{"id":5883,"date":"2016-12-02T02:23:49","date_gmt":"2016-12-02T02:23:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/?p=5883"},"modified":"2016-12-03T00:29:11","modified_gmt":"2016-12-03T00:29:11","slug":"online-tutoring-a-beginners-tale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/2016\/12\/02\/online-tutoring-a-beginners-tale\/","title":{"rendered":"Online tutoring: a beginner\u2019s tale"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"display: none;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5888\" src=\"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/blog161202.jpg\" alt=\"blog161202\" width=\"1200\" height=\"630\" srcset=\"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/blog161202.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/blog161202-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/blog161202-768x403.jpg 768w, https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/blog161202-1024x538.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/div>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5892\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5892\" style=\"width: 150px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-5892\" src=\"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/course_katie-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Katherine Bilsborough\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/course_katie-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/course_katie-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/course_katie.jpg 546w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5892\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Katherine Bilsborough<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><em>By Katherine Bilsborough<\/em><\/p>\n<p><b><\/b><b>New experiences in cyberspace<\/b><\/p>\n<p>In June 2016 I taught <a href=\"http:\/\/itdi.pro\/itdihome\/creating-elt-materials.php\">my first ever fully-online course for teachers<\/a>. The course was directed at teachers who were interested in learning more about how to create ELT materials. When I\u2019d originally agreed to design and deliver the course, I hadn\u2019t really given it much thought. After all, I\u2019d done webinars before and wasn\u2019t this just a series of 4 webinars with a few other bits in between? As the starting date loomed, I began giving more thought to what would actually be involved and realised that (for me at least) the webinar parts would be reasonably straightforward. It was the <i>bits in between <\/i>that required some consideration. My previous, relevant experience included:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202fwriting online materials;<\/li>\n<li>\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202fbeing an online student on a 12-week course in 2006;<\/li>\n<li>\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202fusing collaborative hangouts while working on projects with multiple authors;<\/li>\n<li>\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202fhaving regular Skype or phone meetings with co-writers and editors;<\/li>\n<li>\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202fdesigning and delivering face-to-face courses for teachers;<\/li>\n<li>\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202fbeing the parent of a son who was doing an online degree and was giving me regular updates on what he hated and what he loved about each aspect of it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I wondered how much of this experience would be of help when the course kicked off. As it turned out, I drew on reserves from <i>all <\/i>of these sources. But what really facilitated my first experience as an online tutor was my decision to enroll as a participant on an online <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theconsultants-e.com\/trainingonline\/eModeration\/\">e-Moderation course<\/a>\u00a0that was running simultaneously. Some might say the timing wasn\u2019t thought out well but, as it turned out, the timing was perfect. After fine-tuning the skills of time management, the situation offered me a unique opportunity to (a) put much of what I was learning on the e-Moderation course into immediate practice and (b) have a ready-made support system of expertise (my tutor) should I run into difficulties. I kept a journal through the month of June, recordings highs and lows and making a note of any revelations. There were lots! But for this post I\u2019ve chosen six which I\u2019ve presented as useful tips below.<\/p>\n<p><b>Extracts from reflective journal and tips to would-be online tutors<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Late May<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Today I received a pre-course questionnaire to complete from my tutor on the e-Moderation course. What a great idea! It made me feel (a) welcome and (b) that they really cared about who I was and where I was coming from. I\u2019m not just a reference number on an Excel sheet! They will use the information I give them to better address my particular needs. They\u2019ll know which things I might be worried about (<i>Have I got enough time? Will I be able to get my head around the \u2018technology\u2019 side of things?) <\/i>and they\u2019ll advise me accordingly. Tomorrow I\u2019m going to design a pre-course questionnaire for the participants on <i>my<\/i> course! Copy cat? Of course.<\/p>\n<p><b>Tip 1: Build in a pre-course element to your course to find out valuable information about participants.