How can we ensure our online lessons have as few issues to manage as possible whilst creating a supportive learning environment? Here are a few tips I have found the most useful:
Establish a routine
Although it may seem boring and predictable to you, try to develop a routine in the online classroom. Students feel more comfortable and are able to relax when they know what to expect making them more likely to get involved in the learning process. A typical routine would be to start with a whole class warmer, for example, a game reviewing the previous days’ lesson followed by the lesson objectives, and then ending the lesson with checking achievement of the lesson objectives and finishing with a game.
Building a sense of community
It’s easy for students in a brick and mortar classroom to form relationships with their classmates and build a sense of “community”. In an online classroom, the onus is more on the teacher to instigate and help foster those relationships.
It’s important for the teacher to ensure that all students are participating in the lesson and they should be encouraged to ask questions and answer each other. At first, students might be shy and find this difficult or strange to do via a webcam but as it becomes part of the classroom routine, the more normal it will become. Most platforms now allow you to put students into groups in breakout rooms where they can collaborate and complete tasks. Of course the lower the level, the more structured and scaffolded the tasks need to be to ensure maximum participation. If possible try to find a way to help students socialize together online e.g. take your lesson outside and introduce them to your environment and then ask them to do the same or give them time and space to chat together online after class just as they would after school.
Engagement
Student engagement is now more important than ever. If students aren’t engaged, they aren’t enjoying their lesson and if they aren’t enjoying their lesson they will simply stop showing up and find another teacher / online school. Unfortunately, it is harder to engage students via a webcam so it’s important to let your personality shine through, and exaggerating your facial expressions and intonation from time to time will help too.
Make sure your activities include as much student participation as possible e.g. get all the students to use the chatbox to answer the questions in the textbook/courseware throughout the class and try introducing a competitive element to it to make it just that little bit more interesting. Remember to intersperse your online lesson with energizing games/activities, there are so many digital tools out there to help you make your classes fun and engaging.
Praise
It’s important to recognize when students are productive and engaged in any lesson. Whether it’s in school or an online lesson, positive reinforcement is vital to help ensure the engagement of the learners. Think of different ways you can praise your students, with young learners you can use a reward system using songs, badges, charts, etc, and with adults you can reward them with their favorite activity, song, or create achievement certificates.
To very briefly sum up, if you maintain a structured and engaging online lesson you should have fewer issues to manage throughout the class.
Sacha Smallwood
Online English Teacher - Top Up Learning