Due to the huge upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, many teachers and trainers have chosen to teach online. This article provides some useful tips and methods to assist you in becoming an Online Teacher.

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Create courses tailored specifically for online education

The directive to “put your class online” sounds straightforward, but makes little sense. How do you translate the plethora of dynamic cognitive, emotional, and behavioral experiences in face-to-face teaching and learning?

What you can do, however, is tailor your course to this new online medium, allowing learners to continue their education in these unusual circumstances. Certain tasks will be impossible, while others will flourish more easily in an online environment (for example, students often think more online and are more inclined to communicate). By dedicating a week or two to planning your new online course, you’ll have fewer revisions to make during the course’s growth.

Just as you would in “offline” instruction, create simple learning results and communicate them to your online students. Clearly define the instructional practices and evaluation tasks that will assist learners in achieving these outcomes. Wherever possible, create “one-size-fits-all” activities that can be completed online or offline, alone or in collaboration with another user.

Determine what students can take away from your presentation, the material, the activities, and the interactions with other participants.

Approach your course as if you were a pilot

The silver lining of this ‘dark cloud’ that is COVID-19 is that the stakes are low at the moment, and you can try, fail, and rewrite your course freely (you should do it anyway). Solicit feedback and suggestions from your students, which enables them to participate in the course and lowers the stakes for both, you and them.

Prepare instructors

Teaching online is not simpler than teaching in person. It takes significantly longer and is significantly more nuanced in several respects. Online teachers should be technologically savvy and promote collaboration, and engagement among distance learners. To incorporate the teaching and evaluation processes, they must develop facilitation skills and a working knowledge of telecommunications resources.

There are several opportunities for online learning to teach online. For 25 years, Gallery Teachers has been an advocate for global English language teaching culture.  Located in the United Kingdom, Gallery Teachers has expanded steadily over the last two decades. Gallery Teachers offers a variety of online services to assist teachers and ELT organizations with everything from recruitment to e-learning. Gallery Teachers will assist you in achieving your objectives, whether you’re studying to become an ELT instructor or looking to enrich your school, taking your first management move.

Student preparation

Students need training and guidance for effective online learning, as the majority of them are unfamiliar with the process. If you have not yet begun teaching online (or even if you have), ensure that you provide learners with a general orientation to online learning, the specific course, and their responsibilities as an online learner.

Demonstrate to them how to use the Learning Management System (LMS) or online conferencing system, how to upload tasks, handle files, engage in discussion boards, and seek assistance. Above all, online learners, especially those who are unfamiliar with this technology, will need structured help in order to develop self-regulation strategies, time management skills, and an understanding of the rules of online communication. 

Focus on teaching quality

E-learning poses a number of issues that affect teaching: is the course delivered in real time or not, what technology is used – for example, teaching through videoconference versus teaching via LMS – and what are the educational results of the e-learning program.

Bear in mind, however, that the standard of education is important. Your position is identical to that of a face-to-face instructor: you are responsible for directing, educating, leading, encouraging, mentoring, advising, and demonstrating empathy. The goal now is to accomplish this with minimum preparation and technology.

The online courses would emphasize the following:

Management/Organization

Establish goals and ground rules; define clear and measurable learning results for each unit of online study; manage the learning process and pace; provide differentiated instruction – enable the most advanced learners to progress while providing additional support to those who are falling behind.

Community building

Education is fundamentally socio-emotional in nature. Learners may need one another, as well as you, at this point in time. It is critical to become acquainted with them and to assist them in becoming acquainted with one another. Allowing students five minutes at the start of each online session to have fun and get to know one another through icebreaker activities will go a long way toward fostering camaraderie.

At the beginning of the lesson, have pairs of learners call one another to introduce themselves, and then introduce their peers in an online video conference with the rest of the class. Build a platform for non-academic topics if you are using an LMS. Divide the class into four separate groups of four students each. Create an activity for each module that needs the students’ cooperation to complete. This sense of community, camaraderie, and teamwork will improve learner motivation and persistence during the course.

Communication

Consistent information exchanges ensure a fruitful practice of online teaching. Considering the training’s workload, interact regularly with the entire class, with online working groups, and with each individual participant, and design exercises in such a way that learners must often communicate with one another. Maintain separate work schedules and online chats for various days and times of the week; encourage in-depth online conversations in which students engage with one another about their ideas and perspectives; and provide a secondary communication platform outside of the course through which you can contact your students and they can communicate with one another through (Whatsapp, SMS, phone numbers).

Strategies

The majority of the training we offer in person is also available online, but it is significantly less rich and spontaneous. To teach online effectively, you should prioritize the following factors:

1: The variety of teaching methods.

As with face-to-face instruction, tailor your online instruction to the unique learning outcomes anticipated from an operation. Maintain a combination of, community and individual activities, and various modes of instruction, for example:

Direct instruction

Knowledge transfer of concepts, skills, and procedures through demonstrations, lectures, screenshots, or online presentations.

Cognitive learning models in which students acquire knowledge through a structured encounter with a material, a topic, or an issue. Inductive reasoning, open questioning, analogy-based instruction, idea mapping strategies, and problem-solving are all examples.

Models of collective learning

Collaborative teaching strategies include “jigsaw” approaches; reciprocal instruction; conversations and debates; and peer tutoring. It can be as easy as collaborating on a Google Doc or pairing learners to complete a choice board.

2: Concentrate on ‘high-yield’ pedagogical strategies.

These strategies, which include live instruction, note-taking, and studying techniques preparation, spacing out tasks, and teaching metacognitive skills, all clearly result in better learning outcomes.

Keep the effect of your evaluations to a minimum

Many online courses have significantly reduced the number of evaluations and eliminated the rating (except for the pass / fail mention).

If you want to (or are required to) conduct an assessment, it is important to ask yourself the following questions beforehand: Why am I required to conduct an evaluation? Is the purpose of my evaluation to ascertain my students’ prior knowledge before teaching a new concept? Is the assessment’s intent to check that they read it correctly or to ensure that they understand it enough to proceed to the next module? Understanding why you are assessing will assist you in determining whether or not to do so and, if so, in what manner.

Technology can also assist in this field

The majority of LMSs (for example, Canvas) have built-in evaluation tools. Closed-ended tests allow you to score and submit results to learners automatically. Items can be added to your LMS to allow for the customization of tests for individual learners. If you already use rubrics but do not have a learning management system, you can use a Chrome extension such as Orange Slice to automate rubric grading and transmit the results to students. Additionally, you can make the evaluation more enjoyable by using game-like assessment methods.

Currently, it is more important to provide input to students than it is to provide notes. However, technology can assist you with peer evaluation tools such as Peergrade (excellent but fee-based) and Kaizena, a platform that makes it easier for you to offer to your learners as an online tutor, voice feedback that is both free and more personalized.

Be careful and refrain from being a perfectionist

Do not aspire for perfection!

Make the best decision possible in light of these incredibly stressful circumstances. Yes, technology can be frustrating, your students are not the “digital natives” we assumed; but be careful with yourself and your students, and enjoy the latest technical resources you will be using.

Thus, you will learn by chance that your students possess unsuspected abilities and that online interactions with them are likely that you could never have in a full classroom. You will be able to see the students’ and their families’ compassion and appreciation as they strive to do their best during these extremely difficult and unparalleled times.