It is said, “When life gives you lemons make lemonade!” With the COVID-19 pandemic, more than a billion children have been out of the classroom. As a result, education has transitioned to an online platform. Frankly, not everybody was able to cope with it including the teachers. Online education had positives like more scope of information, flexibility, and innovation in teaching methods to name a few. In this article, we will discuss how to take advantage of the pandemic and see 20 tips on how to teach online effectively.
Tips on how to teach online effectively
- Keep your cameras on
- Have one-on-ones frequently
- Master technology
- Digital Home
- Visual aids
- Have frequent breaks
- Don’t be passive
- Check progress
- Give feedback
- Innovate
- Prepare
- External links
- Do some research
- Those extra things
- Free tools
- Motivate
- Collaborate
- Be real
- Going beyond!!
- Teach them about social responsibility
Keep your cameras on:
A very good audio/visual communication with your audience is key while communicating virtually. So, it is important for you and the children to keep their cameras and mics on throughout the teaching session. Keeping mics on is also important as it gives a sense of awareness to the child.
Have one-on-ones frequently:
In a regular classroom setup, you have many opportunities for one-on-ones like in the hallway or in the cafeteria, or before class. Online education crushes off this opportunity. So, you have to ideally create them. Schedule regular meetings with your students and discuss their progress and give regular feedback and updates.
Master technology:
No, you don’t have to have masters in technology to master technology. With everything going online, most of the tools available are user-friendly and made quick to learn. There are a lot of tools like Graphic design tools, various settings in meeting platforms like games, polls, etc which you can make use of, simulations, interactive quizzes, forms, graphing tools, etc…
You can find this article at: https://dewwool.com/a-quiz-on-friction/
Digital Home:
Students love to come together at some place even if it is virtual. Create a digital home for students to come to like a website, video call, or phone call. It may be a personal website, a learning management system, a conference call at fixed times, etc.
Visual aids:
Even though you may show tons of videos on youtube or show some mind-boggling simulation it does not come close to using visual aids in your teaching. You can see how motivational speaker Terri Savelle Foy uses visual aids effectively in her motivational videos.
Have frequent breaks:
Online education is way different from a classroom. Breaks are generally avoided in a virtual setting or aren’t given much preference as in an offline case. But, there are certain important aspects to consider here like eye strain, back pain issues, emotional stuff, etc. It is better to take a small break every 20 minutes and a big one every hour or so.
Don’t be passive:
Don’t be passive as in just showing a youtube video or giving the students a few links to play around with. Be interactive and allow them to express themselves and you back them up with feedback and guidance.
Check progress:
This is a very important aspect in a virtual setting. As this is much more difficult compared to a classroom setting. Many teachers make use of various tools like forms, assignments, quizzes, or even online presentations. Doing them regularly is very important.
Give feedback:
After the progress of a child is checked is of most priority to give them the feedback immediately. Sometimes in extreme cases, it is shared with the parents or a guardian of the child. Give positive means to correct any shortcomings if any. Don’t be harsh on them and understand that it is difficult to cope with sudden changes in learning mode.
Innovate:
Go beyond regular methods of videos, presentation, etc, and explore new opportunities like comics, simulations, educational games, etc. You can see this comic here https://dewwool.com/friction-is-a-necessary-evilcomic/.
Prepare:
Always be ready! Have a few lessons notes handy always. Even for a regular class have your notes handy and prepare what you are going to show and when and in which order.
External links:
Sharing external links for further study can be handy. This allows the child to grow beyond the classroom. But, be careful and do some research before sharing any links as sometimes some websites can contain some malicious or adult content.
Do some research:
Go on the internet and do some research on a home other teachers are teaching that particular topic. If you are able to find something interesting then you can include it in your class provided you get the required permissions.
Those extra things:
Sometimes we neglect the small things in life which could be the game-changers in our lives. Things like meditation, prayers, exercise, etc, can create a huge impact in our lives.
Free tools:
Not everything on this Earth is free. But doing a little bit of research you can definitely find a free tool for each case. Nowadays there are a lot of open-source tools and images with a creative commons license. Spend some time finding the right free tools.
Motivate:
Sometimes you will have to take some time out to motivate your class. Find some innovative ways like telling a joke, having a small game, or showing a motivational video.
Collaborate:
Students might be bored of seeing you day-in and day-out. Ask someone who would be a good one for a guest. The online class allows us to do this very conveniently. But make sure you do good research and take all permissions required before you invite the speaker.
Be real:
Discuss real-life events like news, and events in the neighborhood which can give you relief while dealing with depression due to online classes.
Going beyond!!
Students might sometimes require some extra attention like emotional support and such. In these uncertain times, such support becomes very crucial. Take some time to understand the needs of your students.
Teach them about social responsibility
During these uncertain times of the pandemic, we have to understand our social responsibility. It is the teacher’s role to explain the role that we play socially, and lead by example to the students. You can maybe guide them on how to help the poor and needy in their society, or to help other underprivileged students.
So, this is a long list of tips that we found might help you out in your classes. If you find anything else useful you can use them and maybe share it with us.
