On-Demand or Live Classes – Which is Best for Your Child?

You have a goal for your child and you’ve probably set up a path that leads to successful accomplishment of that goal.

But in light of the events of this year you may have found that while your goal remains the same, a slight detour may be necessary in order to accomplish that goal.

As a parent, you’re now faced with many decisions about your child’s academic future. One of such decisions is in the realm of virtual learning.

Your child is now immersed in a new learning environment that involves technology. And you, the parent are now an even more integral part of their academic support system.

So today, I will talk about one of the more common virtual learning methods out there which is online classes.

We’ll discuss the differences between them and hopefully help you decide which one is the right fit for your family. So, let’s get right into it.

You may have heard the term On-demand learning referred to as asynchronous learning whereas, live classes are referred to as synchronous learning.

In On-Demand learning students show up and engage with the class content at different times.

During live classes students show up and engage with the class content all at the same time.

If your child is extremely interested in a certain subject and is a motivated learner they may benefit from an on-demand class which would give him/her the option to go through the content on their own.

If there’s a subject that your child needs immediate support and feedback on, then it may be best to choose a live option for that subject.

If you have multiple children then you may be able to enroll all of them under one account in an on-demand class whereas with the live classes one student per account is what’s normally done.

With on-demand classes because you’re possibly able to enroll multiple students under one account this makes it a very cost-effective option.

In live classes the instructor determines the schedule. Whereas with on-demand classes the schedule or study time is determined by the students and it is self-paced.

Because of the nature of live classes there is accountability and structure built right into it and on-demand classes makes up for this by having an overall flexible structure.

When making the final decision consider your child’s strengths, what they’re good at and what they’re not so good at.

You may also want to make the choice on a subject by subject basis and end up with a mixture of on-demand and live classes. Also, consider your family’s structure and budget.

Once you’ve done this, go ahead and make a decision.