LETTERS: "I Miss my friends and teachers” — that was the message I received from some students during our online conversations a few days ago.
Compared to the feeling of being away from school during the school holidays, this period of Movement Control Order (MCO) is a whole different story.
Schools may be temporarily closed, but learning should continue. Not only will it help students relax their mind during the depressing global crisis but it is also one way to keep their learning interest high.
Assisted and facilitated by teachers, students can keep themselves academically engaged at home as they revise lessons and increase their understanding of topics, thanks to social media and the Google Classroom application.
Lessons should be designed for all instead of focusing on those sitting public examinations this year. For the advanced, intermediate and weak groups of students, answering online quizzes and playing educational games help them have fun while learning.
Teachers need to integrate creativity and innovation into teaching by coming up with lessons that cater to the post-millennial generation. They may consider preparing virtual rewards for students who make the effort and score high marks.
Educational videos may be recorded and uploaded by teachers, who wish to provide clear explanations to challenging topics. Students may leave comments, ask questions, discuss ideas or share opinions to keep the session interactive.
Teachers can also ask students to look up additional information and assign them to complete tasks as a post-lesson activity.
The active involvement of students during and after the online-class session is useful in making sure that the yesteryear approach of spoon-feeding is not applied in this new era.
While alternative ways to learn from home may be practical and available, nothing beats the joyful experience of attending school.
Just like the students who miss their teachers, I miss them too.
MUHAMAD SOLAHUDIN RAMLI
Marang, Terengganu
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times