by:Jeanne Aimerie on: January 13, 2023Online teaching vs classroom teaching: what are the differences?
There are various ways to teach online:video conferencing, live streaming or pre-recorded videos are some of the possibilities you may choose to deliver content to your students. Each method is a way of creating a virtual classroom, using the accessibility of the internet as an educational tool. In comparison with traditional classroom teaching, what are the benefits of choosing online and blended teaching methods?
More engagement and interactions
Teaching online does not lower the quality of the classes that are conducted. In fact, it can greatly improve both student engagement and student-teacher interactions. The face-to-face interaction found in the traditional classroom is replaced by emails, chats, forums and webinars etc., creating more ways to communicate and explore learning content.
Digital tools such as online quizzes, polls and other learning activities, also increase students’ engagement and help measure the students’ understanding.
More flexibility and opportunities
With no pressure to be physically present in the classroom, nor fixed times and the ability to welcome an unlimited number of students, teaching online can occur at any time and anywhere. This gives students a lot more flexibility, choosing how and when they learn, to take advantage of the various instructional mediums to enhance their learning. Whether it be videos, graphs, presentations or other relevant visuals, students have more opportunities to explore subject matter. Moreover, this flexibility allows them to dedicate more time to other activities. Without the pressure of a rigid class structure, the rewards of online learning are numerous!
Teaching online: how to conduct live online classes
The goal of any online teacher should be to guarantee high-quality lessons for their students. Here are some important tips on how to make teaching online an enhanced experience for students and teachers alike.
Choose the right format for your lesson
The subject matter of a lesson will determine the best format to choose for teaching online. Whether it be science, language or otherwise, there are several approaches that will heighten the efficacy of the students’ learning. For example:
- speaking and commenting on slides simultaneously,
- speaking whilst writing on screen,
- showing learning using different camera angles,
- and many more possibilities!
UbiCast’s Dynamic Rich Media: teaching online made easierUbiCast’s Dynamic Rich Media is a unique learning experience designed to facilitate students’ life. By simply clicking on an online learning video angle, zooming in and focusing on what interests them most, students can propel their own learning. |
Combine the two ways of online teaching: synchronous and asynchronous
Synchronous online teaching
To reproduce similar conditions of the traditional classroom approach to teaching, there are two achievable options:
- Videoconferencing or video lectures creates a virtual classroom with real-time discussion with students, which also allows spontaneous interactions with the teacher. This option is ideal for a smaller, discussions-based class.
- Live streaming can be chosen to address a larger, more dispersed group of students. This option is ideal for a sizable class normally held in an amphitheatre.
Asynchronous online teaching
To give students the possibility to watch videos wherever and whenever they want, a teacher can prepare and create access to pre-recorded lessons or videos uploaded to a learning portal. Here are the two main advantages of asynchronous online teaching:
- Students can learn at their own pace, according to their own schedule, spending quality time reviewing content to prepare for exams.
- Students can interact at their will, by adding their own comments which teachers can answer or comment in response to enrich the learning content.
Engage the audience by using interactive exercises
To improve the quality of online lessons, interactive exercises such as quizzes, questionnaires and surveys, make students more involved in the learning process. It also makes lessons based around theoretical videos more entertaining and fun, which also helps students better retain the learned content.
Analyse the results to improve your online teaching
By being able to analyse and view video statistics, classes can be reviewed to see which content worked and which learning methods need to be improved. Future content and videos can thus be adapted to suit what is the most effective approach in order to meet students’ needs and to achieve the best results.
To make teaching online effective, it’s crucial to capture the students’ attention, and maintain it as learning continues. Online and blended learning can be extremely creative, with a bevy of digital tools at a teacher’s disposal. By delivering content in a way that today’ students and their generation of digital natives are accustomed to, you can offer quality online lessons that are engaging, entertaining and enduring!
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