What’s the best way to learn online teaching methodologies tools and technologies online? I’ve found that it is best to use both hands-on experimentation and conceptual understanding. And, while it is challenging to assess your own work, nothing beats learning from the mistakes of others. That’s why I’ve curated this list of tools and technologies that will help you get started in your quest to learn about innovative online teaching methods.
People today are more busy and don’t have the time to learn things that can improve their life. So, what can you do if you want to share something valuable with your friends or colleagues? You may need to learn about innovative online teaching strategies.
Online Teaching Methods
Listed below are some of the most effective methods of online teaching.
Presentations
Presentations, like in the physical classroom, are one of the most common methods of online teaching. This technique helps make a more significant impact on students – most of whom are visual learners – than a teacher simply relaying information out of a textbook.
Most importantly, presentations allow you to incorporate visuals (images, GIFs, videos, etc.) which makes it easier to deliver and comprehend complex information and data while making the lesson more engaging. Plus you can also share your presentation with the students after the lesson for revision and studying.
Here are a few presentation tools to get started with
Online, presentations are more effective when delivered over video conferencing with a tool like Zoom or Google Meet.
Online Whiteboard
Online whiteboards have risen as a popular choice to virtually emulate the in-person classroom experience shared between teachers and students. They offer an infinite canvas, shape libraries to create different diagrams and charts, pre-made templates, sketching, typing, image import options, etc.
Unlike the traditional whiteboards, they also let you digitize the content created, hence allowing you to re-share them and refer to them at a later time. You can also collaborate with students on the same canvas in real-time which paves the way to
- Carry out assignments
- Brainstorm around lessons
- Mind mapping
- Do interactive exercises such as quizzes
- Review homework and leave feedback
Find out more about how to successfully use an online whiteboard for teaching.
Live Online Classes
Technology has made it straightforward to deliver lectures online even if you are not in the same room as the students, replicating many of the elements of face-to-face interaction.
Using video conferencing tools you can connect and communicate with students across the globe to deliver lessons. Incorporating an online whiteboard, you can make the classes even more engaging.
Lectures tend to put students in a passive role. Therefore to keep students engaged throughout the class online;
- Be prepared by outlining the content of the lesson
- Ask questions during and after the lesson and leave time for students to answer
- Carry out discussions around the topic and encourage students to participate actively
- Make use of graphic organizers, images, posters, videos, visuals, etc.
- Break down the main topic into sub-parts which will allow you to deliver the lecture in smaller chunks making it more effective in terms of keeping the students focused and engaged
- Set clear guidelines for online class etiquette for students to maintain
Pre-Recorded Video Lectures
The benefit of pre-recorded lectures, as opposed to the live ones, is that the former allows the students to learn at their own pace at any time without the presence of the teacher. It also gives them material to go over during revision.
The teacher or instructor, on the other hand, can use the videos to avoid repetitive teaching between different classes.
To create effective pre-recorded lectures;
- Start with a script. Outline the talking points and what should go on each slide.
- Practice as necessary. Unless you are confident enough to do it in one go, rehearse what you will be saying prior to recording.
- Keep it short. If the video is longer than 20 minutes, consider breaking it up into smaller videos. This will not only come in handy when uploading them online but in case you need to replace the content with new information, it’ll be easier to re-do a few minutes video than an hour-long one.
- Have everything ready before recording. Make sure that you are in a place devoid of distracting noises and backgrounds, and that your script and props are in place.
- If you are recording your screen, make sure to have closed unnecessary tabs and apps that may send you notifications.
- Maintain good eye contact with the camera and a tone you would use in a normal one-on-one conversation
Flipped Classroom
The flipped classroom has become one of the most popular teaching methods in education during the past few years.
It entails a strategy opposite to the traditional class format; here the students are required to review class material prior to the actual lesson, hence reserving actual in-class time to put what they have learned into test with teacher-guided activities such as debates, problem-solving, in-depth discussions, quizzes, etc.
Videos have become a core element in the flipped classroom model. While many teachers create videos of their own, some also use videos created by other teachers. Video-sharing platforms such as YouTube can be utilized to share these among students.
Some of the other effective techniques for the flipped classroom include,
- Online quizzes – help students self-regulate what they have learnt and further improve their comprehension of the subject
- Polls – help students reflect and analyze what they have learned by polling their own choices
- Infographics – increase student engagement and enhances memory
- Mind maps or word clouds – allow students to brainstorm around topic areas and develop their thinking skills
Online tools:
RCampus
One of several online learning platforms, RCampus can be used to create courses, student assignments, keep grades, hold class discussions, and post many types of educational content such as videos, links, images, etc. It can also be used as an ePortfolio management system in which both students and faculty can “build multiple, fully-functional presentation portfolios for demonstrating their skills and knowledge or for career development”.
