Whether you’re a teacher or student, remote learning has many perks and benefits that go along with it. However, there is a learning curve for this style of education. If you prepare yourself before the course, you will get much more out of the experience than had you just dived in with no planning at all. This article will give you the brunt of both the teacher’s and student’s perspective of what can be expected of online learning.
Course Engagement
For the Teacher
No matter what subject is being taught, the central goal is the same: Make it engaging. If you’re a freelance teacher, then you have many options for how to do this, and one of them is creating your own online course. This will make your expertise more appealing to the clientele by giving you that professional edge. You can learn all you need to know about online course platforms from the experts at ecosecretariat.org/best-online-course-platforms/. As long as you keep student engagement as your top priority, then it’s likely your students will show faster results and will retain information better.
For the Student
The student’s number one rule in remote learning is only slightly different from the teacher: Stay engaged. This means picking a course that interests you immensely, so much that you’re willing to put in long hours for it. If that is not an option for you—for instance, if you have to take the course to get qualified for a position—then make sure that the position or goal is so enticing that you’ll be able to spend hours in front of a computer and in isolation for it.
Communication
For the Teacher
Communication takes on much more importance when it comes to online teaching. Try to be as personable as you can through emails. Opening your emails with well wishes is a good start. You also might want to consider getting a messenger app set up between you and your students so that you can easily send assignments or reminders. Remember that everything sounds a little harsher through text than it might face-to-face.
Give as much feedback as humanly possible for all your students. Chances are, they’re very worried about their degree of competency with remote learning, and thus are stressed that their work might not be up to par. Be as direct as you can be without sounding condescending. Do your best not to overwhelm the student with minute details and focus on the more big picture stuff. And most importantly, give positive feedback, as it will build rapport with your students and motivate them to continue their learning.
For the Student
Ask questions, and ask them frequently. Since teachers get flooded with emails daily, it’s a good rule of thumb to make sure you’ve visited all possible avenues for a solution before pressing send. But at the end of the day, it’s the teacher’s job to make sure their students are well-informed and not falling behind. Keep in mind that courtesy is still important even virtually. So make sure you always correctly address your teachers and maintain a respectful tone. This will help build a positive and professional relationship between you and your teacher.
Managing Expectations
For the Teacher
If you’re used to teaching face-to-face, and now you’re suddenly having to transition to teaching online, then you must remember to keep your expectations in check. Students are not going to be as talkative, energetic, or as likely to participate. Do not let this anger you or make you feel like your best isn’t good enough. Figure out what works, learn from what doesn’t, and move on.
For the Student
Whatever hours teachers put in for face-to-face classes, then you can bet that online teachers are punching in double or triple that. Remote teaching requires the use of a vast array of virtual tools, and your teacher has to know how to operate all of them while also delivering engaging lessons, grading assignments, answering emails and more.
Try to give all your teachers at least one business day to respond to emails before you follow up, and never underestimate the power of a simple “thank you.” Patience with yourself and with your teachers will always have better results than getting frustrated. So, try to keep your expectations reasonable to avoid unnecessary stress.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a great impact on everyone, and teachers and students were hit the hardest. Adaptability has never been so important, but it’s crucial that we all stick together. These points mentioned are the number one steps in ensuring that that happens and that you get the most out of your remote learning experience.