[3] Utilizing online communication methods, schools help students develop Netiquette, and technical and computer skills.
[3][4] In addition, teachers can provide parents with frequent information about school programs and their children's progress through automated e-mails, official websites and learning management systems.
[8] Furthermore, schools must provide orientation to the online environments and technical support to ensure that all potential users are ready to participate.
Students at first were largely unprepared for the rapid shift to online-only learning and struggled to adjust, while at the same time they encountered a lack of coping resources.
"It is estimated that 1.5 billion students worldwide have been impacted by Covid-19 (Teräs et al. 2020) with much face-to-face teaching rapidly moving to the online environment".
Julie Apker states in her research article "students at first were largely unprepared for the rapid shift to online-only learning and struggled to adjust, while at the same time they encountered a lack of coping resources (e.g., reduced access to instructors and classmates, lack of counseling and social networks) (Kaufmann, Vallade, & Frisby, 2021; Wang et al., 2020).
In addition, informal communication through online chatting or forums can reduce parents’ anxiety of meeting face-to-face with teachers and/or school officials.
There may be financial costs incurred by the school, if they provide training or translation to parents in order to make online communication more inclusive.
[10][11][13][14] Some teachers have noted a "huge volume" of aggressive emails or messages from parents due to the accessibility of online communication apps.
Online communication allows students to access learning materials beyond school hours and develop relationships with peers and teachers.
Student can e-mail or post questions, add their opinions to peer-discussions, and check official websites for pertinent information.
Through online learning communities of teachers and peers, students can build relationships with other users and establish a sense of both connectedness and belonging.
In order to be productive, online communication between students and teachers requires trust, interactivity, common expectations and shared goals.
Teachers should also encourage their classes to evolve into learning communities in which group processes have the power to influence the behavior of individuals.
Schools and teachers can maintain official websites with important information about events, assignments, and resources that students can utilize outside class.
These study groups can be created within a classroom's social networking site, allowing users to connect with each other directly, beyond typical chat rooms and forums.
Along with these resources, some of the most impactful features of online education were the use of personal video calls with professors, e-mail, discussions boards, and blogs.