A few months ago, Zoom was
foreign to me and I rarely used Skype and FaceTime. Virtual teaching was
something I’d occasionally thought about but dismissed it as too cumbersome or
impersonal. Really, I’m a technophobe. Then
the pandemic hit and virtual classrooms sprung up everywhere. The only way to
teach was online.
This term I’m teaching
writing at the University of Utah’s Osher
Lifelong Learning Program (for adults over 50). Part of my course,
“Re-Imagining Your Life: A Creative Aging Writing Workshop,” stresses the
importance of stepping out of our comfort zones in order to grow. So back in March, when the program director
asked if I’d be willing to learn Zoom and teach online, I jumped at the chance.
I realized this was the moment to expand my technology comfort zone. The
first week I muddled through as we experienced a few technological difficulties,
but I encouraged the students (most of whom were also new to online learning) to
re-frame this as a group adventure. I’m almost finished with the six-week
course, and through trial and error, I’ve quickly learned a few things along
the way to help make my online classroom run smoothly. Here are my ten tips:
1.
Lay out the
ground rules upfront – Spend a few
minutes in the first class session explaining how your online platform works,
the mute feature, how to ask questions, taking breaks, if any, etc.
2.
Pace the
instructional material – The tendency
may be to pack in a lot of information but pare down what you normally cover in
an in-person class. With online learning, it’s a bit more of a strain to take
in a lot information at once. Email your students to follow-up with any quotes,
handouts and references mentioned during class.
3.
Speak in a
conversational tone – Be aware of
your pacing and make sure you speak clearly and not too quickly.
4.
Use visuals – Use images, PowerPoint or Word docs to complement
what you are saying. Because we all have different learning styles (auditory,
visual, kinesthetic), slides or documents with quotes, short passages or images
help visual learners to read along. Kinesthetic learners can take notes on what
they hear and see. To mix it up, Zoom has a whiteboard feature which is easy to
use with a little practice.
5.
Ask for help – Enlist a TA or student to monitor the chat feature
and aggregate the questions while you focus on the teaching.
6.
Practice,
practice, practice — Do a few
sessions with yourself or someone else to test out your mic and camera. Very
often, the camera isn’t at eye level so you may need to prop up your computer
or your chair to make sure that you’re gazing straight ahead.
7.
Scan the
“room” – It’s much harder online than
in person to get a sense if students are engaged. Try to scan the students’ faces to see if
you’re holding their interest. If need be, call on people! This way you’ll get more active participation
which, in turn, will make your class more interesting.
8.
Silence is
Golden – Make sure your
phones, computer calendar and event notifications are turned off (I learned
this the hard way). Also, mute the
students while you’re talking to prevent background noise. You’d be surprised
what gets picked up: radios, texts, cell phones, kids crying, dogs barking. You
get the idea. Use the “raise hand”
feature (or have the students raise their hands) to unmute.
9.
Close your
door— Unless you want your cat
jumping up onto the keyboard, your dog lunging onto your lap, or your little
ones barging in, make sure your door is closed.
10. Create the right atmosphere – the background to your image on screen shouldn’t be
too distracting, and neither should your clothes. For this, I’ll defer to the
experts: How
to Look Your Best on a Webcam. For a master class on lighting check out: How
to Look Good on Camera According to Tom Ford. Here’s some common sense information on how
to dress and how to create your web environment: How
to Look Fresh and Professional in Videoconferences and Web Meetings.
Go easy on yourself! We’re all adapting to a new “normal” and much
of your success with teaching online is remaining flexible. I’ve really enjoyed
teaching virtually and am thrilled that I’ve had the opportunity to nudge my
students and myself out of our comfort zones. I’ve enjoyed it so much that I’m
slated to teach my next online course starting mid-May. I can’t wait!
Guest blog author Debbie Leaman’s writing,
including personal essays, has appeared in numerous local, national, and
international magazines and on a variety of websites. She teaches various
writing courses including “Writing Through Grief,” “Writing as a Tool to Cope
with Anxiety” and “Re-Imaging Your Life: Creative Aging.” Read more at: debbieleaman.com and debbieleaman.com/creative-aging-blog.
