Benefits of online drama

Last week, we shared the key benefits of drama that help to develop important soft skills in children. In this week’s article, we explore if online drama still allows your child to reap the same key benefits and how does it work.

The key difference between online drama vis-à-vis classroom-based drama is the method of instruction. One is conducted in-person with a teacher in a classroom, and the other is via a digital platform (e.g. Zoom).

In an online drama program, children can still expect to be taught vocal delivery techniques to develop their speech and language skills and learn non-verbal communication techniques. The added benefit of being home also means that students are familiar with the layout of their environment while having access to their own costumes and props. By being home, it allows children to practice resourcefulness, as well as extend their creative and lateral thinking skills. Instructors will also use praise and encouragement to enable students to build up confidence and self-esteem. As such, you can expect your child to be able to reap the same benefits of drama, even in an online setting.

Furthermore, online drama has its own set of benefits that cannot be easily realized in a classroom setting – students get to pick up basic photography and cinematography skills! The limited amount of space that can be captured on the camera means that spatial awareness and camerawork are essential to ensure your movements and expressions can be seen on screen. Students also have to be imaginative in how they exaggerate specific actions and make use of their upper bodies as other participants may not be able to see their lower bodies depending on their camera’s position and angle. This means that students need to think outside the box so that everything on the screen looks fabulous!

How does online drama work?

Online drama is straightforward, all you need is a computer or a mobile device with a camera, a microphone, and a video conferencing app. The most commonly used app for group video calls today is Zoom. A link is provided before class for parents to help set up the app for the child. These links are password protected and are not shared publicly, ensuring that the virtual classroom is a safe and secure learning environment. Once the class starts, the virtual classroom is locked to ensure that no one else can join and disrupt the classes midway. Features like chat and screen sharing are also disabled to minimize disruptions to the students.

In the embedded video below, you can watch how some of our online drama programmes have been conducted previously. We hope your child can be a part of it one day!

In next week’s article, we look at drama and its impact on social intelligence.