EducationalJanuary 9, 2021

Adapting Classroom Materials to the Online Learning Environment

It may have been the tragedy of the COVID-19 pandemic that forced teachers to make online learning more of a mainstream choice, but in the post-COVID world, it’s very likely to remain. This means that schools, teachers, assistants, and other professionals in the world of education will have to adapt their styles to suit a new order of learning environment.

Changing Learning Spaces

As many teachers have quickly become aware, the online learning space vastly differs from the traditional face-to-face classroom experience. Lessons have to be conducted differently to suit this new space. Teachers who don’t adapt will find that many of the methods they took for granted are much harder to make effective in the online classroom.

Here are some of the best ways to adapt your classroom materials to the online space:

1. Maximizing Attention

Your online classes need to be busy and have plenty of engaging focal points for the students to interact with and use. When students are not on-site, it’s much harder to hold their attention with competing focal points that are around them. If they are at home, there is the allure of their TV set, laptop, games console, or other family members making noise. Your lesson has to have plenty to look at and plenty to do.

2. Making Students Vocal

With things moving online, one of the ways to maintain engagement is to get students talking, asking questions, and leading discussions. When students are talking, they have to be focused on the lesson, so including direct question-answer engagement is an easy and simple way to enhance lessons. Avoid the lecture-style class as much as possible.

3. Short, Sharp, Sections

In an online class, any single activity or section of the instruction that goes on too long is bound to result in the distraction or loss of focus of the students. For online classes, clear sections of about 15 minutes are the most ideal, and short activities can be completed in 5-10 minutes.

4. Use Props

If using lots of different media at the focal point is losing its novelty, then using real-life objects as props can help the classroom stay focused and interested. In addition, you could ask the students to prepare things from their homes or other spaces to hold up and talk about.

5. Slow Down and Enunciate

Finally, one of the top challenges for online instruction is comprehension among students and teachers. When you’ve been in a classroom for a long time, you take for granted that students- understanding you or not- hear your every word with clarity. Online, however, even a momentary interruption in signal strength or some background or static noise can drastically alter students’ ability to catch what you’re saying.

To that end, you should slow down as you speak, enunciate words more carefully, and be mindful of what a good speed is for online classes versus in-person lessons. You’ll find that there is a difference.

Change the Mindset; Change the Class

A new classroom environment warrants a new and creative approach to your teaching style. Never assume that everything you do in the classroom can be simply transplanted into the online learning space. Work hard to adapt, and you’ll find the online experience rewarding in its own way.

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EducationalNovember 13, 2020

Tips for Taking Online Classes

With the onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic, there has been a sudden surge in the supply of and demand for online classes. In our efforts to isolate, many students (and adults, too) are either continuing their old classes or starting up new ones. The experience of an online class is radically different from that of traditional education, and so learners will benefit from tips like the ones we give below. Follow our advice, and your online learning experience will be greatly enhanced:

1. Try to act as though it were a face-to-face class

It’s tempting to take online classes less seriously. Depending on the class size, the teacher may be unable to see or hear you. This means you might feel the compulsion to divert your attention to something like your smartphone. If you want to get the most out of your online class, treat it as a real class, as though you were sitting in front of the teacher and they could see you.

2. Create a dedicated study space for your online classes

Some people think an online class means they can take it while in a coffee shop, sitting on the sofa, or even lying in bed! The best thing to do is to create a dedicated study space that you use exclusively for your classes. Find a quiet spot with a comfortable seat and a large, mostly empty desk or table space where you can feel comfortable spreading out your books and notes. You may not believe in positive energy, but there is something about a well-set-up study space that spurs creative thought and academic diligence.

3. Remove any distractions

The world of 2020 is one seemingly built entirely of time-wasting distractions — smartphones, social media, Netflix, video games, and endless notifications — that are steadily sapping the productivity of societies everywhere. Your study space should be as clear of distractions as possible. This means no smartphone or television in the room and no unrelated materials on the table. Close the door to your space if you can to block out any noise from family members or classmates in other areas of your home or school.

4. Prepare well for class

Online classes are harder for both students and teachers. Many facial and social cues we take for granted during face-to-face encounters evaporate completely in an online class. All of this means that you have to prepare for class especially well. Pre-read the materials if you can, review any previously learned materials, and get up to speed on any difficult terminology or concepts.

5. Master the functions of your online classroom

Finally, the online classroom typically comes with various teacher and student functions. If you’re taking an online class, be sure you know how to use these. Such functions might include raising your hand, submitting a written message, taking control of some free-draw, or other functions — it depends on the software. Take time to explore the functions and become an expert in being a student in that online space.

“Online” class should never mean “Inferior” class

There’s no reason an online class shouldn’t be as productive and fulfilling as a traditional one. Follow the tips above to get the most out of online learning and experience the many benefits that it can bring you.

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