With the advancement of technology around the world, the traditional forms of teaching are changing rapidly. While there are many teaching methods, most of the traditional methods of teaching can also be applied in online teaching. However, some of the methods are a must for effective online learning. Every student has a different learning style, online teachers should plan activities that include multiple modes of learning.
In online mode, learning is becoming more collaborative, contextual, and active. Educators must identify their objectives, make their schedules, and follow each one of them sincerely. Online learning environments also require a range of interesting methodologies. To make online classes more interactive, teachers should adopt some methods. Below are some effective strategies that will help you to deliver your lessons easily.
6 effective online teaching methods
● Informative presentations: Like in traditional methods of teaching, it is one of the most common ways of online teaching. It helps students in clearing their doubts-most of whom are visual learners. Most importantly, it allows you to incorporate visuals which helps in retaining the information for a long time. It also becomes easier to deliver and comprehend complex lessons with engaging visuals. You can also share the presentation with the students after the lesson so that they can learn from them anytime if they want the visual representation of any topic.
● Online whiteboard: To teach online in a more effective way, online whiteboards have risen as a popular choice to virtually build the in-person classroom experience between the student and teacher. They offer an infinite canvas, shape libraries to create different diagrams and charts which helps in easy explanation of every lesson. They also have pre-made templates, image import options, sketching, etc to improve the online teaching experience. You can also collaborate with students on the same canvas to do assignments, mind mapping, interactive exercises, and many more.
● Live online class: Online live classes made it possible to deliver lectures to students even if you are not in the same room or not physically present there. You can communicate with students across the globe through live classes and video conferencing tools available on the online teaching platforms. You can make the class more engaging by the live classes. You can do many things to keep students engaged by asking questions, carry out discussions, use graphics, and many more.
● Flipped classroom: It is one of the most important teaching methods for better online teaching. It is opposite to the traditional class format, where the students are required to review or see the study material prior to the actual class or lesson. Hence, reserving class time for interesting debates, quizzes, and discussions on what they have learned so far by themselves. Videos are an important element in this method as visuals help in retaining the information for a long time. Teachers can make the videos on their own or use the videos available on the internet. The various techniques in flipped classrooms are online quizzes, polls, graphics, and mind maps or word clouds.
● Pre-recorded lectures: As we all know, all students have different ways of learning. Some students like to learn at their own pace by pre-recorded lectures at any time without the presence of a teacher. It can also be used for revision before any test or examination. Hence, to create an effective pre-recorded lecture, one should keep some things in mind:
1. Always follow a script. Decide which point to go on first and on which slide. 2. Rehearse before the mirror before shooting the video, it will help in boosting self-confidence.
3. Keep it short and up to the point.
4. Make sure you are shooting a video in a peaceful environment.
5. If you are recording your screen, then close all the tabs and turn off the notifications for all applications.
6. To communicate better, maintain eye contact with the camera.
● Game-based techniques: To retain the attention of students, it is one of the best methods to teach online. This approach helps in reducing the anxiety of students and thus helps them to study in a relieved state of mind. It also helps weaker students to develop their competencies by interacting with their classmates actively through games. Here are some tips to keep in mind when carrying this method online:
1. Ensure all students must have the same set of data in the virtual classroom. You can share your screen and can also check up on them by video
conferencing.
2. Use a chat option if students have any doubts or concerns while playing a game.
3. Break down the game into subsequent periods to discuss it with students and also allow them to discuss it with their fellow mates.
4. You can allow students to use any chat platform to bridge the communication gap between a game.
As we all know, online education has paved the way for digital learning and teaching. You can also incorporate other teaching methods according to your preferences. The main objective is to discover new ways to keep students engaged, to explore something new, and do it more effectively.