TOP 5 TIPS FOR VIRTUAL TEACHING

The world is slowly changing and we’ve come to realise that great lessons can also be taught virtually, especially if it’s one-to-one. Some students need the extra help but can’t find the means to travel to get the support they need. Virtual teaching can resolve this issue.

I personally have enjoyed teaching online lessons especially during lockdown, where some kids can’t strive in a classroom - the extra maths after school once a week has helped them boost their confidence and feel a lot more happier with learning. This is all in the comfort of their own home and you in yours - it’s a win, win! Most of these tips apply to teaching students 10 years and above (depending on how tech savvy and mature they are!)

TIP ONE: Zoom

Set up a zoom link for each student and make sure they know where to find it. Be consistent with the lesson time and link so they can set it up on their own and not always rely on the help of an adult. It might be worth investing in a zoom account to use for longer than 40 minutes.

Make sure they have a separate notebook for your lessons and they are able to take photos of their work. Sometimes it’s a good idea to check on their notes during the lesson just to make sure they have something written down to refer back to. I also get students to send me photo evidence of their homework or notes during the lesson. This is particularly helpful for math lessons to make sure their notation/calculations have been formatted correctly.

TIP TWO: Email communication (homework)

It is important to establish strong email communication with the parent (and/or student) early on. Have an email address that they have constant access to and make sure you can reply within 24 hours too. Even if this is not something you do as a full-time professional you would still want to be known as a reliable and actively responsive tutor.

Send your homework to the student and cc the parent in too, this way they both know the expectations. If the student is mature enough you can trust them to be responsible for meeting homework deadlines.

It is also a good idea to give regular feedback via email, just a line or two after every other lesson to update the parents on child's progress as well as some encouraging words can go a long way in building a positive relationship with students and parents.

TIP THREE: Whiteboard (more than one student)

This is an extension that is more beneficial for lessons with more than one student. Using whiteboards in the classroom for formative assessments, in my opinion, is one of the best ways to see where students are before picking up a new topic or to see what they’ve learned from something you’ve covered recently. Whiteboard.fi is a great tool to use for online teaching for more than one student, not to say it can’t benefit one-to-one lessons too.

Just click on the link provided and create an account. Once you create an account you can form a classroom and share the link with your students. They might prefer to use the link on their smart phone so it is a touch screen device and easier to use.

TIP FOUR: Videos

Sometimes you need animations to provide in-depth explanations or provide real-life context for new ideas. Remember students can be more tactile or visual learners, so a video demonstration of a lab experiment could be more beneficial to them. Don’t hesitate to also use a video on mute and talk over it, this allows you to teach in your own words. It's a great idea to use this when you can't get access to a visualiser. I regularly use videos put together by Hegarty Maths to assist my math lessons. A bit of Dragons Den or Shark Tank won’t hurt for business lessons too!

TIP FIVE: Visualiser

This tool was the most useful one yet, especially while teaching virtual lessons during lockdown. The school I am in now purchased a Hue HD portable USB per teacher & so I decided to get this one for personal use since I already knew it worked well. A visualiser pretty much takes the lessons back to when lecturers used projectors and made notes for us to copy down.

Some people use interactive screen extensions, which work as a mouse but also a touch screen to make notes from writing on a pad.

This was a quick top tip post for virtual lessons. There are so many other tools that have been created for virtual lessons that will benefit other subjects more. If you have any tips you'd like to share - leave a comment below. Even if its just feedback. Thanks for reading!

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