I am a father of three school age kids. I know firsthand the technical issues encountered when COVID19 closed schools and forced our little ones to continue learning from home using virtual meeting technology. Schools and students had to become experts in computers, networking, and virtual meeting applications overnight. In this article I will explain what technology worked well for our family and how you can create the best, safe virtual learning environment for your young learners.
There are multiple virtual meeting service providers. Some of the more popular ones are WebEx, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams. My kids’ school adopted Zoom as their platform for virtual meetings and this has worked well for them. Zoom allows the teacher and students to see a small thumbnail of everyone in their class on the same screen. Zoom also incorporates an audio bridge to enable voice conferencing. The environment is very interactive. Students can raise a virtual hand to alert the teacher to a question. The teacher can also present a Word document or PDF. And finally, meetings can be recorded and viewed later.
If you’re like me, you don’t have four or five desktop PCs or laptops instantly available. My family overcame this problem by using Apple iPads. Zoom has a very nice free and easy to use iPad application that can be downloaded from the Apple App Store. The iPad is an excellent device to use. It is wireless and can be easily moved anywhere in the house. The iPad also has a larger screen with built-in camera and speaker/microphone. For more privacy you can plug in ear bud speakers or join wireless earphones like Air Pods via Bluetooth. Battery life is ample too. An iPad cover is essential. The cover provides protection and can be used as a stand so the iPad will sit upright and provide the correct camera angle.
Any time a child is exposed to the Internet certain security considerations must be addressed. Our home network uses a free product from Cisco called Umbrella (https://www.opendns.com/home-internet-security/). Formerly known as Open DNS, Umbrella watches what sites any device on our network is attempting to access and will block access if the site is categorized as pornography, gambling, or a known security threat. Umbrella is easily implemented on your home Internet router by replacing your Internet service provider’s DNS servers with the Umbrella DNS servers. Umbrella can also provide protection from ransomware and other Internet security threats. As more people are streaming camera video from their home environment another security issue that has recently gained attention is being aware of what’s viewable in the background. I would recommend orienting the camera so nothing of importance can be seen in the background behind your child. Remember, these class interactions may be recorded, and this recording may be viewed by anyone. I would also recommend teaching your child how to mute and unmute themselves so other students are not interrupted by background noise.
The COVID19 pandemic has caused many problems across the globe. In-class education will continue to be limited and virtual learning technologies will continue to be used to enforce social distancing rules. Your child’s safety when using the Internet is equally important. Free services such as Cisco Umbrella can be used to create a safer Internet environment. Using the right technology will help you and your child make the best of these challenging times.
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