How much time should your child spend studying virtually?

Students in virtual learning spend less time learning than students in traditional schools. This is due to the fact that online education operates differently than traditional schooling. Many factors influence how many hours per day students should learn at an online school.

Online education allows for a more personalized approach and more flexible learning. The fact that students have access to the platform 24 hours a day, seven days a week reflects some of the flexibility the system provides them. A student can learn whenever and for as long as they want. But how long should students spend learning at an online school?

That is the question on the minds of parents, teachers, and, of course, students. Online learning necessitates a different level of discipline on the part of the student. They are not required to spend as much time learning online as they would in a traditional school, where they would spend four to seven hours a day. For students, a virtual learning environment can be both exciting and overwhelming.

Screen time is something that parents want to see less of in their children’s lives. However, for an online school to function properly, such screen time is required.

The standards for time spent on virtual learning

Elementary School – Grades 1 to 4 (1 – 2 hours daily)
Middle School – Grades 5 to 8 (2 – 3 hours daily)
High School – Grades 9 to 12 (3 – 4 hours daily)

These suggestions make a lot of sense in terms of what happens in real life. As student progresses through the grades and engage with more complex learning material, the number of online learning hours increases.

There must be a two-hour learning per day

When it comes to the youngest students, expecting them to learn unsupervised, especially online, is unrealistic. They rarely learn on their own, and when they are not working with a teacher, they must study with the assistance of their parents.

Students in higher grades are exposed to more complex learning material, which can influence how long they learn online. That is why it is necessary not to overwhelm students with new information.

Learners must be gradually introduced to the material in online courses. For students in higher grades, on the other hand, it is necessary to make sure that students have better time management skills and have established study habits required to excel.

There is no definitive recommendation for how long a student should study online. Everything is dependent on each student’s personal responsibility. If they are serious about learning, they will require at least two hours per day to complete all of the online school assignments. That brings us to 10 hours per week of study time, not including online classes. Remember that students are not required to attend classes and can only complete assignments on the platform.

Parents, just like teachers, should ensure that their children are learning online and not wasting their time on activities such as playing video games or browsing the internet.

It is important for children to undergo playful activities on the daily basis along with education. Play has several benefits for the physical as well as mental growth of children.

Importance of daily play activities

Play is essential to your child’s development and learning. When your child plays, they have many different opportunities to learn.

There are several benefits to playing such as:

It boosts the child’s self-esteem
It makes the child feel safe
It helps in developing social skills such as effective communication skills
It helps in developing physical skills
It helps children learn about the environment and its well-being

Play provides children with a variety of sensory, physical, and cognitive experiences. These experiences support brain development, allowing kids to grow physically, intellectually, socially, and emotionally.

It is necessary for the children to strike a good balance between educational activities and playtime. Research has shown that excessive study without any play activity makes students dull. It is important for them to involve in extra-curricular activities so that they can become active and fit.

Remember that, every child is unique and the learning abilities differ from one child to another. While determining the appropriate time required for a child to study, focus on different aspects such as the child’s intellectual level, learning ability, personality type, educational background, etc.