While students adjust to the “new normal” of distance learning, there is also the “new normal” of tutoring and seeking extra help as a student. Math tutoring online, for example, has now become easily accessible through private platforms that provide students the assistance they need to tackle any subject be it calculus, fractions, or SAT math.
Beyond the online classroom, online math tutors give students the assistance they may have gotten in person from their teachers, whilst combining with a younger generation’s ease with technology and apps to operate interactively. Math worksheets can be done with a tutor’s assistance online, focusing in on the areas where a student struggles, and then figuring out the next steps in teaching math that will positively impact their performance in the subject.
Tutoring sessions through internet platforms are as easy as operating social media for some students, and can be scheduled in accordance with free time for the student and their family. Unlike tutoring before COVID, it is no longer scheduling around the tutor, but instead the tutor is scheduled and accommodated to your student.
A tutoring session can be as simple as a student seeking homework help for math problems or geometry from a qualified mathematics tutor with years of experience in education and on a particular subject matter. The lesson plan is designed with your student in mind, and not generalized to an entire class, much like during a regular distance learning session.
