Here at Guruface, we’re set up to help traditional classroom instructors and teachers transition to holding their courses live online with students anywhere in the world. We understand there are a great many traditional classroom teachers that are curious and considering taking their expertise online to earn money teaching online – but have concerns because they’ve never held an online course. You’re in good hands, here at GuruFace we can advise and support you in understanding the key differences you can expect in transitioning from teaching in the classroom to teach live online to students around the world. According to a study conducted by Park, Johnson, Vath, Kubitskey, & Fishman (2013) on Examining the Roles of the Facilitator in Online and Face-to-Face Professional Development Contexts (Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 21(2), 225-245), teachers need to cater to individual students more online than in a traditional classroom and focus on their writing since the teacher cannot get feedback from visual cues. In online classes, a lack of visual feedback is a common challenge for teachers to be mindful of. We suggest you encourage questions through our Go-To-Meeting conference software. While conducting the course teachers need to continually ask the students to provide written feedback so the teachers know where the students are. If writing is difficult for a student they can use videos instead of writing for feedback. Students can create screencasts, record their voices, and share the videos with the teacher and the other students. GuruFace’s platform is flexible and designed to facilitate several options when it comes to instruction and learning. Below is a great article by Mary Strehl for The Babb Group where she gives insights on ways to adjust your teaching for online education. If online teaching is something you’re curious about, contact us here at GuruFace, we would love to share with you in detail our commitment and support system to make sure you can build a successful business teaching and earning money online from your expertise! Here at GuruFace not only can you hold and earn money from live online teaching and training courses, but you can also sell your pre-recorded courses to students around the world. read “5 ways to adjust your teaching for online education“: Teaching online requires rethinking your teaching methods to achieve your instructional objectives in a new environment. The technology involved in teaching online will also present you with new options, as well as new limitations. If you’re transitioning from a brick-and-mortar classroom to an online one, here are five tips to make that transition a little smoother. Table of content 1. You can now address your students as individuals! 2. Remember that tone and humor don’t always come across as intended in the text 3. Understand that students do not all have the same technical background. 4. Let students know, clearly, what they can expect from you 5. Engage your students! You can now address your students as individuals! This is a major change in thinking when transitioning from a face-to-face environment to an online course. You are no longer addressing an entire room of students at once. Each student is accessing your course and reading the material as an individual. In announcements and directions, avoid addressing your students as ‘class’ or ‘all.’ You can use the singular ‘you’ instead. When grading and emailing, address the student by name to add personalization. Remember that tone and humor don’t always come across as intended in the text. Something that might be perceived as funny in a face-to-face interaction can be perceived much differently in writing. When in doubt, leave it out. Before hitting send on an email or submitting feedback for an assignment, reread your comments. Your correspondence is a reflection of you, and in an online setting, it can add to or detract from your reputation. In an online setting, your students and colleagues will know you primarily through your text-based correspondence. Be professional and remember to proofread! Understand that students do not all have the same technical background. Many of your students might be taking an online course for the first time. Don’t assume your students will know how to navigate your course or know what is expected of them. Set your course up for success by providing detailed expectations, rubrics, and instructions. Be clear about what they should do and where they should navigate, and use precise, consistent terminology when referring to the pages and documents they should be accessing. If the syllabus is located under the Course Information tab, direct them to the Course Information tab. If the syllabus is named Econ101 Syllabus, direct your students to read the Econ101 Syllabus. 4. Let students know, clearly, what they can expect from you. Students will want to know: “How do I contact my teacher? When will I hear back from them? Do they have office hours? When and how will my assignments be graded?” These are all reasonable questions! Outline these expectations from the beginning, and stick to them. Teaching online doesn’t mean you have to be available 24/7, but you should let students know how to reach you and when they should expect to receive a reply. When grading, use rubrics and provide detailed feedback as to why the student did (or didn’t) earn points on an assignment. Grade assignments in a timely manner. 5. Engage your students! The students are not sitting in the same room together, so you must create opportunities for interaction in your course, not only with other students but with the instructor and with the content. A higher quantity and quality of interaction boosts student satisfaction in the course, as well as their perception of learning. Build a sense of community with introductions, discussions, and interaction with the instructor. Model desired communication and interaction, scaffolding the discussions until they are running smoothly without your assistance. Use technology to your advantage, creating engaging and interactive content. Above all, keep in mind the ultimate goal – student learning. What do your students need from you to be successful?
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