Remote learning is becoming increasingly popular now for reasons we all understand. While many readers on Habr are aware of various courses related to digital professions—such as software development, design, product management, etc.—the situation with lessons for the younger generation is somewhat different. There are many services for online lessons, but which one to choose?
In February, I assessed different platforms, and now I’d like to share the ones that I (and not just me, but also the children) liked the most. In this selection, there are five services; if you have any to add, please share them in the comments, and we'll explore them.
Uchi.ru
What it can do. This platform allows children to independently study subjects such as mathematics, Russian and English languages, biology, natural science, and geography in an interactive way. By the way, there is also programming—my child tried this section and really liked it.
If a student makes a mistake, the system gently corrects them and offers clarifying questions. The platform is personalized, adapting to students, so if someone needs more time to learn a particular topic, while someone else needs less, all of that will be taken into account.
There is a personalized assistant—an interactive dragon. Much of the reason is that the child does not view the platform as just a "lesson service."
What is needed to get started? Only a PC, laptop, tablet, and Internet. A smartphone also works, but in my opinion, it's not suitable for certain types of activities.
The platform is suitable for both individual lessons and online education in schools—many teachers use assignments from Uchi.ru.
Advantages. It allows mastering material in a playful way, including programming. Even complex topics are explained in an engaging manner. Tasks are well-structured and categorized by age/class. There is personalization.
Disadvantages. Almost none. There are opinions that one downside is the paid service (there is a free version, but it is very limited; it's more of a way to test the platform). However, this is clearly not a drawback—it's customary to pay for good products in a capitalist world, right?
How much does it cost. Payment for different courses and classes varies. For example, taking English lessons with a teacher. 8 sessions, each half an hour, will cost the family 8560 rubles. The more sessions you take, the lower the cost of one lesson. Therefore, if you choose to study for half a year, a single lesson costs 720 rubles; if you take 8 lessons, the price of one is 1070.
Yandex.School
What it can do. , launched by Yandex together with the Center for Pedagogical Mastery of the Department of Education and Science of Moscow. Classes run from 9 AM to 2 PM, just like in a regular school. The platform offers video lessons on more than 15 subjects of the school curriculum, including physics and technology. There are also additional classes to prepare for the OGE and EGE exams.
For teachers, there is a special platform for online broadcasting of lessons and the ability to assign homework for younger grades, including a feature for automatic checking.
Furthermore, Yandex.School hosts intensives on various subjects, popular science lectures, and much more — all of which are streamed online. My child found the popular science lectures very engaging, to the point where it was hard to pull them away.
What you need to get started. Internet access, a connected device, and a Yandex account. If you're just watching lesson broadcasts, then it seems you don't need it.
Advantages. A good selection of materials. Teachers and parents have access to several thousand ready-made assignments across three subjects — Russian language, mathematics, and the environment, along with some other topics. An undeniable advantage for parents is that the platform is free.
Disadvantages. The range of topics isn't the largest yet, but it is gradually being expanded. In principle, the resource is free, so it's unreasonable to expect universality from it — what exists is done very well.
How much does it cost. Free of charge.
Gooogle "Learning from Home"
What it can do. in education represents a platform for conducting online lessons. As far as I understand, there are no pre-prepared topics here; the platform is specifically designed for conducting lessons online.
Teachers can create websites for their classes on necessary subjects using the platform, upload various educational materials and online courses. Lessons can be viewed online in real time or recorded.
Teachers can conduct individual consultations with students online, working with a virtual whiteboard — on which they can write necessary graphs and formulas. Additionally, teachers can enjoy virtual coffee with each other.
The service is integrated with other Google services, including Docs, G Suite, Hangouts Meet, and more.
What is needed to get started? A Google account and, as in previous cases, internet and a device for watching online videos.
Advantages. Firstly, the tool is free. It was developed for teachers to use during the coronavirus pandemic. Secondly, it is truly an excellent platform for conducting lessons online.
Disadvantages. There aren’t many either. The platform handles the task it was created for excellently. Yes, there are no pre-prepared topics, but they were not promised.
How much does it cost. Free.
Foxford
What it can do. is somewhat different from those described above. The service is positioned as an opportunity to improve grades and prepare for the Unified State Exam (USE), Basic State Exam (OGE), and olympiads. Course programs are divided into several levels, including basic, exam, advanced, and olympiad. Each consists of about 30 lessons, taking place once a week for 2-3 academic hours.
There are courses on a wide range of topics, available tutors, topic collections, tests, and olympiad classes in physics, Russian and English languages, biology, chemistry, computer science, social studies, and history. There is a textbook for self-study preparation. The service can be assessed by the most popular subjects. At the time of writing this review, these were super-intensive USE courses in mathematics, physics, Russian language, and social studies.
Individual lessons are conducted via Skype, while group lessons are broadcasted online. Communication with the teacher can be done through chat.
What do you need to get started? I’m afraid to repeat myself, but you need the internet, a device, and an account with the service.
Advantages. The materials are well-prepared, taught by educators from the best universities in the country, including MIPT, HSE, and MSU. Students can choose their own teacher. According to the platform's own statistics, course students' results in final exams are 30 points higher than the national average.
Disadvantages. There are hardly any, just like in all previous cases. Yes, there are some minor shortcomings, but I didn’t find any major flaws.
How much does it cost? The pricing system is quite complex, so the platform offers personalized price discussions with managers.
Tutor.Class
What it can do. The service differs from those described above. It is primarily a tool for educators that can be used by teachers, university lecturers, tutors, coaches, etc. For example, consider a tutor who is just starting out. To begin, they develop a curriculum, register on the service, and gather students.
participants a regular school classroom, only virtual and equipped with a variety of digital tools. This includes a board, a formula editor, and a geometric shapes editor. There is online testing that allows teachers to assess students' knowledge without needing to integrate additional tools like 'Google Forms' or similar.
During the lesson, the teacher can directly play videos from YouTube or launch presentations within the system. At any moment, the image can be paused, and necessary details can be highlighted, just as in a typical online whiteboard mode.
For communication, a chat has been developed, and in addition to text communication, as seen in many services mentioned above, there is the option to 'raise a hand', 'speak louder', etc. The developers have also added the capability for video conferences. Everything is just like in a regular classroom. For the teacher's convenience, questions are directed to a separate section. There is also a code editor included—for those teachers who teach programming.
If desired, the teacher can record the lesson and upload it to the platform or elsewhere. The ability to conduct lessons with both offline and online schools deserves special mention.
What is needed to start working? You already know: internet, a device, and a browser.
Advantages. For learners, the plus is a virtual classroom that contains everything needed for lessons. For teachers, it includes the same classroom for teaching, plus a student-matching service and fixed payment. Almost all online lesson services charge teachers a percentage commission — i.e., 20% or even 50% of the amount received from the student. "Tutor.Class" offers four types of tariffs — 399, 560, 830, and 1200 rubles per month. The higher the capacity of the online room required, the higher the price.
Disadvantages. They aren't particularly prevalent here either. No critical problems have been noticed, and there aren't too many minor issues. Occasionally, there are crashes due to high server loads, but that's common everywhere these days.
How much does it cost? As mentioned above, for teachers, the fees are 399, 560, 830, and 1200 rubles per month, depending on the load.
So what should you choose?
I tried to include a variety of services with different specializations, focusing on different tasks. For younger children, I highly recommend Uchi.ru. For older ones, Foxford. And for teachers — "Tutor.Class".
Of course, the choice is somewhat subjective, so please share in the comments what you use, and let's discuss.
Source: habr.com
