Distance learning took over the previous semesters at schools across the UAE and the world, but how did the experience vary from student to teacher, to parent?
On March 22 this year, the UAE’s Ministry of Education introduced distance learning across the country. Suddenly, students were pulled from the comfort of their classrooms and confined to their own homes. Littles ones had to adapt to self-structured learning, and teachers had to master delivering lessons digitally – practically overnight.
And then were the parents. Working from home with limited outdoor access during the National Sterilisation Programme, the work-life balance became more of a swinging pendulum than steady scales.
So, what was it really like for all those impacted? And after the initial apprehension, has the experience of distance learning left us with anything? Here’s a little insight from a student, teacher and parent about how the experience was for them.
The Teacher
Zoe Woolley, Headmistress at Foremarke School Dubai
Of course the news was daunting. We’d need to deliver lessons live for so many families with different schedules in formats that didn’t require immediate teacher support. Not every home situation is the same, so being appreciative of different settings was important. We had to cover all the same academic objectives with our usual educational model thrown up in the air.
Yet I went into online learning with an open mind, and soon saw this experience as a chance to push the boundaries and be innovative. Being an Apple Distinguished School – one of only 535 schools worldwide that have been chosen by the tech giant as a centre of excellence due to shared visions learning with technology – we were in a strong position. I was confident we could transition with relative ease. Changing that mindset was definitely important.
Yes there were challenges, but as we all settled into the new norm routines were established. Those initial concerns were erased, and we all enjoyed the sense of community spirit. It was so wonderful to see the students embrace new ideas and methods, and the way they adapted so easily was a true reflection of their resilience – and I’m sure all the teachers in every school discovered they have skill sets that they never even knew existed!
The Student
Samira Banat, Journalism & Communication Student at Middlesex University Dubai
Of course the news was daunting. We’d need to deliver lessons live for so many families with different schedules in formats that didn’t require immediate teacher support. Not every home situation is the same, so being appreciative of different settings was important. We had to cover all the same academic objectives with our usual educational model thrown up in the air.
Yet I went into online learning with an open mind, and soon saw this experience as a chance to push the boundaries and be innovative. Being an Apple Distinguished School – one of only 535 schools worldwide that have been chosen by the tech giant as a centre of excellence due to shared visions learning with technology – we were in a strong position. I was confident we could transition with relative ease. Changing that mindset was definitely important.
Yes there were challenges, but as we all settled into the new norm routines were established. Those initial concerns were erased, and we all enjoyed the sense of community spirit. It was so wonderful to see the students embrace new ideas and methods, and the way they adapted so easily was a true reflection of their resilience – and I’m sure all the teachers in every school discovered they have skill sets that they never even knew existed!
There has certainly been benefits throughout this strange situation, and lessons learnt that we hope to carry forward.
Through distance learning, our parents were able to have more of an insight into the school day, and this had such a positive impact and enhanced the home-school connection. Going forward, we will continue to look for ways to keep the classrooms open to the wider community.
The Parent
Victoria Thatcher, mum of two and Owner & Managing Director at HOT Media
I’ll be honest, I was really worried about how we would manage. My husband and I run a business, and when distance learning was first introduced, we were still office-based, meaning the kids were largely unsupervised. But the girls were looking forward to it! The reality was a lot better than expected and I think that was largely down to the school. NAS Dubai really stepped up to the challenge and provided a really high quality and variety of classes.
My eldest (11) is very organised. She’s a real planner, so she loved doing classes in her own time. She embraced the technology as a way to communicate with her classmates, but without supervision, things could easily run off course. My youngest (eight) definitely achieved what she needed academically but struggled without the social aspect of school. She’s very artistic and is easily distracted – I can’t count the number of times I checked on her to find her playing with our cats rather than doing PE class…. Eventually she got stuck in, and the experience taught both of them a lot about responsibility.
Through distance learning, we also spent more time together as a family and getting involved in their schoolwork was really interesting. Both girls surprised me with their technological competence, and even side-gigged as my IT support while I was working from home!
Overall, I was really impressed with how the teachers rose to the challenge; we previously underestimated the amount of preparation that goes into lesson planning. My hope going forward is that the girls continue with the tech skills they picked up during this period; homework set up should be easier at least. It’s always good to be reminded of the fact that we can adapt to any situation needed, too.
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