Online teaching has peaked due to COVID-19 and will increase in the upcoming days. Teachers from schools, colleges, and even private tutors have started teaching online. However, many of these teachers are new to online teaching.
A recent survey of college administrators by digital learning organisations revealed shocking results. It disclosed that over 97% of teachers have no prior knowledge or experience in teaching online.
The study also found that even experienced online teachers faced issues and had to adapt to them with time. This proves that teachers also need a helping hand in online teaching.
This article discusses online teaching tips and tricks for preparing college instructors to teach online courses.
Tips and Tricks for Online Teaching
1. Practice managing a virtual classroom with co-workers
Teachers must practise an online class with colleagues playing the role of students.
They must also engage in speaking practice exercises. This can be accomplished by:
- Muting mics.
- Allowing one speaker at a time.
- Using the “raise hands” feature while writing in the chat box instead of speaking.
- Practise using breakout rooms if they are available.
2. Discuss how to teach college online
Teachers can pair stronger students with weaker students or give different tasks to different groups of pupils. They can also practise receptive skills, such as reading and listening exercises and demonstrate how they impact flow.
Teachers can discuss possible substitutes, such as having students read a text on a collaborative website. Finding skill-building activities to complete in the actual lesson can also create interactions.
For instance, students can read material with several paragraphs before class. Teachers can assign them a breakout room exercise for the same. This will help promote the speaking and analytical thought.
3. Inform parents and students about changes to expect
Institutes must inform students and teachers of the upcoming changes in advance. This will help students and teachers adapt to the changes. Some changes that may occur are:
- Most work will happen on asynchronous websites.
- Students will access documents and recordings on Google Drive and Dropbox.
- Teachers may distribute assignments through phone, SMS, email, or message.
- Students will have to work online to finish tasks and activities
- Students can have a timetable with fewer one-on-one instructor interactions.
- Parents should be ready to assist their kids whenever they can.
- End-of-year exams and other tests with high stakes will not be an option.
- A lot of schools will base grades on student work.
- Projects will help with formative evaluation, and teachers will decide based on the outcomes of previous exams.
4. Tips to utilise internet tools to hone online teaching
Teachers must receive instructions to use internet tools for efficient online classes. After all, the benefits of technology in the classroom are many.
These tools help perform activities and make classes more interactive. Some internet tools teachers should familiarise themselves with include:
- Breakout spaces for verbal conversation.
- Google Docs for group writing projects
- MS Classroom and MS Teams for distributing assignments and gathering student work
- Whiteboards to draw and explain topics in detail
5. Teaching materials for online teaching
Teachers require support in gathering materials for online classes. This is critical as it makes online education more interactive. However, these materials are difficult to prepare for most teachers. Thus, given below are some materials for online teaching:
- Online training material
- Teaching material for teachers
- Resources or support for students.
- Various techniques to create interaction in online classes.
- New apps that can make it possible to teach college students online.
- Communities of practice help to share issues while building expertise and confidence.
6. Examine abilities and provide ongoing assistance
The teachers must ask themselves:
- What expertise do they feel they possess?
- What will they teach online?
- What assets and competencies do they require assistance with
Examples of requirements in online classes:
- Brief online games and activities
- Online teaching and testing of students
- Advice regarding online safety
- Effective leveraging platforms and technologies
- Setting homework assignments
Institutes must use the resources in the preceding section or share their knowledge with the teachers. With more teachers teaching online, skills will alter. So, as teachers acquire experience, they must schedule regular meetings and make themselves accessible for one-on-one assistance. This is how virtual schools help in the development of teachers.
Many techniques from face-to-face instruction can also help in online teaching.
Conclusion
Online teachers play a vital role as teachers support the next generation of innovations. However, switching to online formats might be difficult for instructors who have only taught in face-to-face settings. Therefore, it is crucial to prepare instructors to teach online and use new technologies over traditional teaching.
