Back to school online tools to help ease communication in distance learning

With a pandemic happening right now across the world, there is a global debate around the back-to-school season of 2020. Major universities are debating whether students should resume distance learning until there is a safe way to practice social distance. Public schools, like in the New York City area, will limit the number of days students will attend in-person classes to up 3 days instead of five and the number of students present at a time.

As students and educators are switching their focus to a digital learning environment, it is crucial for remote learning to be as seamless and collaborative as possible. If you have been looking to prepare for the new back to school reality, we compiled a list with essentials for going back to school during the pandemic.

Get access to Plutoview

Our tool helps online tutors, educators, and students collaborate effectively, while based remotely. The feeling that you are in the same room as your classmates and colleagues, is the most important aspect that a lot of students and educators find hard to replicate online.

Plutoview makes this a reality by bringing multiple shared screens to remote teams to increase effective group collaboration allowing you to see your colleagues’ screen, teachers’ screen, and everyone in the same browser, with the possibility to make changes in real-time. With Plutoview you can host remote class sessions and group research projects that work, do web design, engineering, and more without losing touch with your dispersed team.

Use video conference tools to teach and socialize

Zoom calls are the new norm when doing meeting people nowadays. Video calls can help students and teachers alike to continue learning, teaching, even if they are not in the same geographical location. Starting with the fact that classes happening online can be recorded and reviewed later, plus the fact that connects parents and teachers closer, video calls help ease communication and avoid discrepancies in the parent-teacher-student relationship.

Share documents with your class

As a teacher and a student, you need to share documents and files all the time on a secure platform, from class papers to class recording, and demos. Some tools that everyone can have access to are: Google Drive, Slack, and WeTransfer — they are all free to use and secure to share!

Use online chat rooms to socialize

Online chat rooms can help students socialize and maintain the same relationship with their colleagues as they would in real life. Socializing should not have to stop just because you are not in the same room as your colleagues, since it is a big part of in-person classes. Some tools to use for chat rooms are Telegram, WhatsApp, and Slack!

Keep organized with an online list

Staying organized is equally important for teachers and students, and there are more than a dozen tools online you can use to keep your class schedule, essays, and papers in a dedicated space online. A written weekly to-do list may also help.

With distance learning becoming a reality, it is a crucial step for students and educators to get familiarized with digital tools that improve your remote teaching and learning experience. When looking into new tools for distance learning, convenience, and usability are some of the most important things. We strive to make Plutoview better every day to provide the learning sector the best tool for distance group collaboration while remote, but still feeling like you being in the same room as your colleagues