Children’s Social Development While Learning Online

When digital learning is done correctly, it can have many benefits on a child’s education. However, a child’s achievement doesn’t just come from academic study. Children’s social development is also a key contributor to success in later life. So, teachers must consider this when children are learning online. Below, we’ll take a look at effective ways to integrate children’s social development into learning online.

There’s no doubt that mandated stay-at-home orders have had a massive impact on children’s education. And the damage isn’t limited to academic achievement, children’s social development and well-being have also been affected.

Children´s social development covers both personal and social aspects of their lives. It raises self-awareness and gives them confidence in social situations. It promotes self-management and autonomy. And it teaches children about social interactions, and how to recognize and healthily deal with emotions. Without developing these vital skills, then children are less likely to succeed in life.

Mandatory stay-at-home orders have also affected children’s health and well-being. The drastic routine change and lack of physical interactions have left children feeling stressed out and isolated. This makes them more prone to anxiety and depression. On top of this, during the lockdown, children have been less active. The absence of sports and physical activity has also affected children’s mental and physical health.

When it comes to online learning there’s always a risk that children will become socially isolated. The risk increases even more for vulnerable children, or those from low-income families. Feelings of isolation are bad for both children’s social development and academic achievement. This is why children must never be left feeling isolated when they’re learning online.

To combat the threat of social isolation, you must communicate frequently with students. And you should encourage them to communicate frequently with each other too. Get them actively involved by asking for regular feedback. And make sure that you set plenty of social, interactive learning exercises that involve group collaboration.

Fortunately, keeping in touch with your students has never been easier. With the Clanbeat app, you have everything you need to effectively keep in touch with your students. It encourages students to give daily feedback about their learning and well-being. And it provides a solid and reliable digital base where the whole class can keep in touch. When students are connected through apps such as Clanbeat, it’s hard for them to feel isolated and left behind.

Studies suggest that regular breaks are good for improving a student’s overall performance. Regular breaks increase productivity, give students focus, and can be used as a motivational reward. And when it comes to digital learning, these breaks are vital.

But when it comes to rewarding your students with breaks then the time should definitely focus away from the screen. Too much screen time is bad for children’s health. So make sure that all screen time is valuable, active screen time. It shouldn´t be spent passively playing online games.

The best breaks for students when they’re learning online are physically active ones, away from the screen. Encourage students to move around during their breaks or to go outdoors for fresh air. Try using music to get your students dancing during break time or get them to do some stretching. To support children’s social development then encourage them to chat with their friends during a break. And most of all, make the breaks fun, laughter is the best stress reliever.

When parents are involved in their children’s education children generally perform better. So, while students have been learning online, in most cases they’ve had extra support from their parents. This is great for a child’s education. But it means that with homeschooling, the parent-teacher relationship has changed and parents have become teaching partners.

Having a strong parent/teacher team around will massively improve children’s social development and academic achievement. As a fun supportive team, parents and teachers can help reduce the stress of learning online. Together they will make students more focused, productive and less isolated. But remember, it might not be possible for all parents to support their child through online learning. If you think a child needs extra support then make sure that you offer it.

At Clanbeat we understand the link between education and children’s social development. That’s why our app has been developed with students’ well-being in mind. You can empower students and make sure that no child is feeling isolated and left behind by using the daily check-in feature. On top of this Clanbeat can be used alongside Google Classroom. Together these digital tools have you covered when it comes to providing for your students’ academic and welfare needs.