As the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the United States, one of the first restrictions that were placed on the American lifestyle was in education. Scores of school-aged children were sent home from their educational establishments, and parents and guardians were expected to pick up the slack. Schools and teachers did their utmost to relieve that strain upon the adults in the household by providing homeschool learning materials and online learning modules, but it was obvious that nothing could truly replace the learning environment that a school provides.
As COVID-19 continues its attack on our ways of life, as well as a new administration bringing in a new set of ways to combat the pandemic, it’s entirely possible that schools (much like those in the United Kingdom) will be asked to remain closed for an extended period of time. Whilst the coming years would always bring new methods of educational tools, and make for higher productivity, for now, technology has to be fused with in-person teaching in order to ensure the school-age generation of learners are indeed learning.
Faith-based learning has also been affected by the coronavirus restrictions. However, just as they have done so in the past, the church can step in to fill the vacuum that has been left by closed schools. Here is how your church can help educate your community.
Alternative Learning Environments
Naturally, as a direct result of standard education providers scrambling to find alternative forms of teaching, the e-learning industry has seen a real increase in market size over this last year. Online tutors, online courses, and online mobile learning have all been ushered in as the primary forms of teaching in countries where the COVID-19 restrictions have still forced school closures. Should this occur again in your state, or perhaps is already happening, then the education sector will be looking for ways to get the learning into your child’s devices.
At the end of the day, parents and guardians are not teachers nor tutors, and many are also dealing with an increasing demand of their time due to work from home commitments. Children need distractions, but Elearning has to take place in a distraction-less, safe environment. Lambda Solutions provide online learning software that’s accessible to children in a multitude of environments. With a whole host of user-friendly options and services, they offer more than Elearning courses and online tutors. By taking the education to whichever device a child is using, it opens up the opportunities for them to learn in alternative environments.
Provided that strict social distancing methods are being followed, and remain completely compliant with CDC’s guidance on schooling and working in the community during the COVID-19 pandemic, perhaps the large venue of the church can offer a quiet area for children to enjoy mobile learning on their portable devices.
Making Resources Safe
Another element of the combat against COVID-19 is the emphasis placed on ensuring safety on all contact surfaces. During the inauguration of President Biden, many would have noticed that someone was cleaning the podium between every instance that it was used. It’s yet another example of how much has to be done to keep the risk of contamination down.
Shrinkwrap and shrink sleeve usage have always been to keep products clean from contamination and the spread of bacteria. Like Elearning, more emphasis has been placed on the use of this type of packaging of late whereas pre-covid conditions would have allowed a little bit of a lapse in its use. Although shrink packaging is normally reserved for the food industry, this can really help every sector. As it pertains to the church, having a shrink sleeve machine can really put parishioners’ and community members’ minds at ease in seeing that you’re operating and still preaching in a safe way. As the Church is often quite generous with its resources, but must also be wary of cross-contamination, it stands to reason that all surfaces and charitable donations should be made safe. Placing some of these items in a shrink sleeve would go a long way to help, especially if you’re handing out religious ornamentation in faith-based learning or simply have bibles for sale.
Working in the Community
Christianity makes up 70% of the Americans’ religious beliefs, so working within the community is nothing new for the Christian Church. You can still preach the word of God and help teach religious messages despite there being restrictions on where you can and can’t go due to COVID-19. Many churches, much like the schools have done, are now offering services and mass online as a way to deliver God’s message to all. This may even be an opportunity to take the teachings of the faith to those who would not ordinarily get to attend the church itself. Simple software for broadcast is available for little cost‚Äîif any at all.