COVID-19 SPECIAL
Coronavirus: Even busier with online tuition classes
Schools are closed, most workplaces are shut and people have been urged to stay home as stricter measures to curb the spread of Covid-19 kicked in last week. The Sunday Times finds out how Singaporeans are coping as the month-long circuit breaker period, which began on April 7 and lasts till May 4, enters its second week.
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Mr Kelvin Sim thought his students "might drift off a bit with this online platform, but they have been very enthusiastic and have taken part in discussions actively".
PHOTO: COURTESY OF KELVIN SIM
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KELVIN SIM, 45, TUTOR
Moving his tuition classes online has made his daily schedule busier than before, said Mr Kelvin Sim, founder of Thinkel Learning Lab.
As it is more difficult to manage a larger online class, each tuition session has been split into groups of three to five students, down from about 10 previously.
"It has been quite an interesting experience. The older students are more on the ball while managing the younger ones is more of a challenge. Usually we can look at our students to see how they are doing and push them along, but that is now harder online when you can only see their small faces on the computer," said Mr Sim, 45.
He added: "I thought they might drift off a bit with this online platform, but they have been very enthusiastic and have taken part in discussions actively."
Mr Sim said an upside is that he has received queries from students beyond the Bukit Batok area where his centre is located.
"Because it's now online, we are getting inquiries all the way from Pasir Ris and Woodlands.
"On Thursday, I had a query from a student in Los Angeles, and I now also have a student in Malaysia."
He has also had students put a pause on tuition during this period.
"In a way, during this Covid-19 period, though one door closes, another door hopefully opens," said Mr Sim, adding that he misses the face-to-face interaction with his students. "Now when we meet online, we talk just about school work, less about what they are feeling, or about their lives."
