The outbreak of coronavirus has made many schools close down till further notice. Parents are now finding other alternatives to keep their kids on track. These include homeschooling, online teaching, and other modes of teaching. Many teachers are also trying to find ways to support their students through online learning.  But they often find it difficult because it’s a way of teaching they are not familiar with and they are also not trained for that.

Even experienced teachers find this challenging, especially when they are teaching under pressure. However, they can overcome this hurdle with the right knowledge. Read on as Aaron Dungca, a former teacher takes us through how to teach online.

Make it Simple 

Every teacher knows what it takes to teach students new topics. From continuous explanation to students asking multiple questions, the list goes on. While this process seems frustrating, students often ask for help from one another or their teacher when they are stuck. 

One of the challenges of teaching online is that you are no longer in the same room with your student to help them out.

Their classmates are also not around them to tackle the problem together. Therefore, teachers have to make the lesson simple. It is important to design lessons with clear instruction and use minimal resources. Teachers can also provide the lesson in PDFs forms so that students can have access to it anytime. Simplicity is key and tasks with few instructions often allow students to think and also figure out what to do within a short time explained Aaron  Dungca. 

Have a Digital Home Base 

Providing a digital home base for your students is very important. This can be in form of learning management systems such as Google classroom, Student portal, Grading, Canvas, and many more. You can also create a class website. Students need a single digital platform where they can always visit for any information. 

They need somewhere to go to for lesson details whenever they miss any lesson. This is important because they can be tempted to jump on every application they see online for information on their lessons. The farther you are from your student, the more important you need to provide stability and trust,  says Aaron Dungca. This will make them comfortable to check the same website every time for the tools they need in their lessons. 

Create Personalized Touchpoint

Many students will miss the human interaction that happens in the classroom. The interaction they gave with their classmates and teachers is irreplaceable. Although it is often tempting for teachers to only focus on their lessons, the most important thing is to create a structure for personalized touchpoints with the students. 

This can be achieved through learning management systems, emails, phone calls, and many more. Creating this structure will make your students trust you because they know you care about them and you want them to grow academically. 

‘It is important to understand that achieving this will not be easy and you might feel discouraged, tired, and overwhelmed. But it is achievable with consistency, patience, and hard work, Aaron Dungca advises.