As a result of COVID-19 pandemic, Institutions are shut down all across the world. Education has changed dramatically, with the distinctive rise of e-learning, whereby teaching is undertaken remotely and on digital platforms.
Research suggests that e-learning has been shown to increase retention of information, and take less time, meaning the changes coronavirus have caused might be here to stay.
With this sudden shift away from the classroom in many parts of the world, some are wondering whether the adoption of e-learning will continue to persist post-pandemic. Here’s some tips on how to embrace the digital classroom.
Tips for Moving Teaching Online
Explain every slides: students don’t want to watch slides without a teacher’s face or voice.
Drive student’s engagement and feedback: for example, you can give students a range of links for further reading. Ideally, they will be able to choose content on the basis of their own interests, but you need to ensure that your expectations are clear.
Ask students their expectations: asking students what they hope to get out of the online course, and how you can best serve them, offers instructors ideas for teaching and gives students ownership of the process.
Check in with students often: with online lectures, it is impossible to tell if students understand the lecture, so engage them with opportunities to talk to one another during a live session.
Group communication: offer students an opportunity to exchange phone numbers, help them create a WhatsApp group. It can sometimes be difficult for a student to ask for a classmate’s phone number.
Identify and support struggling students: instructors can ask whether class members have adequate Wi-Fi and access to devices, and how concerned they are about the transition to online learning.
Don’t ignore the elephant in the room: if possible, talk about COVID-19 and fear. This is an opportunity for you to remind your students to consider the sources of their news and to beware of the large amount of misinformation.
In addition, shared whiteboards, instant messaging, virtual reality that offers immersive experiences, etc.