March rolled in bringing the pandemic with it. Schools, universities and other non-traditional learning centres have had to temporarily close for safety reasons, putting 1.2 billion people out of the classroom. To stay afloat and relevant, most of these entities have shifted into online spaces, and we see a frenzied scuffle to create online lessons and quality learning experiences to cater to this gaping market.
Before the pandemic, online education was already experiencing a high growth rate with market projections for online education forecasted to reach $350 billion by 2025. The pandemic only accelerated this growth. However, creating online lessons is not a breeze. In fact, the current online learning environment can be complex when planning lessons. Here are some tips to help you navigate the new virtual environment.
Out-of-the-box methods to create online lessons
In your crusade towards engaging and interactive content, you may need to venture into non-conventional methods to keep your student’s focus.
The great thing about choosing your out-of-the-box delivery methods is the freedom you have, you can even go beyond the virtual learning environment, if you wish. Do take into account the different learning styles of your students and utilise popular mediums, like social media platforms to generate interest and impact.
Just last week, a colleague of mine introduced TikTok-sized snapshots of information to cater to their younger students. The lesson came with a little informative dance, making learning a fun, interactive experience, without losing the educational value of the lesson.
Modern problems require modern solutions and what better way to educate students than to capitalise on the boom of social media giants, like TikTok? These avenues generate massive interest that could be used to optimise your end goal of improving lesson digestibility. While not every tutor may have the time to go on social media and get creative with their classes, thinking outside the box can help you create online lessons that are interesting and engaging.
Do not be afraid when creating lessons for LMS. Instead, adapt and embrace change so as to not be left behind. Technology is our friend at this juncture and we need to utilise it to curate and create online lessons. We are ushering a new age of education and the landscape of what classes and lessons traditionally looked like will forever be changed. What is truly exciting about this new change are the possibilities of virtual learning.
Fail to prepare – prepare to fail
A cliche that rings true. To go in unprepared to a lesson would be a catastrophe. Remember the fact that the landscape for online learning is fairly new, you need to guide your students through the process. This involves meticulous planning and forethought in how your lesson plans will play out and how you could best utilise the current situation.
Elaborate plans must be concocted and revised with innovative methods to ensure optimal scale and efficiency in learning.
Lucky for you, there are already platforms that could help you streamline your work and help you when creating online lessons. With Zoom video integration, an easy-to-use intuitive interface, live feedback portals, real-time analytics and even attendance marking, there are plenty of features to support planning.
Interaction is key
Golden nuggets of wisdom echoed by quality educators from across the centuries: Interaction is key – the best way to truly capture the attention of the student and ensure successful retention is positive and engaging interaction. As educators, when we curate our lesson plans we need to determine the most engaging and effective delivery methods.
Modern communication platforms have made interaction for online education exponentially easier.
There are obvious limitations present when conducting classes online, but interactive online classes have gained popularity because of their potential. The virtual classroom setting gives us room to experiment and introduce interactive elements to the lesson plan.
Try to inculcate activity that requires active discussion and strive to stay away from the monotonous lesson plans followed by traditional brick institutions. One great practical situation I saw play out was when tutors broke up their class into smaller groups to conduct debates while live-tweeting. This teaching method generated much more feedback from around the globe, which they engaged in real-time.
Out-of-the-box methods to create online lessons
In your crusade towards engaging and interactive content, you may need to venture into non-conventional methods to keep your student’s focus.
The great thing about choosing your out-of-the-box delivery methods is the freedom you have, you can even go beyond the virtual learning environment, if you wish. Do take into account the different learning styles of your students and utilise popular mediums, like social media platforms to generate interest and impact.
Just last week, a colleague of mine introduced TikTok-sized snapshots of information to cater to their younger students. The lesson came with a little informative dance, making learning a fun, interactive experience, without losing the educational value of the lesson.
Modern problems require modern solutions and what better way to educate students than to capitalise on the boom of social media giants, like TikTok? These avenues generate massive interest that could be used to optimise your end goal of improving lesson digestibility. While not every tutor may have the time to go on social media and get creative with their classes, thinking outside the box can help you create online lessons that are interesting and engaging.
Do not be afraid when creating lessons for LMS. Instead, adapt and embrace change so as to not be left behind. Technology is our friend at this juncture and we need to utilise it to curate and create online lessons. We are ushering a new age of education and the landscape of what classes and lessons traditionally looked like will forever be changed. What is truly exciting about this new change are the possibilities of virtual learning.
