|
|
|
|
If you are planning to start teaching online you might want to consider these 5 tips.
1. Consider how you will make lessons interactive
Whilst organizing activities such as ice-breakers and team-building activities are easy in a classroom where everyone is in the same physical space, as an online teacher, you might well be wondering how you can replicate such activities in an online environment.
The answer, in fact, is that it is actually quite simple to replicate keeping the classes interactive when teaching online and the trick is to use what is known as 'Breakout Rooms'. These are side rooms that you can place participants into, in small or large groups, so that they can do the activities. You can also let them use a digital whiteboard for collaborating and it is surprisingly easy to use these features in Zoom and other web-conferencing packages.
2. Use some basic security considerations as an online teacher
There are many settings that you can normally adjust in web-conferencing platforms such as Zoom when teaching online and certainly, I would recommend to:
- Set your classes online such that participants can only enter the classroom once you are there also. So they sit in a waiting room until you are ready. This ensures that you have control over the class and can manage the classes in a professional manner.
- Unless you really need to, protect the class by setting a password and providing each participant this password by email before-hand.
- I recommend also disabling the ability for participants to be able to do screen-sharing unless you allow them to during the class. This will help you to avoid your lessons be hacked from outside intruders.
3. Prepare 2 Days or More Before.
I constantly come across the same issue time and time again when talking with trainers about their online teaching experience and the key issues they have experienced. Many new online trainers try out their equipment the same day and there is often a problem. How do you get that webcam to work correctly? Why is the microphone not working as you would expect? How do you set that password in a Zoom online classroom?
These are all things that you really must and should plan and practice and ensure you know how to do, before-hand. I always recommend doing this more than 2 days ahead of time so that you have time, for example, to get hold of a friend to do a trial meeting online or to buy a new microphone if you need one.
4. Make Sure you have a Decent Web-Cam
There is nothing more distracting when teaching online than students struggling to see you when you are expected to the onscreen in the video. You want their attention and focus to be on the lesson itself and not to me on straining to see you onscreen or likewise, struggling to hear you become of a poor microphone.
The cost of an HD webcam these days is very inexpensive and easily available from major retails online. The equipment you need is very minimal in that a decent webcam and decent microphone is about all you will need, apart from access to the teleconferencing software you are planning to use.
5. Realize that online learning can be more tiring
As a student online, staring at the screen can be more tiring compared to being in a classroom in the same physical space. By this I mean that students will find it harder to focus for longer periods and so with online learning, make sure you provide a short break more often.
|
|
