The education system around the world is undergoing a paradigm shift, as the novel coronavirus (nCoV) pandemic is driving remote online teaching to the forefront.
With Covid-19 disrupting traditional education, an increasing number of educators are switching to remote online teaching to help students continue learning.
While the online teaching method is gaining tremendous popularity, this approach, however, brings with it a unique range of challenges.
Here are some practical tips for overcoming the difficulties associated with remote online teaching.
Distractions
The delivery of a parcel, children rushing into the room, or the noise of plumbing are some of the various disturbances that students encounter in a remote learning or training environment.
In virtual classroom sessions, such distractions can be disruptive for all involved.
To mitigate distractions, online educators should make it absolutely clear that the learning session needs undivided attention, and participants should have a distraction-free dedicated space to pursue the program.
Scheduling
Scheduling programs for in-class learning can give teachers severe headaches, and when it comes to scheduling online teaching, the challenges can be even greater.
Remote learning adds different levels of complexity because of the involvement of multiple asynchronous and synchronous activities, including video check-ins, VILT (Virtual Instructor-Led Training), and eLearning.
To overcome scheduling challenges, online teaching platforms should incorporate carefully thought-out solutions, such as approaches adopted by industry leaders like Learning Cloud New Zealand, which enable students to access learning materials from anywhere, anytime.
Teaching Content
What delivers excellent results in a classroom-learning environment, doesn’t necessarily translate seamlessly into remote online teaching.
Educators making a transition to remote online teaching will need to restructure their existing course content and integrate technology to enable engaging, interactive eLearning.
With COVID-19 changing our lives dramatically, blended-learning is quickly becoming the “new norm” for the education industry.
Also known as hybrid-learning, blended-learning is a technology-based teaching methodology that offers students personalised learning experiences by applying various innovative methods.
Using audio, video, multimedia technology, online apps, and gaming elements, blended-learning makes education fun and easy, providing knowledge-seekers control over their learning pace, time, and location.
Tech Issues
Even in a classroom-learning setting, technical malfunctions can disrupt teaching sessions.
The remote teaching environment is more susceptible. From unsteady network connectivity to access problems, and software bugs, there is an exhaustive list of items that can go awry.
Proper preparation and planning is the key to tackling most technical issues.
For virtual classrooms that include 5+ participants, having another facilitator who can address technical issues via emails and chats, will help prevent session interruptions.
Students should be aware of what exactly they have to do, and they should have verified logins and passwords for secure access.
In addition, it is a great idea to begin the teaching session a bit early, which will provide a buffer time to take care of access or login issues.
Educators should also offer students multiple study options so that they can securely access their training materials from anywhere on Android, iPad, iPhone, PC, or Mac.
Getting Left Behind
In classroom learning environments, instructors can monitor students and adjust the pace of learning to accommodate slow learners, who need extra time.
In virtual classes, it is difficult to identify participants who cannot cope with the teaching speed. They can put on a bold face or remain quiet, leaving the training session without learning anything, feeling frustrated and despondent.
To counter this, both online trainers and learning programs have to be interactive to keep the students engaged.
Additionally, instructors should provide detailed information at the start of a session, on how students can ask questions and raise their concerns during communications.
Top remote online teaching platforms, such as the Learning Cloud, have award-winning tutors and trainers who are available to respond to students in real-time, 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year.
Prompt responses to queries offer students a rich learning experience, without the feeling of being left out or left behind.