Online Teaching Tips
By 2030, the e-learning market is expected to reach a staggering $1 trillion in revenue. This mind-blowing figure alone makes one thing abundantly clear – online education isn’t just a trend. It’s the future of learning.
So, if you’ve been considering shifting to online teaching, there’s no better time to start. But beware! Succeeding online requires much more than just transferring your in-person lessons to an online teaching platform like BlurBay.
That’s why we created this guide on online teaching. It contains nine highly valuable online teaching tips that will set you up for (online) success from the get-go.
The Top 9 Online Teaching Tips
Teaching online offers plenty of benefits. You get to choose the schedule that works best for you. There’s no commute for you or your students, saving you time and allowing you access to a much wider audience. The online world offers a barrage of opportunities to create unforgettable lessons and offer your students an immersive educational experience.
However, there are also a few drawbacks to consider.
Maintaining student engagement. Managing technology issues. Ensuring effective communication. These are just some of the challenges that might arise when teaching online.
That’s why our online teaching tips aim to help you overcome these obstacles and fully enjoy the benefits of virtual education.
Tip #1 – Prepare a Syllabus
Now, at first, this tip might seem like a given for any teaching scenario. However, you’d be surprised by how many online teachers think they can simply wing it in the virtual environment. After all, they usually have little oversight or feedback from peers, leading some to underestimate the need for structured planning and strategy.
But let us assure you of one thing – students will be able to tell if you’re unprepared. You might get away with it for a few lessons, but eventually, the lack of structure will impact engagement and learning outcomes.
Preparing a syllabus might take you a while, but it will pay off in spades. So, as soon as you think of a course you want to teach, get right to it. Include the essential sections—course overview, instructor(s), learning goals, materials, assignments, and grading schemes—and any other section that might contribute to optimizing student learning.
If your teaching platform allows it, share the syllabus with your students so they have a clear roadmap of what to expect.
Tip #2 – Preview Your Lessons
You never know what can go wrong in a traditional classroom. A student or two might become disruptive. The projector might freeze. You might run out of printed materials before handing them to each student. The possibilities are virtually endless.
During online lessons, at least pre-recorded ones, you have the advantage of controlling the environment. That’s why it’s crucial to preview your lesson thoroughly before uploading it to your teaching platform. Check audio, video, and content. Make sure any problems are addressed before the lesson reaches your students. Otherwise, you might be perceived as unprepared or unprofessional, which can severely impact student engagement and, more importantly, trust.
Tip #3 – Avoid Sticking to Speaking Alone
Let’s be honest – not all traditional lessons are the pinnacle of engagement and entertainment. Still, at least you’re there in person to interact with students, gauge their reactions, and adjust your approach on the fly.
With pre-recorded lessons, you don’t get this privilege.
For this reason, it’s crucial to go beyond just speaking when teaching online. This means leveraging everything that the internet—and your teaching platform—can offer. Multimedia content. Interactive quizzes. Discussion boards. Anything and everything that will make (and keep) your lessons engaging and appealing.
Tip #4 – Vary Your Teaching Methods
Just like you shouldn’t stick to a single mode of delivery, avoid relying on just one teaching method. Sure, traditional, instructor-led presentations of materials are great for providing fundamental knowledge. However, it can quickly become monotonous, even when accompanied by visual aids.
So, mix it up a little. Introduce case studies. Group work. Hands-on learning. Long-term projects. And the list could go on and on.
Incorporating a variety of teaching methods not only keeps your lessons fresh and engaging but also addresses different learning styles. The result? A more effective and dynamic educational experience.
Tip #5 – Provide Timely Feedback
Whatever tips to teach online you happen upon, they’ll all say one thing – don’t forget about the feedback. Just like students can often procrastinate in the online learning setting due to the lack of immediate oversight, teachers can miss critical opportunities to guide and support their students. To avoid this unfortunate scenario, make sure you provide regular and constructive feedback aimed at helping students understand their progress, address mistakes, and stay engaged with the course material.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt if you also seek and receive feedback on your own teaching methods. This feedback will help you nail down what’s working and what’s not, allowing you to only get better with each lesson (and course).
The easiest way to collect feedback is through anonymous online surveys. For providing feedback, on the other hand, you can use comments on assignments, quick quizzes, and personalized messages.
Tip #6 – Don’t Neglect the Tech
While it might be easy to get lost in all the educational aspects of teaching online, don’t forget about the technical ones. After all, technology is the backbone of your online teaching experience.
In this department, your No. 1 task is to find a reliable platform to host your video courses. The perfect example of such a platform is BlurBay, a unique platform that allows you to deliver a smooth, professional, and effective online learning experience.
As the platform’s name suggests, you can use it to blur any portion of your video, using the unlocked part as a teaser or preview. This approach not only entices students but also protects sensitive information and maintains a professional presentation.
You can use BlurBay to post individual classes or entire courses, whatever works better for your particular content. But whichever route you take, the platform will only charge you a 5% commission on sales. In other words, there are no monthly subscription fees or hidden costs in sight!
Of course, you should also pay attention to what you post online, not just where. Your online lessons should be perfectly executed from a technical standpoint. This entails high-quality video, clear audio, and smooth playback.
Tip #7 – Offer Virtual Office Hours
When researching tips to teach on Internet, you’ll see they often emphasize one thing – ensuring no student feels alone or isolated. Sure, they might only be looking at you through a screen, but they should never feel disconnected. For this reason, offering virtual office hours should top your list of priorities when devising your course.
The office hours will allow students to reach out with questions, seek guidance, and engage in meaningful one-on-one interactions. Most importantly, these interactions will show your students that you truly care about them and you’re not just after their enrollment fees.
Tip #8 – Facilitate Discussion and Collaboration
Just like your students shouldn’t feel disconnected from their instructor – aka you – they also shouldn’t be isolated from each other. Simply put, your goal is to create a community through peer interactions.
To achieve this, provide students with tools to communicate with each other (e.g., WhatsApp chats or Slack threads). Incorporate activities that encourage collaboration and dialogue. Use discussion forums, group projects, and peer reviews to foster interaction. There’s just so much you can do to help build connections among your students, connections that will keep them glued to your course.
Of course, if you’re teaching one-off classes or short-term courses, it might not always be possible to form groups of students. However, you can still find ways to incorporate some friendly faces into your syllabus. For instance, you can use previous experiences, tasks, and answers to encourage students to reflect and interact with each other’s responses or just feel understood by the people who’ve already been through the same course.
Tip #9 – Incorporate Current Events
The best thing about teaching online is that nothing is set in stone. The very nature of online education allows you to adapt and update your content on the go. Quickly incorporating current events and the latest developments into your lessons will keep your material relevant and engaging and earn you appreciation from students who value real-world connections to their learning.
For instance, if you’re teaching a course on economics, you might include recent market trends or policy changes. If your subject is science, include breakthroughs or current research studies. Even if you teach something less academic, like yoga or personal development, you can still find ways to incorporate the latest craze taking over social media or new wellness research. Your students will be thrilled to see how their lessons connect to the world outside their virtual classroom in real-time.
Beyond the Screen
Online learning is simply overflowing with potential, both for the students and the teacher. With a few valuable online teaching tips, the right tech, and some time and effort, you can create an engaging virtual classroom that transcends traditional boundaries. So, embrace the possibilities and transform your teaching experience – there’s a whole world of opportunities waiting for you just beyond the screen.
