5 ways to help your child thrive in a digital classroom

Digital classrooms and online learning are part of today’s school experience, whether as an alternative or a supplement to in-person instruction. But when the classroom can extend to your living room, learning—and parenting—can be a little different. And navigating the new responsibilities around online learning can sometimes bring added stress for parents and kids, too.

Here, Elizabeth Milovidov, Ph.D., a digital parenting expert, and her teenage son, digital youth advocate Maximilian Milovidov, share their five top strategies for parents and kids navigating online classrooms.

1. Don’t worry about becoming an expert overnight.

Remember: You don’t need to become a power user of new tech for your child to be successful. Elizabeth says it’s enough to be familiar with your child’s online learning platform, just as you would with any new app or device they might use.

“You don’t need to know how an engine works to understand how to drive a car,” she says. “And you don’t need to know every capability and feature of [online classroom tools] to support kids in using these tools effectively.”

Extra credit for parents:

• Some schools offer orientation sessions for parents who want an in-depth introduction to their child’s online classrooms. In many cases, IT staff members are available to troubleshoot any issues. Your school’s responsible tech use policy can be a great resource for questions you may have about students’ responsibilities and privacy protections while using their digital classroom.
• Ask your child to give you a tour of their online classroom. That way they can practice using the platform while giving you a sense of the tasks they’ll be expected to complete. Expect to see things like accessing course documents and videos, turning in assignments through an online portal, or posting responses to a discussion prompt.

Check to make sure that your kids are engaged, not just logged on.

It can be tough to determine if your child is paying attention to online learning material, especially if you’re new to the concept of digital classrooms.

Rather than continually monitoring what’s happening onscreen, Elizabeth recommends regularly checking in with your child about what they’re learning. You can also ask about upcoming deadlines they may be working toward. If they can name at least one topic they’re excited about, that’s typically a good sign that they’re actively listening during class.

Extra credit for parents:

• Ask if your child’s digital classroom offers chat or other ways to contact their instructor for quick answers or feedback. “If they’re using these features to ask questions about the content and not just troubleshoot tech problems, that’s a positive sign,” says Elizabeth.
• When checking in with your child about online learning, ask them to show you where they find their grades, upcoming deadlines and homework assignments. Kids get more out of their online learning experiences when they can navigate their digital classroom on their own.

Make online learning feel more like online gaming.

Digital classrooms usually let students check their grades throughout the course, meaning fewer surprises when it’s time for report cards. This gives students insight into how their grades are calculated—and can even motivate them by making the learning process feel more like a game.

“The gamification aspect is huge,” says Maximilian. “Being able to check all your points and averages, and watch those numbers go up or down, can really make digital classrooms fun to use.” Talk to your child about monitoring grades to see if it might motivate them.

Extra credit for parents:

• Be mindful of signs that your child may be overwhelmed by online learning. “If they’re avoiding using the computer—that’s an indication that it’s time to check in with their teacher,” Elizabeth says.

Be sure your kids “leave” school each day.

If your child will be learning online for the first time this school year, now may be a good time to talk about tech boundaries you’ve established at home—and revise them to include school-related screen time. For example, you may want to consider that a digital homework assignment likely shouldn’t count toward their daily screen use in the same way a video game would.

Because digital classrooms are often open 24/7, kids may feel pressure to keep checking them—doing extra work, refreshing grades or feeling they have to respond immediately. Maximilian suggests setting boundaries around when and how often your child should be accessing their digital classroom from home. For example:

• “You can check your classroom once after dinner.”
• “No school emails or assignments after 7PM, so all must be completed prior to that time.”

Extra credit for parents:

• Leave some room for overlap between educational and recreational screen time—and for conversation about what’s really going on. Elizabeth points out that while parental controls can be a great way to determine whether your child is logged into a digital classroom or scrolling social media, they can’t tell if your child is using apps like Snapchat to ask their classmates about an assignment.

Talk about AI and how to use it for school.

When it comes to schoolwork, the temptation to use generative AI to complete assignments can be especially strong. Talk with your child about the tech they’re already using and how to use these resources appropriately in a modern classroom. Meaning, they should serve as a starting point for creativity rather than a way to avoid doing the work oneself.

Note: Digital classroom platforms such as Canvas can include built-in plagiarism-detection software in their assignment-submission portals. While this can help teachers determine if work is AI-generated, Maximilian says it can also help students make sure they’re citing sources and aren’t plagiarizing unintentionally.

Extra credit for parents:

• When you talk to your kids about AI, consider this tip that Maximilian once received: “The teacher’s advice was to use [artificial intelligence] the way you would consult a friend,” he says. “You might use your friend to get some suggestions or to edit an essay, but you wouldn’t force your friend to write the whole essay for you.”

There’s a learning curve involved in adjusting to an online learning classroom, but Elizabeth reminds parents that they aren’t alone on this journey. “Don’t forget, parents: You are a partner in what I like to call the triangle of trust,” she says. “The parent, educator and child all have a role to play in supporting a student’s academic success.”

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