There's a myth that being a teacher is easy. It's one of the most challenging roles to fulfil. A teacher doesn't just impart knowledge but shape an individual and have a profound effect on their life. It has been especially challenging with the shift from the offline mode of learning to the online mode. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, schools and college campuses across the entire nation were under a lockdown, shifting the classes to online. Teachers had to quickly adapt to the technology and online teaching platforms to provide students with a seamless educational experience.
In the current days, teachers are required to teach in online mode, but the traditional teaching methodologies are not always suitable and effective while teaching on an online teaching app. In order to teach effectively and successfully, the teacher has to implement efficient teaching techniques that communicate the subject effectively.
Before beginning to teach online, you need the pre-requisites to be a successful online teacher. These include resources such as a computer/smartphone, a stable internet connection, and have access to an effective teaching platform or a teacher app (online app for teaching). You can download a great online teaching app that is available on your Play Store or App Store based on your device. It is absolutely free of cost and provides innovative and practical tools like video conferencing features, digital whiteboards, attendance manager, fee management, online test maker and seamless teaching in low data mode to simplify the task of online education. In addition to this, you are required to learn about the best practices of teaching online, which are discussed at length in this blog.
In this blog, we will take you through various practices to teach online successfully.
1. Make your presence felt
In online teaching, communication is not as same as physical presence. Therefore, you must use technical tools to make your presence be more pronounced in the classroom. In order to make your presence felt in your online classroom, you need to make the class very interactive and engaging. Sitting in front of a screen and listening can get monotonous for students. Hence, you need to check up on your students periodically and ensure that they understand the topic.
2. Increase student engagement
Student engagement and interaction during online learning are key for being a successful online teacher. To increase student engagement, an active learning environment is encouraged. In this, students are placed at the centre of their own learning, which allows them to achieve a comfortable pace of learning. In a report, it was indicated that learning in student is directly related to the amount of time spent being invested with the educational material. You can create a lively classroom experience in different ways. For example, at the end of every topic completion, you can conduct a discussion on the topic. This will make students think and bring in more interesting ideas and thoughts on the topic. You can also ask them to participate in group activities or projects and assess each-others and their own assignments. In addition to these, you can start an online discussion thread. These are just some of the methods. There are many more creative techniques that you can implement to increase student engagement.
3. Extended study material
In addition to teaching in an online classroom, you can keep your students more interested in the topic by enhancing your digital presence. This can be in the form of article links, videos, messenger, email, forums and discussion threads. It is recommended that your students are aware of how frequent these communications will be and what mode of communication will be used. These additional study materials will keep the interest in the topic peaked and make you a successful online teacher.
4. Personalized Focus
Every student learns at a different pace. Being a teacher means also being patient and providing the student with the required attention. The technique you use for one student might not work for another. Therefore, as a teacher, your aim should be to create study material that all students understand and teach at a pace comfortable for all. Additionally, it is important to maintain a healthy classroom environment and appreciate your students whenever they deserve it. Students who feel appreciated for their work tend to perform well in the class. Acknowledging students for their good work will make them learn more and work better, which in turn makes you a successful online teacher. You can include various types of media such as text, videos, presentations, charts, graphs, graphics and other techniques to help the student grasp the concept easily. This helps in decreasing monotony and also supports students with varied learning styles.
5. Creative assignments
Often assignments and homework can get monotonous for students. You can assign more engaging tasks to keep them engaged in the subject. These tasks can be in the form of a brainstorming session, quizzes, and interactive sessions in class or even solving subject related questions, which rewards them extra marks. This will keep your students invested in the subject and makes them motivated and focused on earning bonus points in the classrooms.
6. Adapting to technology
For successful teaching, the academic world relies on cutting-edge technology. It would be best if you adapted and implemented new technologies in the learning to help your students grasp the topic more effectively. From virtual classrooms or laboratories to new means of communication and media, new technologies are enabling professors' interactions with students from anywhere in the world at any time and presenting new and effective ways to teach.
7. Seek Feedback
Just how you provide feedback to your student, it is very effective and needed for you to obtain feedback from your students. An effective feedback loop is a must in order to truly assess if your students are effectively learning in the online mode. It is significant to seek feedback regarding your teaching method, teaching pace and even the set assignments and tests from your students. This will ensure that your teaching is compatible with all the students, are they efficiently learning the topic and which method is not working for your students. This will help you increase productivity in your students and achieve a high level of students’ classroom performance.
Conclusion
Becoming a successful online teacher may not seem easy, but there are various practices to help you succeed in teaching online effectively. Establishing your presence in the online classroom, keeping your class interactive and conducting multiple activities is essential to keep your students involved. Interesting group activities and appreciating students boost their morale and encourage them to participate in the class positively without any disturbance to other students. A healthy and positive relationship between a teacher and a student will help the teacher manage the classroom and teach the subject effectively. The practices mentioned above can be included in your teaching regimen to make you a successful online teacher.
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