What is the Difference Between Emergency Remote Teaching and Online Learning

Online learning is an effective teaching method that’s been around for many years. However, the current pandemic situation suddenly forced many teachers into emergency remote teaching. This was a rapid change, and in some cases, it may not have been a smooth transition. As educators, it’s important to understand that remote teaching and online learning are separate things. Below, we’ll take a look at the main differences between the two.

For many teachers, being thrust, unprepared into remote teaching has been quite a big challenge. But this doesn’t mean that online learning has to be challenging. In fact, online learning, when it’s done correctly is a very effective education method. It’s been around for decades and it often excels in planning, organization and flexibility. Usually, online learning programs spend months in development and are specifically designed for that purpose.

Emergency remote teaching (ERT) on the other hand, is generally used in a crisis situation. It’s for this reason that it’s often lacking design and application. Emergency remote teaching isn´t designed to be a permanent digital teaching method. Instead, it aims to replicate traditional classroom teaching methods via digital means.

When it comes to emergency remote learning, fortunately, there are lots of online learning options available. These come in the form of digital learning tools which can dramatically improve the effectiveness of remote teaching. When you’re looking for tools to assist you in online learning there are some important features to look out for. For example, does the program let you create and share learning content? Or can it help with classroom management and lesson planning?

You must choose tools that encourage students to collaborate and take part in discussions and surveys. Above all, it should be accessible, engaging and interactive. And it should allow you to communicate quickly and easily with students.

The Clanbeat app combines all of these features and more, to help students and teachers excel in any learning situation. To further enhance your digital lessons, the Clanbeat app can now be used in conjunction with Google Classroom. When used together, these tools provide the ultimate digital learning base for emergency remote teaching.

Often, emergency remote teaching isn’t as well resourced or planned as a premeditated online learning course. This is because ERT is often implemented involuntarily without warning, just like in our current situation. Unfortunately, without the time for detailed planning, remote learning can be somewhat lacking in terms of resources and support.

For some educators, it has been a struggle to implement ERT without clear policies, training and structure. With emergency remote teaching, teachers and students have to adapt quickly to learning without a classroom and physical interaction. This is the opposite of online learning courses which have been specifically designed to cater to every online learning need.

And this is where tried and tested, learning tools such as Clanbeat come into play. Our app has been developed by passionate learning professionals. It brings together all the positive aspects of online learning and puts them into one accessible place. Giving you easy access to all the tools you need to become a more effective emergency remote teacher.

Emergency remote teaching is somewhat of a learning process in itself and this is why it should be constantly evaluated. This evaluation is vital to ensure that the teaching methods are working and that no student is left behind. You must evaluate the accessibility of the system and its ease of use. Do students feel like they’re coping with online learning and are they reaching academic goals?

The best way to evaluate the effectiveness of remote learning is by collecting regular feedback. As well as helping you to evaluate its effectiveness, this feedback will also make students feel more included. The best way to gather feedback is with regular, personalized daily check-ins. The Clanbeat check-in feature encourages students to give daily feedback about their well-being and academic performance.

By regularly evaluating emergency remote teaching, we can learn how to strengthen it. This will ultimately make us better prepared when it comes to using ERT again in the future. With remote teaching, you must be prepared for constant learning, evaluation and improvement.

Our Clanbeat app is based on a cycle of learning that works perfectly in both digital and physical classrooms. We encourage students and teachers to become curious lifelong learners regardless of their physical setting. With our app, you and your students can see online learning as a rewarding challenge. Something that can be approached and tackled together as a team.

When it comes to remote teaching then the Clanbeat app offers you the ultimate in digital support. It’s free to use so why not try it today?