This year, pupils across Da Nang  have been temporarily unable to participate in in-person classes to foster academic knowledge and skills because of the complicated COVID-19 resurgence. Many parents,  therefore, must resort to online courses as a temporary solution to help their children consolidate what knowledge they grasped in the past school year and get ready for new one.

7th graders at Nguyen Hue Junior high School in Hai Chau District take summer classes online at home. Photo: NGOC HA

Diverse online courses

Over recent days, it is not difficult to find various online courses ranging from school’s curriculum, the English language to gifted education when scrolling down on social media.

In particular, hocmai.vn is one of the most current popular online learning websites offering 2 to 4 free trial lessons and many packages of official courses offered at a reasonable price by learning through recorded teaching videos. Moreover, this learning website also allow students to download documents and exercises to make it easier to practice independently.

Similarly, we've seen the rise of online drawing courses in tandem with an affordable fee through recorded video lectures or online learning with teachers with the aim of meeting pupils’ demands.

In addition to fee-based courses, some English and gifted centers also offer free lessons for pupils during this summer. Ho Chi Minh City- headquartered Viet Nam Australia International School (VAS), which has opened is a branch in Da Nang, for instance, has organised more than 300 online classes for learners aged 6 – 18.

In a similar vein, the Viet Star Music Training Center has also organised a free-of-charge online dance course for those aged above 5 and up.

Is learning online effective?

With its increased popularity, a question has risen on whether online education is effective in getting pupils the knowledge they really need. In fact, when it comes to the effectiveness of online courses and classes, many parents just want their children to have fun and gain something new and interesting in the context of not being able to participate in face-to-face classes without focusing on their efficiency.

In order to help her son get acquainted with English early, Ms. Le Thanh Huyen in Vinh Trung Ward, Thanh Khe District decided to buy the 24-month package on the highly popular Monkey Junior app. He was very excited with the app at first but then turned bored with it.

According to Ms Huyen, it's hard to know the actual quality since parents access online courses mainly through a wide range of highly attractive ads. In reality, the parent simply want to engage their children in gaining more knowledge instead of spending all their time using smartphones and watching TVs. As for effectiveness, whether or not it's effective depends much on the child's interest and adaptability.

Sharing the same thought, Ms. Nguyen Thu Trang in Hoa Phat Ward, Cam Le District lets her children learn English and the 4th-grade curriculum online due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. This is how she trains her child to be ready to enter the new school year as a self-disciplined pupil after a long vacation without having high expectations for the effectiveness of these courses.

In his perspectives, Mr. Nguyen Bao Minh in Thanh Khe Dong Ward, Thanh Khe District) suggested that parents let their children learn online with acquainted teachers. However, if parents want their children to participate in online courses, it is a must-do for them to take the effectiveness of these courses into careful consideration before making registrations and step by step follow their children closely during their learning process so as to avoid wasting time and money.

Practicing for knowledge acquisition : a must-do for pupils

According to Mai Tan Linh, the Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Education and Training, during summer vacation time, parents need to guide their children on how to properly practice the reading habit and self-discipline to review their previously-acquired knowledge and be ready for conquering something challenging in the next school year.

Reporting by NGOC HA -  Translating by T.VY