Covid- 19 has changed the schooling landscape. It has forced us all to look differently at the learning process. It is quite remarkable how quickly most of us have adapted. For many learners schooling has however, sadly, been a “correspondence” type of learning experience where the worksheets and learning materials have been dumped online and it has been up to the individual to hand in projects and assignments with very little mediation from the school.
The power of teaching well in the classroom lies in the personal contact and attention that a teacher can provide. It is more difficult to replicate on line but here are a few simple guidelines for an effective online learning experience:
- Make eye contact with your students by showing your face
- Record your teaching moments and upload them to a cloud based library
- Chunk the skills you wish to teach into small standalone units that can be reviewed
- Ensure that your instructions are clear, simple, and narrated slowly.
- Ensure that you understand the limitations of the devices your learners will use and adjust fonts and images accordingly
- Encourage the learners to take control
- Be available for regular feedback and questions
Schools are slowly reopening and so they should. We may be tempted to think of this time as a temporary aberration and online learning will soon be irrelevant. Not so! Hamilton House will apply a blended learning approach. We believe in the power of learning through collaboration in the classroom but equally so, we know that the future belongs to those who can master the skills of working online.
