We at ViGEO have been fortunate to help over 3000 educators make this digital transition. As part of our ongoing mission to help teachers teach better online, we have developed "The Online Teaching Framework" for creating effective and sustainable online learning environments.
In this series of three articles, you will learn more about the three key aspects of this framework - mindset, methods, and medium - and the various elements that are essential for effective online teaching.
The Methods
To be an effective online educator, simply migrating your physical classroom methods online won't be enough. New challenges need new approaches. Educators need to upgrade their teaching methods to engage a highly distracted generation of students.
Synchronous learning: When classes moving online, educators need to learn the art of keeping their entire class engaged in virtual mode. Students tend to tune out quickly but there are interactive tools and techniques to keep the class active and learning effectively.
Asynchronous learning: Not all learning needs to be live. Educators can create or curate resources for their students to view or read at their own convenience. This allows slow and fast learners to choose a pace that they are comfortable with. It also allows educators to provide a variety of resources for their students.
Blended learning: The ideal approach for online learning is to blend modes. Educators need to look at the learning patterns of students and available resources and choose the best modes for them. A good blend of synchronous and asynchronous modes creates opportunities for students to interact with the same learning material in multiple ways.
Flipped Classrooms: This approach to teaching has found a lot of traction among educators, especially in the online mode. The class gets flipped! Students learn through video resources at home and in the live class. Then, they engage in meaningful interactions with the teacher about what they learned. Team-based quizzes, group assignments, and break-out room discussions can all take the learning forward in a more impactful way.
Dynamic learning: This is a holistic approach to teaching. Educators can utilize the entire digital resource pool to make learning engaging for the digital natives. Students are encouraged to create digital resources and class websites, collaborate online, use social media for learning, and work as a team.
Mastery-based learning: A one-size-fits-all approach to learning and evaluation is a hindrance to a lot of students in their learning process. Some are above the curve and some fall far behind. Mastery-based learning brings in methods and evaluation techniques to help each student set their own pace for learning and master concepts at each level before moving on to the next one.
Problem-based learning: Real-world issues demand real answers. Unfortunately, the education system does not prepare students to solve these real-world issues. Our system focuses on memorising theory and formulae. In PBL, however, students are given opportunities to solve real-world issues using the theory they learned in class. This helps them put their knowledge into practice.
Active recall: Research has proven that the best way to learn and remember things is to create and ask questions about the content being learned. In this approach, students are encouraged to create questions based on what was taught to them. They are evaluated based on the quality of questions they make. This helps students in critical thinking and encourages collaboration.
Gamifying Classrooms: We all love games. Gamifying classrooms is a way to bring something that is intrinsically motivating to students and apply it to learning. Educators can insert simple game elements in their live classrooms with a reward system or have a leaderboard and badges for assignments well done. Group-wise games will definitely motivate students to work together and learn better.
So, what's next?
At ViGEO, we provide training on all the above-mentioned aspects and elements. We want educational institutions not just to survive the COVID crisis but use it as a launchpad into the future. We provide customized training after understanding the needs of the institutions.
Check out our online workshop series and 3-day training course where we implement these ideas into practice.
After going through this framework, what do you think you would want your team to work on? Let us know. We're happy to help.