Taking your Classroom Online

By: Lisa H.

Working solely online is a new experience for many educators. Teachers are not accustomed to being away from the classroom. A normal day is filled with daily personable interactions with their students and with colleagues. Learning online is new territory for some and it will take time to adapt but with perseverance it can become an exciting adventure.

Online instruction will suit some more than others, this includes our students. It may come to surprise you that some of your students will actually thrive online while others may miss the structure of a normal school day. Trying to strike a balance where all students’ needs are catered t, is one of the most challenging obstacles teaching online. However, it is a great opportunity to see how technology can help to provide content that is engaging, differentiated and enjoyable for all.

Things to consider for your online classroom

1. Take your teaching needs into account.

Start with what’s most important. What do you need to do to deliver the content you wish to present to your students online? You will find a wealth of information and instructional videos to help with this. In addition, educational webinars are a great way to upskill and provide ideas for new strategies.

2. What do you want to accomplish now and in the future?

If there is training that you would like to do to feel more comfortable with your online classroom, now is the time to do it. Taking time to engage in professional development is time well spent, and in the long run it will help to edit the way you deliver and structure your lessons making them more suited to online learning.

3. Allow your students to be a part of their learning.

Find out what your students think. How do they like to learn? Can they help you to evaluate their success online? Working together with your students and their parents will help to give you a better overall picture of their learning journey. One-to-one check-ins with students are another way to monitor progress, they may only last a few minutes but they will allow you to check in on a more personal level.