, Sep 7, 2021 9:51:05 AM

Make online school both safe and fun using these tips

Covid-19 didn’t go away when school started. On top of that, new variants are being tracked because this virus isn’t done mutating and hasn’t been eradicated. Students and families could be facing yet another season of distance learning from home, and it’s never too early to start preparing.

At Avast, we care deeply about the safety and well-being of your family, especially when it comes to easy to use and supremely effective digital security. Our Back-to-School Sale is still live, so please take advantage of up to 33% savings on Avast Ultimate security suite that covers an entire family’s network of devices. 

If your tech is already set-up to protect you and your devices against cybercrime, we have the following tips to make online learning safe and fun:

1. Routine is key

Schedules are the cornerstone of sanity. Write out a daily/weekly schedule on a big white board or hang it on the refrigerator. Without the expectations and agreements established by a schedule, the days and weeks will quickly dissolve into chaos. 

2. Environment is essential

Finding the balance between isolation and distraction is your goal. Be creative and don’t be afraid to get wacky with your furniture. Avoid letting your students lock themselves in their room all day and avoid forcing them to sit somewhere they can’t focus.

3. Supervise their setup

It’s up to you make sure your student has everything they need to be successful. From school supplies to secure, stable Wi-Fi, or note-taking apps and organization strategies, they might not realize they are missing something essential without your guidance. 

4. Review goals together

The best part of distance learning is delighting in your time together. During scheduled snack times or family meals, ask each other about your week and what you all hope to accomplish individually and as a family. 

5. Teach them tact

Kids don’t have years of professional experience communicating with well-trained teams over video conference, email, and project management software. Give them pointers on how to have good manners while getting their point across.

6. Offer the carrot, not the stick

Positive reinforcement and earned rewards always work better than threats and punishments. Start early and see it through. If you find yourself frustrated, reach out to other parents who are going through the same thing. 

7. Help them self-motivate

It’s difficult for some kids to find motivation. Positive and negative reinforcement are both less-effective external motivations. Teaching your child to want to learn is one of the greatest investments you can make with your time and energy.

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Further reading:
1 out of 3 kids have had bad online experiences during lockdown
Your kids know more about the internet than you do

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8. Gamify everything

Work together to create a simple but visible documentation of progress using points, levels of achievement, rewards, and celebrations. Make a game out of learning, to encourage both internal and external motivations for greater results.

9. Ease your worries

Let us help take network security off your list of things to do. Avast Ultimate is a suite of everything you need to look after all your family’s devices in one easy-to-use service complete with tuneup and cleanup tools. 

Advanced antivirus and anti-tracking privacy protection features prevent malware while blocking stalkers and advertisers from following your family’s online activity. 

Check out our Back-to-School Sale to save on a year’s subscription of Avast Ultimate.