IF, you have taught online more or little, chances are the enjoyment would be far less than teaching in person. In fact, according to a survey done by Educause in 2017, only 9 percent of academician prefer to teach in an full online environment, which also means there are still 91% still enjoy teaching anywhere but online. Still for all that we know, many academics still don’t find value when it comes to online teaching, as none thought of being an online teacher after spending considerable time in campus classrooms, many of us don’t know the tact of teaching online, but for all the reasons one may not feel fully invested in online teaching practice, still it would be as rewarding as teaching in an bricks-and-mortar classroom may be in a different way, because good teaching is good teaching after all.
The Covid19 has forced schools and colleges to adopt online teaching and learning and this is shifting rapidly to online learning from in-person learning. There is a difference in teaching online in comparison to face-to-face setting, in online set up there is more of a written communication, because as a teacher you miss the body language cues and many times immediate feedback from the audience, and thus its very critical that we understand some rules for good online etiquette so that what we intend to convey is received appropriately. Thus it’s evident that many of us need to have a quick guide on the techniques of online teaching, what you may find here is an advice on online teaching and learning.
A. To be Humble : It is very important to remember that the audience/listeners are people who will get affected by your words and what you speak and write, hence its essential to ensure the feelings and opinions of all of them are taken into account, even if it differs from what we as a teacher feel.- So if you can’t say something on face to someone, avoid saying it online.
B. Language : One always should be aware of the strong language, capital letters that are being used during the communication, am sure many of us would have realised and experience this during our personal exchange of text messages that being sent with one intention and the recipient taking it other, creating misunderstanding and considering the message being rude, so its important to avoid strong language, read the message twice prior to its sent..
C. Grammar: Using apps like textspeak is not a good idea during online teaching, its best when you interact with your friends. Have a professional approach towards written communication, with a proper writing style, always follow the grammar rules while teaching online with the students.
D. Sarcasm & Humour : Being funny is fine, however, one always would love to see a shining personality as a teacher online, but there is a thin line between being funny and being rude, usage of smiley or emoticons becomes handy while sharing humour or sarcasm.
E. Soure of Data : As a professional always remember to cite the source of your data that is being used, or idea is being shared as it’s a good practice to cite the source of your idea/content. With the era of internet, its hard to hide the source, so it would be wise to be open.
F. Materials : It also becomes important on posting posts or inappropriate materials even privately, there is nothing private online, hence one has to be very very careful on what is being shared, prior precaution needs to be taken if screen sharing is being done, which and what content is getting displayed to the viewer/audience..
G. Pardonable : While everyone would try their best to be careful while posting/sharing something online, be pardonable, not everyone will be aware of this rule prior to they post, so its important to understand others if they struggle during written communication, as its totally different like communicating one-on-one.
H. Practice Always try to ascertain as to what is the learning out of teaching, and the recall that the students can do, run test, practice session, check that you are aware on how to communicate with all the students and individuals via the platform.
I. Be on Time – Biscally it means we are present well before the time and are prepared with what is that is being taught today, well prepared with all overiew of the topic, assignments, recap of what was done last time, doubt clearing, seeking questions from students, many who are lesser responsive or interactive. Grade the assignment and return to the student in time, make a point to respond to question posted by students online, inform then what is being taught/topic in the next class, so that they also come prepared with, including the books to refer.
J. Look from their Shoe : In a bricks-and-mortar classroom, you can pick up a non-interactive student, on the other end when they take the class from home, you can’t understand or realize as to when they lost your attention or when they are not able to understand what’s being taught, so its important we need to look from their point of view, as to what would you do had you been in their shoes, one more suggestion would be to have one of your trusted colleague to evaluate your online class, go in join, and poke around as if they were students, this will help one to get a better picture of the teaching/communication and the grasping on the other end
K. Course Content: Like mentioned above, try to think like a student, when you guide them on the course, make it clear to them which book/content to refer, many a time online student gets confused, frustrated and disengaged due to lack of clear understanding of the content being used. In person it’s easy to ask them to refer the page, figure etc, in online, it’s imperative that such books/contents are circulated well in advance to be on the same page.
Thus, the hallmark of good teaching, is the desire to getting better with each passing day, hence it is vital to get that zeal into your online teaching similar to what you get in your campus classroom, One need to invest a little more time and energy in developing an online teacher. Online teaching is still new, but certain things can be done to improve and get more ideas like participating in workshops, joining book discussion groups, read some online-teaching strategies, subscribe to teaching related news letter to improve your online teaching.
At Empower Education, we have an blended approaching of teaching in both brick and mortar classroom, as well as online SYNCHRONOUS Classroom, where the students can like a normal classroom, ask questions, raise queries and clear doubts then & there, have group discussion amongst the participant sitting at the comfort of their homes.