Are you an educator trying your hands at the most celebrated trend of this year that is teaching online, then we are here to help you. Educators have been through a lot because of the sudden lockdown wherein online teaching platform turned to be the significant source of lending education.
Staying in touch with every student and communicating with their parents that too remotely requires a lot of adaptability, creativity, and diligence.
As conventional teaching methods have moved online, it has become imperative for educators to imply creative ideas that can engross the learning community and make them comfortable with this new form of learning and acquiring knowledge.
To help you with this new experience and navigating an unexplored territory, we have compiled some creative ideas that will help you better accomplish the goal of online teaching by making it interactive and fun.
Technology has already changed the way of teaching and learning and at the core of this change, the basic requirement is to embrace the path of innovation and further utilize it to get the best outcome.
On this note, let’s move forward and discover some valuable ideas for online teaching.
Built a page or group for your classroom
The most important element for online teaching is to dedicate a virtual space for your class students. The best online teaching platform comes integrated with many of such features that let you create a dedicated page or group for your class students where you can exclusively share knowledge only with them.
In this space, you can share updates, notifications, syllabus, and also assignments/quizzes while keeping parents equally informed.
Social learning network works just like any other social media the only change is that all the content is related to education. So creating a dedicated page or group for your class students is very easy and also acts like a Launchpad for any of your new course or study material.
Utilize the concept of a flipped classroom
Live streaming in social learning platforms is an irreplaceable tool when it comes to teaching online; however real-time live classroom lectures can become overwhelming and exhausting for not just learners but educators as well. Hence, in place of conducting back-to-back live classes, you can choose a flipped classroom model.
This model allows the learners to have access to the learning content at their own pace and they can get back to you anytime they are done with it.
For this, you can embed links to YouTube videos and also create recorded lessons. To add more creativity, try to add quizzes and short assessments in the videos which will better reflect the understanding of your students.
Fix office hours
We cannot underestimate the value of teaching online moreover when it has been chosen as the only alternative to the conventional teaching method.
Giving it a formal approach is in the hands of educators and they must treat this teaching the same as the previous one. This is why fixing strict office hours is a must and will help you in better communicating with the parents.
As an educator connecting not with just the students but also with their parents is an important responsibility to maintain a lasting relationship.
This is why you must always let the parents know about a fixed official time when they can freely reach out to you.
To be more precise, you can create and share a Google calendar on the classroom page/group which includes the timing for meetings, classes, and one-to-one parent’s meetings.
Sprinkle some fun
Ed-Tech companies have created some of the best online teaching platforms that help educators explore the many features and benefits of online teaching. Online teaching is a work of creativity that requires an out of the box thinking approach.
Try adding fun elements to your academic schedules such as goal-based games and group activities. You can also create some daily challenges which need to be done the same day or at some specific time that needs to be mention in the instructions.
Test your !deas
Online teaching is a new domain that is all about experimentation in the current state. Creating and implying ideas is a part of it but you shouldn’t stick to them as a sure thing. Your point of concern is your learners so always take their pick after trying something new. This can be done by actively seeking feedback.
You can create feedback forms with questions that are relevant to your doubts. Ask your learners what they liked or disliked in the idea or if they have any suggestions of their own. Making your students a part of your online teaching journey would ensure a sure outcome and progress for all.
Start an exclusive online teaching blog
Just like you, there are many teachers out there who are struggling to adjust to this educational shift and become more habitual of using the social learning platform.
Educators across the globe are trying to find different ways of applying online teaching practices and are looking forward to learning meaningful strategies from other educators and the peer group.
Creating a blog will take your thoughts all the way to other educators who will likely grow with your experience. Likewise even you will get a chance to learn from some other educator’s blog and put thought into what needs to be done or changed in your online teaching practice.
Conclusion
Online or blended learning has inculcated a lot of personalized and flexible approach to a rather fixed conventional form of education. This has helped students to be more engaged with the academic activities getting a feeling of responsibility and achievement.
The innovation of social learning networks and usage of online teaching platforms for everyday teaching and learning has raised the requirement of creative possibilities for lending digital instructions.
Moreover, the online learning platform is already integrated with so many features and functionalities that teachers get an open choice to explore more of their creativity in an ideal virtual environment. Try to adapt the ideas mentioned above and also create some of your own which you can share on your blog page.
