online learning

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Online Education

Tips for improving your online teaching

Many universities and colleges have begun offering online courses due to the rising demand for these courses. Online education has enabled people who have busy schedules to advance with their education because they do not have to travel to campus. However, it is worth to note that this system is very demanding. Online lecturers are required to deliver high-quality content that is suitable for their students. An online course should be prepared in such a way that it is appealing and effective to the students. As an online lecturer, you should ensure that your students are well motivated and engaged. Otherwise, they might start using other videos if you do not motivate them. The following are some of the effective strategies that will assist you in improving your online teaching.

Utilizing technology

man with laptop illustration

The use of technology should help you but not hinder you. This will involve incorporating a lot multimedia, synchronous videos chats in your teaching. In addition to that, there is a screencasting software such as Jing that has been developed by different companies to help you in producing easy and quick video tutorials for the students.

Anticipating the difficulties

Apart from using technology, learning and mastering content in a class is easier than doing it at home. Lectures delivered in person can be very dull sometimes. Sometimes you might experience some interruptions when using the internet. Again you might not know what the other students are doing especially when you are having text-based or asynchronous discussions.

Giving extra feedback

Just like the way you expect a reply upon sending an email, you should expect from your students. These are some mechanisms that enable students to give their feedback on a regular basis. For instance, you should encourage your students to send weekly video messages that summarize what they have done in that week. Giving feedback is the best ways of alleviating anxiety that your students might be having.

Incorporating synchronous opportunities

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This is another powerful way of assisting students. The use of Google Hangouts and Adobe Connect can help you in incorporating these opportunities. These apps are very popular among students. They have been proven to be very helpful especially when the content is a bit confusing. Synchronicity is beneficial for motivating the students.

Encourage play

Online courses can be very boring at times because they involve a lot of lectures and reading. However, some elements can make your classes lively and enjoyable. For example, you can use pictures where applicable.

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