Adapting to online lessons during social isolation

Published: 27 Mar 2020 Tagged: CoronavirusCOVID-19HindiJapaneseOnline lessonsPortugueseSpeech PathologyTelepracticeTutoringVietnameseZoom

Distance learning has been around for quite sometime now. It was generally adopted as a solution for a small number of learners who are not able to attend their lessons in person. At this moment, the whole world has been facing unexpected changes in daily chores and activities, which have affected schools and therapy sessions. We are all adapting to this new condition, and the team at Speakable has outlined some crucial factors for parents and children about effective online learning.

Equipment

Technological infrastructure, for both therapist and client, is crucial for the quality of the sessions. Both attendants must be comfortable with the use of technology and feel the effectiveness of each therapy session. Confirm each detail of technology through the following checklist:

• Camera and microphone capabilities: fundamental for one-on-one sessions, participants must be able to see and hear each other in the highest definition as possible, especially when mouth articulation and speech are so important.
• Network connection is expected to be no less than 3 MB for upload/download in order to ensure quality audio and video for the session. If video files are shared, then the connection should be no less than 5 MB. Hard-wired connection is optimal in a shared Wi-Fi environment.
• Encryption, unique passwords, unique meeting numbers, secure connection via virtual private network (VPN) and hardware/software firewalls must be considered in order to ensure both therapist and client privacy, confidentiality and security.

Online platforms

There are many options to be chosen, according to preferences from therapist and client. Zoom, Skype, Facetime, and Whatsapp are some of the most popular options. Check relevant features such as subscription details, pricing, scalability, responsiveness of tech support and privacy/security features.

Pros

• Face-to-face treatments are very similar to a face-to-face videoconference, so the atmosphere is similar for participants.
• No time lost by commuting for both therapist and client; with spare time, the day becomes more productive with more available time for more activities.
• This is an outstanding opportunity to learn new technology skills for everyone involved: therapist, student, parents, school team, clinic supporting team etc.
• Many children will simply be amazed by the opportunity of staying at home using technological devices for therapy sessions, which can increase their engagement levels.
• Geographic expansion is now the opportunity for every clinic; clients can now be located far away and can still receive the same lessons and content as clients who are more local to the clinic.
• Recording and replaying sessions is a great strategy to practice and review speech and language pathology activities.

Cons

• Technology infrastructure is basic; not having a good connection, hardware or software could affect the quality of the sessions.
• Pressure from the environment to learn technology skills as fast as possible.
• Some very specific disabilities cannot be treated by telepractice; it is crucial that therapist, client and parents talk about possible limitations.
• Home chores and new family dynamics could represent new challenges to both parent and client; noise from relatives and pets, lack of a proper study station and other events at home might be challenging sometimes and disengage the participants.

At Speakable, we are ready to adapt to the new situation to the best of our performance. Our scope of services is also wider these times so our clients can enjoy much more opportunities to learn or reinforce their knowledge. In addition to speech pathology sessions, online tutoring classes are available for the following activities and languages:

• Tutors to help with homework and assignment for primary and high school students
• For students who would like to learn and practice a new language, we offer Hindi, Japanese, Portuguese and Vietnamese lessons.

In case you are searching for speech and language pathology therapy, tutoring sessions or foreign language classes, please feel free to contact us by email admin@speakable.com.au or phone 02 8021 6356.

Thank you,

The Speakable Team