Learnopia
This free online learning platform enables instructors to design and offer courses consisting of a combination of videos, audio files, PowerPoint presentations, and documents such as PDF files, as well as tests consisting of multiple choice questions. Instructors can choose to make their courses freely available or charge a fee for them. Learnopia takes a percentage of all for-fee courses.
Socrative
If you’re interested in teaching whole classes online, or if you want a way to get instant feedback from your students, then Socrative may be useful to you. It is a tool which allows teachers to set real-time questions for their students to answer, and then aggregates and visualises the results. So you can get quick feedback, perform a quiz, or poll the opinions of your students. This allows teachers to see the level of knowledge and understanding of the whole class, and tailor their teaching accordingly. It also keeps students feeling involved and interested, as they take an interactive part in the class. It is available as an app or browser-based, so it can be used as long as your students have access to a computer of some form.
LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda) is another online course marketplace tailored to business professionals. With over 1,000 business courses on topics like project management, web development, and digital marketing, they’re an excellent platform for working professionals looking to keep their skills up-to-date.
They also offer certifications that you can add to your LinkedIn profile, showcasing your expertise and improving your online resume.
What does LinkedIn Learning cost?
Monthly fees tie to a premium LinkedIn membership, which is $29.99/month or $24.00/month if you pay annually.
GoToMeeting
GoToMeeting, as stated on their website, puts the “class in online classes.”
They are an up-and-coming competitor to some of the larger video platforms because of how they gear their functions to suit teachers and students in an online class.
With their free account, you can expect:
- Personal URLs for students to join the class
- Instant messaging, file sharing & screen sharing
- Powerful mobile capabilities for students
- Clean and simple interface with powerful functions
Unfortunately, their free version is quite limiting but it will allow you 40-minute classes/meetings but with only up to 3 participants.
GoToMeeting free would be perfect for independent tutors who have 1-3 students and classes under 40 minutes.
iSpring Free
iSpring Free is an eLearning authoring tool that allows you to turn boring PowerPoint presentations into mobile-compatible online courses with quizzes. The main advantage of the tool is its simplicity. Its intuitive interface enables any novice course developer to create an unlimited number of courses quickly and easily.
Kahoot
Kahoot is a game-based learning platform that lets you create fun learning games. You can make quizzes on any topic and in any language, and customize those quizzes with videos, diagrams, and images. Students participate in “kahoots” (games) by logging the game codes on their device or application.
Podia
Best All-In-One Online Course Platform for Webinars, Downloads, and Memberships ($39/month)
Podia is an all-in-one online course platform with over 50,000 members that is great for digital downloads, webinars, and memberships.
Its main types of courses include:
- Standalone courses that include images, video and audio files, MP3x, PDFs, quizzes, and more.
- Pre-sell your course by taking payments before launch.
- Cohort-based courses with a future start date.
- Drip courses deliver your course in a section-by-section format.
- The ability to add coupons and memberships.
They truly excel with their membership options. You can grow your own online community by interacting with members, bundling products for specific groups, offering tiered plans, and connecting with Facebook Groups and Slack.
Podia also acts as a webinar platform to host either live or on-demand webinars.
Another awesome feature is the ability to run your own affiliate program inside of Podia. You can view all of your affiliates in one place, view helpful reporting, and make payouts based on your own customized commission structure.
There is 24/7 support, no transaction fees, and a simple three-step process to get your course website up quickly.
Although they don’t charge fees, their payment processors have transaction fees of 2.9% + 30¢.
Pricing:
- Mover ($39/month) – Unlimited everything, zero transaction fees, sell courses, digital downloads, and 5k emails sent per month.
- Shaker ($79/month) – Everything in Mover, plus the ability to create membership communities, add affiliates, and 15k emails sent per month.
- Earthquaker ($179/month) – Everything in Shaker, plus dedicated account manager, personalized onboarding, and 50k emails sent per month.
Overall, if you’re looking for strong membership functionality and the ability to increase your sales with the help of affiliates, Podia is a unique and worthwhile course builder to try out.
Conclusion:
Online teaching or online courses refers to the process where the content is delivered and materials are presented online. The problem is that most of these online courses have a lot of dead time or moments when you’re just sitting there waiting for something to happen. While it’s not possible to get rid of all the dead time, it’s possible to reduce it, with some planning and good choices on your part.