Laguna de Apoyo, Catarina, Masaya, Nicaragua
Photo
by Jonathan Acuña (2017)
10 Things
that Require No Talent
When Teaching
Online
By Prof. Jonathan Acuña-Solano, M. Ed.
School of English
Faculty of Social Sciences
Universidad Latina de Costa Rica
Friday, August 2, 2019
Post 334
Over the years I have experienced with
different types of online teaching scenarios (depending on the company I have
worked for) and with the way courses are administered by the institution offering
online classes. Regardless of the school I have taught English or teaching courses
online with, the prevalent concern among the administrative staff is why
students start skipping synchronous classes, the reasons why they do not complete
tasks on the platform, or the rationale behind the “why” they end up dropping
out of the course.
Looking for some ease in my mind when
intending to find answers to these boggling questions, my unsettled mind came
up with a kind of solution to all
these concerns. When as a team my colleagues and I were asked about the logic
behind attrition, demotivation, and unattendance, senior partners started to voice
their opinions pointing out at different directions or reasons why all this
happens. And at this point, I came up with my “10 Things that Require No Talent
When Teaching Online” infographic.
None of these ideas were organized in any sequential way or respecting any order
of importance; they were just included in the infographic to evidence some of
the work an online teacher is meant to do.
Being
punctual for online synchronous sessions
|
When you were a student, did
you ever like having professors who arrived late to class? I bet this was not
your liking. Being unpunctual is disrespectful behavior against learners.
|
Keeping
learners motivated during the course
|
Isn’t part of our job as educators keep up motivation during a
quarter, semester, or bimester? A good vibe coming from us teachers has to be
felt by our students to always motivate to continue learning.
|
Rescheduling
a class when attendance is low
|
I’m sure you may say that
punctuality has to be demanded from our pupils, but if our students are working
adult learners, should we expect 100% punctuality? Carrying a bit for them
means you can reschedule a class.
|
Having
a positive attitude toward learners and their language mistakes
|
Part of the magic of teaching is seeing our pupils making
mistakes when trying to use what we are facilitating. A positive attitude is
needed to create the right atmosphere for them to try out their new knowledge.
|
Always
being passionate for students’ learning
|
How satisfied can we feel
when we witness the mastery of new content being used by our learners? The
satisfaction can be translated as “passion” for your students’ learning, which
they really appreciate a lot.
|
Using
the platform’s features to enhance a class
|
In our courses we always use two different platforms, one for
independent study and the other for videoconferencing sessions. Using their
features is a great way to enhance a class and entice our learners, too.
|
Reminding
learners of their weekly responsibilities
|
As an online instructor, you
cannot forget to send your learners friendly reminders of the different tasks
they must accomplish before the next class takes place. Be kind and send them
the reminders!
|
Making
students feel that their course participation is valuable
|
If you can make your pupils feel that their participation is essential
to the success of a course, they will be responsive and participative. Do the
opposite, and they will bid you farewell.
|
Reporting
potential dropouts to institutional leads
|
Potential dropouts must be identified
as soon as you detect that someone is about quitting the course. You can
detect this through the amount of work they perform within the self-study
platform.
|
Having
a strong work ethics and commitment
|
All educators ought to have a strong work ethics; it is unethical
to be in charge of a class just because of money. Your commitment is the fuel
that power student interest, engagement and success.
|
As mentioned before, there is no
reasoning behind the way in which the ten
things were included in the infographic. Any order is fine; what really
counts is what we can do for our students to make them achieve success.
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