Are online video chat lessons good for children?
If your child has a desire to learn but does not have access to the teachers or subjects they show an aptitude for, online video chat lessons may be a good option. The benefits to both parent and child are many:
- Class schedules are flexible
- There is no need to travel to the classroom
- Lessons are affordable
- Lessons are accessible to all children, anywhere
- There are a wide range of learning subjects to choose from
Children learn through direct interaction
Children are eager to learn, and studies show that even small children learn more from face-to-face interaction than they do from a video alone.
One such study compared two groups of toddlers in an effort to gauge how well they learned new words, patterns, and actions from either a pre-recorded video or a live video chat. The pre-recorded videos had built-in pauses designed to allow the child time to respond, while the live video chat lessons encouraged two-way interaction in real time.
The results? the video chat group was observed to have learned more words and more patterns. They also recognized and formed a bond with their video chat teacher. Ultimately, it was determined that the learning occurred when the teacher could respond to the child in real time, proving that video chat learning is effective even in young learners.
This study built on earlier studies that were more specific to language learning. Researchers concluded that children could learn a language from video chat lessons but not from pre-recorded videos.
A similar study concluded that 17 months was about the age at which children began to reap the benefits of video chat learning. It was at this point that the children were able to take what they had learned and apply it to their interactions with others.
Is video chat learning “screen time”?
Parents should not worry about exposing their child to too much “screen time”. The time they spend learning on an interactive learning platform should not be categorized the same way. The interactive exchange between teacher and student is what distinguishes the two.
In conclusion, video chat lessons, classes conducted over Skype, and other types of online learning provide benefits both to the parent and the child. As a parent, you will be giving your child access to the tools they need to learn and grow. From a child’s point of view, the possibilities are endless. The world just got a lot more interesting.
Editor:
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