Parents with any school-going children would agree that with the pandemic, virtual learning is no longer something we have to adapt to, but has become a learning experience every parent has had to adopt.
The idea of physical schooling has been the fundamental and preferred method for the teaching and learning experience for as long as we can remember.
However, the past one year has completely reshaped the education system, and reshuffled and transformed the whole teaching and learning experience. Due to this, parents, teachers, or any educational institution is being pushed to rethink learning and reform teaching methods in ways that are more versatile, flexible and borderless, innovating it into a system that is volatile-proof.
In any circumstances where physical schooling is not viable, efforts will be challenged to ensure learning does not stop. The learning experience today is different from five, 10 or even 20 years ago.
Our children are facing a time where changes and disruptions are expected to be more frequent or a VUCA era (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous). Today’s children are more open to digitalisation, digital information is swift and disruptive. This changing, growing up environment and patterns in turn will make them more susceptible to digital disruption. Children today are required to be more adaptable, welcoming to changes, a survivalist against their constantly demanding and changing environment.
A typical school-going child spends most of their waking moments around the school environment and/or attending activities related to school. Hence, the role of schools is no longer constrained to enriching and preparing children academically but has become an important instrument for their holistic development and well-being.
Their learning experience and environment should be innovative, comprehensive and of high quality in order to bridge and shape their academic advancement and social-life skills with the emotional aspects of development.
Dr Goh Chee Leong, CEO of REAL Education Group Sdn Bhd shared during an interview: “As an educator, our job is not preparing a child for a specific job but timeless real world skills which prepare them for ANY job. These include psychological resilience, adaptability, thinking skills, communication skills, leadership, entrepreneurial thinking and the ability to apply technology to drive innovation.”
He added: “Schools should focus on giving our next generation the kind of skills to prepare them for a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world. Combining book smarts with street smarts will ensure they can adapt and thrive in any environment, anywhere in the world.”
This has been proven, given the sudden changes brought on by the prolonged effects of Covid-19, which are changing and shifting everything we know to be normal into a new normal.
Where schooling is concerned, virtual learning has become the compulsory method moving forward and this is where finding a quality institution that is innovative and ready enough to prepare your children to face the real world and to take virtual learning to the next level, makes a difference.
The Virtual Learning Experience (VLX) at REAL Schools
At REAL Schools, flexibility in learning methods is introduced with the availability of REAL hybrid learning, where parents are given the option of allowing their children to return to school, continuing to stay online or under certain circumstances, both.
The competency and readiness offered to ensure learning does not stop is a valuable key. It is providing solutions and an innovative approach to weather any circumstance, like the sudden shift in learning platforms during the current pandemic, and perhaps a method that can be a light at the end of the tunnel for children who are at high risk, have certain physical conditions or restrictions to have an equal opportunity to learn and be inclusive.
The Virtual Learning Experience (VLX) has long been part of the compulsory learning programme at REAL Schools. Their “1-to-1 Apple iPad” programme for example, which was introduced in 2019 as a VLX programme, is excellent at equipping and preparing the students for Virtual Learning and is proven to be a major victory, with the majority of students already Virtual Learning Ready by the time Covid-19 hit our shores with the lockdown and School From Home in mid-2020.
Programmes such as these are fundamental in ensuring our children are future and digital ready. The introduction of e-learning platforms, informative virtual interaction apps and events through REAL VLX has helped students become more comfortable and tech-savvy in observing virtual learning. This is the key component that will guarantee the efficacy of teaching and learning.
The full-fledged e-Enrichment programme offers topics such as Culinary 101, Intro to Photography, Virtual Robotics, New Zealand Education Perfect “EP” adaptive learning toolkit, various online holiday camps and other first class skills nurturing programmes are introduced to engage children to innovate their thinking beyond the physical classroom.
With dedicated efforts from well-trained teachers and educators, REAL School’s innovative programmes strive to tap into every child’s potential, developing aspects of interests, from academic to personal, and interpersonal skills and talent. This has proven to be successful with REAL School’s wide-ranging events and competitions such as REAL Schools Got Talent 2020, Prestigion K12’s Rising Stars Performing Arts Championship, Design Thinking Challenge (in collaboration with the renowned Case Western Reserve University) and Virtual Co-Curriculum Activities (CCA) which attracted thousands of enrolments since its commencement in September 2020.
Other innovative virtual programmes that were well executed and received, such as the Virtual Dance Competition, Pertandingan Little Huffaz & Pencetus Ummah, interschool programme Virtual STEAM Fair and STEM Fest for tiny tots pre-schoolers, and various music and language competitions are proven to have been useful in promoting inclusiveness and to bridge the students with their peers and teachers throughout the pandemic, bringing them together despite the prolonged School From Home time.
At REAL Schools, it is a constant evolving effort, designed through the many assets and hands-on collaborations programmes and skill-set enriching events, to measure and ensure every child’s academic progress is on par with their real life skills.
In this swift and VUCA world, digitalisation is inevitable. The way forward is to consistently find new approaches and the right instruments to cushion these sharp changes and prepare our children for the real world. Much like how REAL Schools journey together with their students through quality education to build the next generation of children who are innovative, digitally competent to weather any real life disruptions and to be VUCA-proof.
REAL Schools has three campuses, which are located in Cheras, Shah Alam, and Johor Bahru. Each campus houses an international and private school that provides quality education from primary to secondary levels; offering both international (British curriculum including the Cambridge IGCSE) and Malaysian national syllabi.
REAL Kids is the largest owner operated preschool in Malaysia with 45 centres across the country. After more than 30 years, REAL Kids has provided quality preschool education to over 15,000 children. With an award-winning programme and well-trained teachers, REAL Kids is dedicated to the vocation of moulding children to be intelligent, multi-lingual, happy, and confident.
Visit www.realschools.edu.my or www.realkids.edu.my for more information, enquiries, and to book a visit today!
About the Author
A Media and PR specialist by profession, Dessy took a sabbatical after having her son. Loving every moment of it she then decided to be a SAHM and focus on perfecting her critical negotiation skills with her two children. She has since taken on an active role as a writer, focusing on topics around self-empowerment, mental health awareness and her most favourite role in the world, Parenthood.
