All of sudden, the world around has changed and is totally out of our control. Students are learning remotely and teachers are in search of new tools and paths to face the challenges they haven’t faced before.
Changes that has happened
- From no mobile phones allowed in school, to learning only with mobile phones at home, is the change that has happened.
- You all had to unlearn and learn the new process of teaching online, a whole new process was adapted.
- All of you have to face the camera, and become tech-savvy.
- Figuring out the best online tool and class etiquette to be used.
- Society has started to try out online courses who were accustomed to the traditional face-to-face classroom interaction.
Top 5 Benefits
1. Students participation and engagement in the online class has increased. IT facilitates greater interaction, collaboration and psychological safety. You can see students often are very eager to share with each other. The students who used to hesitate to participate actively in class have also shown progress and have started interacting in the online class. You can have all videos, quizzes, powerpoints discussions and questions all in one place.
2. One of the best part about teaching online is you can do it from home. This means that spending time and energy on travelling from one place to another is reduced. Which can be used productively on other works.
3. You can teach more efficiently with the use of proper tools and skills. Your work and the students’ work are properly saved and there is no fear of that getting lost or damaged. You will be able to share useful and timely resources with all the students by posting it in the LMS. Course materials in one place are an excellent resource for students. They will be able to find the materials and resources they need in one place.
4.. The paper waste was difficult to control. Printed books, assignments, resources were wasteful, extra copies and drafts which were always left over all had to be controlled. Now that you are paperless, there is no waste of papers being printed or left over. You will not have unnecessary printing and photocopying work. Sometimes, at the last moment the printer may not work. The photocopier may be jammed, so all these frustrations are not there.
5. The materials prepared can be reused and the students and they can revisit the resources as many times as they want until they understand the content.
Top 5 Challenges
1. Lack of computer literacy is the major issue among teachers and students today. There are multiple modalities and lot of great technology available, which confuses the students. And due to the availability of many technology the students may lack motivation. It is, at times difficult for you to choose which is suitable for the students and can be of good use to them. You may need to spend a great deal of time to prepare the resource and materials.
2. Though submission of tests is of great benefit to both students and teachers. The correction and evaluation part becomes difficult. And the answers written are also not reliable, they may view their notes or Internet for answers. Even online assessment, we are not able to track the progress of them. We are unable to find in which area they could need improvement or a little help.
3. Students get excited about technology, but it should support students with learning and interactions, not replace it. Most of the students have smartphone, laptops or tablet to participate in the online course. But this may not be accessible for all students depending on their financial situation. Many students do not get the high bandwidth or good internet connection to attend the online class.
4. Switching from traditional classroom – face to face, to computer based or virtual classroom makes the learning and teaching experience different. The resistance to change doesn’t allow them to adapt to the online environment. So it takes time for them to get accustomed.
5. Parents attending the class alongwith the students is the most difficult part of it, where they have started judging and commenting on the quality of teaching. Maintaining discipline is really a challenging task for every teacher, when the parents are around. .
Conclusion
You can use a variety of Technology in your online classroom, which will help you completely streamline your teaching. You have many benefits and areas for improvement with the use of online class.
Online classes are good new, but at initial stage the limitations have to be addressed and if we start thinking differently and having an innovative approach to this new world we are going to experience a new world.
If there is any other challenge you are facing, as a teacher, when teaching online and remotely, let us know in the comments below.
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