Online teaching offers many benefits to teachers and even to students. Particularly, it offers convenience and flexibility both for learning and teaching. Teachers can teach from their places and are relieved of commuting to campus. The same holds for students as well.
Anything can have both positive and negative aspects. Of course, online teaching is beneficial in many ways. Nevertheless, it forces teachers to face some challenges as well. If you are new to online teaching, it is better to be aware of the challenges in online teaching. Knowing the challenges alone is not enough. It is better that you know how to overcome those challenges.
Challenges of Online Teaching and Possible Solutions:
1. Engaging Students:
One of the problems faced by teachers during online classes is the difficulty with engaging students. Students are forced to move towards online learning these days. It is a new method of learning for students. So, it becomes hard for teachers to engage students in online teaching. Students learn from their homes. So, they get quickly distracted and lose their concentration even during the live sessions.
How to Overcome?
Of course, you are new to online teaching like your students. Nevertheless, you can understand better than them. You should understand that online learning has many benefits. For instance, you can find interesting platforms and tools. Many kinds of learning approaches like videos and, podcasts are available. Even, you can find different assessment methods these days. You can make the best use of these tools to keep your students engaged.
2. Passive Students:
One of the most common online teaching challenges faced by teachers is that online teaching can turn students into passive learners. Students may participate in the online classes. Nevertheless, they often find it difficult to apply what they have learned in real-life situations. Also, they cannot connect themselves with the materials that they learned previously. The reason is that they need a lot of instructions to fully absorb the new material.
What can be the Solution?
For teaching to be effective, students should get an in-depth learning experience online. As an educator, you should recognize that your students will engage with the course materials only when they find them useful. So, you should aid your students to take part with content in a way that makes sense to them. It is better to ensure that you provide flexibility to them. They should get the opportunities to have concepts reinforced. Even after they complete their final exams, it is better to ensure the availability of course materials online. In turn, they can refresh what they have learned in online classes and can apply them in real-life scenarios.
3. Communication Challenges:
Communication is one of the online teaching challenges for teachers and students. Both should communicate with each other. You should effectively communicate with all students. On the same day, your students should be able to communicate with you easily. In turn, they can come up with their doubts to get them clarified. This challenge can be handled with ease by following some etiquette in communication on both sides.
How to Overcome?
You can resolve this challenge with the following tips:
Ask students to Unmute Microphone only when they speak:
When they keep the microphone unmute at all times, there are chances that the external noise from the homes of each student or even a few students can disturb your communication with all.
Speak directly to your students:
When you converse with your students only, it is better to look at the camera. Naturally, you will be tempted to see the video image, where you can see all your students. But, when you look at the camera, all of them get a feel that you are talking to them. Also, when you do this, your students can see that you are looking at them and not elsewhere.
Account for Audio Delays:
After you speak, pause for a few seconds. Also, if one of your students raises a doubt, it is better to wait for a few seconds before you respond. In general, in online coaching, the chances of audio delays are more. You cannot converse as you do in your physical classes. Make it a practice to pause after each discussion so that all students can get what you communicate.
Keep things professional:
You might be making a video call to all your students. Otherwise, you might be communicating via live chat. Irrespective of the mode, keep your communication professional and to the point. This will make communications clear.
4. Lack of Tech Knowledge:
One of the problems faced by teachers in online teaching is a lack of tech knowledge. Of course, young teachers do not face any issues with tech knowledge. But, this is one of the biggest challenges of distance learning for teachers, particularly those in their 45s, the 50s and 55s. But, this challenge is again easy to address.
How to Address?
Schools should be particular about choosing user-friendly platforms like Ken42 to help their teachers. Even, schools can provide training to teachers, who are not well-versed in handling these education tools. Even, after training, schools can provide tech support to these teachers if they are stuck somewhere. Schools can also provide teachers with essential tools like a PC, web access and related stuff to make things easier for teachers.
5. Time Challenge:
Again, one of the challenges in online teaching is that students do not keep up the time. When they have schools, they know that they should reach the school at a particular time. If they do not do it, they will be punished or fined they know. But, they do not follow a time schedule in online learning. As a teacher, you should ensure that a time commitment is established.
How to Handle?
To bring time discipline, you need not have to be rude with students. You can use a friendly tone to communicate with them and establish a rapport. You can set reminders for assignments and projects. You can send reminders to students a week before the submission deadline.
Now, you have a list of challenges in online teaching. Also, you have the tips to handle these challenges effectively. Online teaching and learning is going to be a hassle-free experience for you and your students from here on, isn’t it?