Online Teaching Useful Tips. What do you need to know before teaching online?
1. Invest in good equipment
You are going to be judged based upon the professionalism of your class. If you have a camera that’s cheap or old or a headset with a bad microphone, the video and audio quality won’t be sufficiently professional, and the quality of the class will leave a bad impression.
2. Dress to impress
Make sure that you wear neat, clean clothes that are professionally appropriate. A shirt or polo top will always look more professional and presentable than casual clothing. If you are representing an institute or school, and they have a uniform, wear the uniform in your classes.
3. Be aware of your environment
During an online class, your students can see quite a bit of what is happening behind you. Make sure that you are sitting in an area that is free of personal distractions behind you. Don`t sit in front of your bed, untidy shelves, dirty walls, old or ugly curtains, bathroom doors, etc.
4. Find a good program / platform and perfect it
There are many different programs and platforms available for teaching online classes. These programs are suitable for any form of education and they include: Zoom, EZTalk Webinar, Skype, Google Hangouts, Adobe Connect and Edvance360 Learning Management Software
5. Choose additional support materials wisely
One of the biggest problems teachers encounter when they first start teaching online is they are unprepared with additional materials. Choose a selection of websites that you know are high quality and suitable to what you are teaching.
6. Adaptability of materials
When preparing materials such as PowerPoints and Prezi, make sure that they are suitable for students who only have a cell phone or tablet. If the materials are crammed with materials, and the lettering is too small, then it is extremely difficult for students to study.
7. Be prepared for the class
Search the web for the what you believe could be the best programs to support your classes. Programs such as Kahoot, Class Dojo, ABCYa.com, FunBrain.com. Another option of course is to use a language teaching-based platform as the basis of your classes.
8. Be comfortable
Set yourself up on a suitable table, one with enough room for you, your computer and any additional documents needed for class. Next, find the most comfortable chair so that despite the long working hours, you don’t suffer physical stress and the related pain that accompanies it.
9. Don’t rely on memory, take notes about each student
Set up a personal system and keep notes about each of your classes and students. If you found out during a previous activity that a student loves creating art, or they told you their birthday, then make a note for yourself. If you find out that some of your students are having problems with something specific, or they have a weakness in a certain skill, write that down too.
10. Approach each class in a happy and enthusiastic manner
Always smile, be happy, maintain an upbeat personality and give your student’s unlimited positive comments of support and congratulations. Your positive attitude will spread into the hearts and minds of your students.
11. Set reasonable expectations
When you create activities, you should make sure that they can all be answered in the allocated time and with the learning resources and materials that you provided. When you ask students to write a summary, draw a picture or complete a worksheet you should make it clear and easy to understand.
12. Make classes interactive
Create presentations that are colorful, include sound effects, have content that allows for open-ended questions to expand the learning experience, or have embedded videos to increase the student’s desire to participate.
Invite students to bring items from the home into the class. If you are teaching colors, they can bring things that are different colors, etc. It is good for the teacher to bring physical props to class as well to support the interactivity of the class.
Have students create cooking videos, interview family members about specific topics, give video presentations, etc.
13. Always show faces
Research has shown that classes are more successful when teachers and students show their faces. Insist that all students have their cameras turned on at all times throughout the class.
14. Give clear specific instructions
When giving instructions in the class, it is very important that they are clear, complete, and are able to pre-empt any questions that the students may have. Giving clear instructions is one of the most important elements in a class when achieving good time management.
15. Manage the classroom efficiently
Teachers need to set rules such as raising hands to answer questions. Have students mute their microphones to prevent environmental noises in the class. Set strict time limits for each activity and don`t fill the class with too many activities. Find a comfortable level of daily achievement and set an amount of activities that you know they can complete.
Taken from “TEACHING ONLINE CLASSES: 15 tips for achieving success in the virtual classroom” by David White (https://englishforyoutheteachersvoice.blogspot.com/2020/04/online-classes-15-tips-for-achieving.html)
