Distance/Tele learning at high school level

Opportunities, Advantages & Issues

Global Issues: Education

Middle/High School - GEH

(The Paragon Montessori)

Definition: Tele learning/Distance learning is a practical idea or concept which

enables students/pupils to avail/access the class lecture and knowledge
remotely as if they are sitting in classroom.
Background: Tele learning has been enabled by the information age we are
living with wide scale use of internet, multimedia and computers. Virtual Global
Village effect. Brick & Mortar oriented services like book stores and medical
clinics converting into online stores (Amazon) and Tele Doctor/e-Health
respectively. Tele learning is slowly taking off at universities and eventually will
make its way into high schools.
Tools:
Non Real-time/Passive: Email, Social Networks and Messengers
Real-time & Interactive: Tele-conferencing, Presence and digital white boards.

Future - Enabling Technology for Distance Learning

Augmented Reality or Virtual Reality systems aka AR/VR are the true enablers of
Distance/Tele Learning environment. The future means of remote education/literacy will be
based on such tools. At the moment they are in prototype stage and once commercial
with mass production the unit cost will come down as well.

Teacher 1

Teacher 2 at Campus 2

Physically distance apart

but virtually in a single
Class room
Internet/Broadband
Students in a Class

Student 2 at home

Student 1 at home

Paragon School & College is using a variety of online passive tools/non-real time to
Communicate some degree of information to students remotely:

School website with dynamic news window:

Paragon School Facebook page
Alumni online registration
Email on paragon domain name (info@theparagonschool.edu.pk)

Other participant schools of the learning circle are using variety of online tools to
communicate information like grades/results and class assignments etc.

Why and When Distance/Tele Learning?

Class learning and participation is a special interactive process in which people
groom and reflect collectively and is fundamental to our emotional physical and
intellectual growth.

In the human to human communication 80% is body language and 20%

is verbal.

In-person class learning is the most effective level of education and literacy ! But
sometimes travelling and grouping together at a physical location is not possible.
There are multi dimensional factors which define the necessity of tele learning and in
the next few slides we have discussed those supported by feedback/survey from
other schools across the globe .

Possible scenarios of unavoidable

circumstances warranting tele/distance
learning.
Following survey questionnaire was offered to Paragon School students and teachers
and to other participant schools. The results are on next page.

Possible scenarios of unavoidable

circumstances warranting tele/distance
learningContd
Based on individual schools/countries Social and Geo Political landscape the exciting
Responses as follows in terms of most likely and unlikely:
Paragon School & College, Rawalpindi: Political unrest and public transport breakdown are the
most likely scenario and carbon footprint incentive from government the least.
Mott Hall High School, Bronx: Political unrest is the most likely scenario and carbon footprint
incentive from government and recurrent episodes of flu epidemic are the least likely.
Lyceum of Novopolotsk, Belarus: Extreme weather is the most likely scenario and carbon
footprint incentive from government and political unrest are the least likely.
Porter Ridge High School, North Carolina: travelling distance and some unknown facto are the
most likely scenario and political unrest and carbon footprint reduction governments incentive are
the least likely.

Possible scenarios of unavoidable

circumstances warranting tele/distance
learningContd

Conclusion: It has been observed that the single factor which has no contribution
in warranting tele/distance learning across most schools is the absence of any
incentive from government like carbon footprint reduction etc.

Socio/Techno/Economic barriers for the

implementation of tele/distance learning
A change/new idea is always opposed by the masses based on conventions
and biases the societies and culture hold and carry. In order to determine the
Impact various classes of barriers the following survey questionnaire was offered to
participant schools.

Socio/Techno/Economic barriers for the

implementation of tele/distance
learningContd
Administrative:
Paragon School & College, Rawalpindi: Absence of regulations and teachers training are the
major barriers.
Mott Hall High School, Bronx: Schools administration buy in and teachers training are the major
barriers.
Lyceum of Novopolotsk, Belarus: Absence of regulations and teachers training are the major
barriers.
Porter Ridge High School, North Carolina: teachers training is the major barrier..

Conclusion: From administrative perspective apparently Teachers training is the

major barrier globally from the above survey.

Socio/Techno/Economic barriers for the

implementation of tele/distance
learningContd
Social:
Paragon School & College, Rawalpindi: Parents willingness and acceptance by the society at
large are the major barriers.
Mott Hall High School, Bronx: Parents willingness and acceptance by the society at large are the
major barriers.
Lyceum of Novopolotsk, Belarus: General awareness among masses is the major barrier.
Porter Ridge High School, North Carolina: Parents willingness is the major barrier.

Conclusion: From social perspective apparently Parents willingness is the

major barrier globally from the above survey.

Socio/Techno/Economic barriers for the

implementation of tele/distance
learningContd
Technological:
Paragon School & College, Rawalpindi: Public broadband/internet service is the major barrier.

Mott Hall High School, Bronx: Lack of ICT infrastructure at school is the major barrier.

Lyceum of Novopolotsk, Belarus: Public broadband/internet service is the major barrier.

Porter Ridge High School, North Carolina: Lack of ICT infrastructure at school is the major
barrier.

Conclusion: From technological perspective outside America public broadband

service is the major barrier but inside America ICT infrastructure is the major barrier.

Improvement areas and potential outcomes

from the implementation of Tele learning.
We exposed all schools with a survey questionnaire to find out what are the cultural and
social inclinations and take from this novel concept of Tele learning. In the next
page/slide you will see the screen shot of the responses from all 4x participant schools.

Paragon

Lyceum

Mott Hall

Porter Ridge

Improvement areas and potential outcomes from

the implementation of Tele learningContd
Conclusion:

Outcome/Areas where all schools are on same page:

Tele-learning can benefit the students with mobility impairments.
Tele-learning is not a fiction.

Conclusion:
The study was directed to discuss the barriers, possibilities/opportunities
involved in implementing such an alternative at high school level and coming up
with a socio-economic model for implementation of such. With the survey results
all the areas have been thoroughly covered and the proposed model drives its
strength from the survey responses which are self explainatory.