Online classes are a massive alternative for the best online learning in today’s fast-paced world when everyone is short on time. Video recordings and live lectures are combined with course reading and examinations in online education. Students use an online interface to acquire reading materials, communicate with professors and classmates, check grades, and track their progress. Online education allows you to study or teach from anywhere on the planet for any course online. There is no need to commute or stick to a fixed schedule. Furthermore, you save not only time but also money on this learning platform, which you can use toward other objectives.
But, as we all know, if anything has some nice qualities, it also has some flaws.
For every technology to succeed, we can consider both its positive and negative elements, as well as what we should do and what we should not avoid. Here are some Do’s and Don’ts to keep in mind when teaching online:
Do’s:
- Be ready before you start your session: You can check that you have all of the necessary technology, that you have thoroughly read the course content. In this way it will be easier for the students to understand what you’ll be teaching as there will be less chances of any points to be missed during the session.
- Look professional: Putting on a professional outfit only takes a few minutes. The best part of donning your uniform while teaching online is that it will put you in the right frame of mind to be productive.
- Encourage kids to ask questions by raising their hands, and establish rules for things like using a thumbs up to indicate knowledge.
- Keep an eye on individual student activity and reach out to those who appear to need help, whether it’s because they’re having trouble logging in or missing assignments. They may be unable to fully participate in the course online due to issues with accessibility or other causes.
- Take a survey of your students to find out how much internet access they have and how it might affect their ability to engage in your class.
- Take student comments and respond: If you want to grow your online teaching presence, you should let students know that their opinions matter.
- Speak clearly and slowly, just like you would in a live class. Students with a sluggish internet connection will benefit from this as well.
- Make certain that your students understand the best ways to reach you and when they should do so. Your students should receive reassurance, encouragement, directives, and expectations on a frequent basis.
- Use the mute button when necessary: There may be some students who are producing irritating background noise while online class or you may require all pupils to be silent in order to give instructions.
- Before you do a screen share video, make sure your web browser is cleared.
Don’ts:
- Don’t change your online learning outcomes: While it may be necessary or beneficial to change learning activities and timelines within reason, the changes should still promote students’ achievement of the course’s specific learning goals.
- Don’t make your online class an obstacle course: Students should be able to understand what the course entails straight immediately, including what it covers, how long it will take, and how much it will cost. At times, getting this information out of an online classroom can feel like completing an obstacle course.
- Don’t be too strict with students: Students in classes that have switched to online learning did not pick this reality, and they may have difficulties in succeeding. They, like you, maybe dealing with a lot of stress and uncertainty. To them, be nice and soft.
- Don’t make your students feel like they aren’t welcome in your classroom: Students should never feel that you are not eager to meet them. This reduces their enthusiasm.
- Don’t Ignore the Audio: Audio recordings are a great way to provide feedback to the students. You can speak to kids in groups or one-on-one, offering suggestions and corrections that they can listen to whenever they like.
- Make sure your students aren’t overworked: In an effort to keep students occupied, it’s tempting to provide too much work and too many online assignments. It stifles their desire to learn and study. As a result, don’t overwork them.
- Do not use cell phones in the classroom: Using a cell phone while teaching demonstrates that you are unconcerned about your work and sends the wrong impression to your students.
- Don’t overburden youngsters with rules and routines: Praise the students for their achievements, even if they didn’t finish every stage of a program or timetable. Inquire about what they could do better to complete all of the steps the next time. Students’ self-esteem is boosted as a result of this type of feedback, and they are motivated to keep trying.
- Never publicly humiliate the students: Never endanger a student’s dignity or self-respect. They might lose trust in you and your classroom and never trust you again.
- You won’t be able to transfer the dynamics of a face-to-face class to an online session.
With so many advantages to online teaching, whether it is your own personal education or you are teaching your students, it’s only natural to give it your best. Understanding what makes this learning style so special and how to use it to your advantage can put you miles ahead of the competition. Classplus is a kind of learning platform that helps the teachers as well as students to grow.