Back in March 2020, students around the world were forced to stay at home and pivot to online learning due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In the ensuing chaos, parents and teachers scrambled to get headphones and headsets for students to use at home in hopes of helping to channel their focus, minimize distractions and background noise, as well as ensure easy, clear communication with teachers and fellow classmates.

Are distance learning headsets still relevant?

Now that 2024 is on the horizon and school has been back to normal for over two years, the importance of distance learning headsets may seem to have faded; however, many teachers have found that incorporating headphones and headsets into the classroom can bring various advantages and facilitate learning experiences that are just as important and relevant in person as they were for remote sessions. 

Apart from aiding students in staying focused, headphones and headsets for school classrooms  can also reduce noise levels and potentially enhance knowledge retention. Clearly, what we once thought of as “distance learning headphones” can still play a significant role in the learning experience during a typical school day.

An immersive approach to learning

In addition to the benefits of headphones and headsets for watching videos, playing games, or taking tests on Chromebooks, students can also utilize distance learning headphones to connect with peers in other classrooms, districts, or countries. Teachers are using this technology to co-teach lessons through Zoom, providing a sense of variety and reducing the burden of planning alone. This innovative approach allows educators to take turns sharing the screen and discussing various topics, making for a more engaging class experience.

In addition, students can participate in immersive learning experiences through online educational platforms hosted by edutech companies, museums, libraries and more to explore art, history, geography and other subjects. Students get almost a firsthand look at artifacts, works of art, and historical monuments through virtual tours and in-depth videos. By using headphones and headsets to block out the everyday noise and chatter in the background, they can be transported from their classroom to the source of the action, which can help channel their focus and improve their capacity for retaining key information.

Make headsets part of your classroom  

The Covid pandemic was a hard time for everyone on earth, and it’s safe to say that teachers and students had an extremely difficult time trying to recreate the classroom learning experience via remote platforms, but these hardships helped pave the way for technologies and teaching techniques that can be extremely useful and relevant in an in-person classroom setting. The use of headphones and headsets in classroom learning is a perfect example. By normalizing the use of this equipment during remote learning, students and teachers now can benefit from its many advantages, including increased focus, minimized background noise, and, perhaps most importantly, the addition of a “wow” factor to lessons. 

If you haven’t already, try dusting off your old class set of distance learning headsets from 2020 and see how this year’s class responds. We predict it will be a win-win for you and your students!