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Day 1<\/b><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve had a look around the platform of my E-Moderation course and I love the fact that there are defined areas and forums for different activities, actions, and interactions. It reminds me of a real world learning environment with classrooms, a library, a caf\u00e9 for informal chats, and so on. I wonder whether there are any other spaces out there in the world of VLPs (virtual learning platforms) that have yet to be considered. I\u2019m thinking a <i>virtual cinema<\/i> might be a good idea with a selection of topic-related videos. Maybe it\u2019s already been done. The course I\u2019m giving has fewer places to hang out but that isn\u2019t a problem. In fact, for me right now, it\u2019s a good thing. We\u2019ve got all the spaces we need and in this particular case, <i>less is definitely more<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p><b>Tip 2: Do <\/b><b>a needs<\/b><b> analysis that focuses on which spaces are necessary for a particular course.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>And<\/b><b> we\u2019re off<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Today I wrote my first comment in a discussion thread on my E-moderation course. It felt a bit scary, to be honest. I don\u2019t want my fellow participants or tutor to think I\u2019m stupid. I was thrilled (and relieved) to get a swift response from my tutor. The content of the response gave me confidence, and the fact that he didn\u2019t make me wait too long reassured me that he was there and really interested in our thoughts and opinions. Note to self: I must show that I have read the contributions from my own course participants and <i>sooner is better than later<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p><b>Tip 3: <\/b><b>Let your presence be felt<\/b><b> in discussions and forums! Even a single word sends a message that you are there \u2026 and listening. <\/b><b>It\u2019s<\/b><b> probably better to make frequent short visits to the forum rather than longer, less frequent ones.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Tasks<\/b><\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve been given a short writing assignment that is really motivating because it allows us to focus on something personal of our choice. I already know what I\u2019m going to write about and I\u2019m intrigued at the thought of what my colleagues will write. What a great way to get us motivated. I\u2019ve decided to invite my participants to share something personal, too: a photograph of a person, a place or a thing that inspires them \u2026 The results have been overwhelming \u2013 lots of beautiful photos of all kinds of things that help us all learn a little bit more about each other. I\u2019ve figured out who the cat and dog people are! One participant made my day when she wrote \u201cThank you for this opportunity to share photos. It\u2019s lovely to get a glimpse into the lives of my colleagues and learn a Little bit more about them. \u201d<\/p>\n<p><b>Tip 4: Create opportunities for sharing something personal \u2026 but make sure <\/b><b><i>personal<\/i><\/b> <b>isn\u2019t<\/b> <b><i>intrusive<\/i><\/b><b>! The key is in giving participants choices, either in whether to share or not \u2026 or in what they feel comfortable sharing.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Week 3<\/b><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019d been intrigued at the prospect of interaction on an online course, especially ways of setting up pair work and group work. We\u2019ve had two different kinds of group tasks on the e-Moderation course so far and both were inspiring. One involved a chain of turn-taking and it made me realise the importance of participants actively \u2026 ehm \u2026participating! In this kind of activity, you only need one learner to obstruct the process and the whole thing breaks down. It\u2019s probably a good idea to spell this out at the beginning of the course. Make sure participants (a) understand the importance of active participation in collaborative tasks and (b) have communication pathways to let you know about any potential problems with collaborating. I\u2019ve looked ahead at a third group task and am now convinced that any face-to-face interaction can be mirrored in an online course. In the course that I\u2019m running, I\u2019ve stayed away from explicit pair and group tasks but &#8211; human nature being the way it is \u2013 I\u2019ve noticed partnerships forming between like-minded participants who are making plans to collaborate on future projects. This is heart-warming. I know that since the course ended, several partnerships have been set up between course participants including a joint blog and some self-publishing ventures.<\/p>\n<p><b>Tip 5: Make sure participants know not only what to expect of the course but also exactly what <\/b><b>is expected<\/b><b> of them for the duration of the course. Giving them the reasons behind these expectations is also a good idea. Sometimes what is obvious to a tutor might be a mystery to a learner.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>A final few words<\/b><\/p>\n<p>To conclude I\u2019d like to encourage those teachers considering teaching online to give it a go. Online teaching offers all kinds of exciting new opportunities for those prepared to grasp them.<\/p>\n<p><b>Tip 6: If you are thinking of being an online tutor, become an online learner! You might like to enroll on\u00a0an e-Moderation course as I did or you could find something completely unrelated to teaching. Keep a reflective journal. <\/b><b>I\u2019m<\/b><b> sure it will come in handy when you eventually decide to take the plunge.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-5884\" src=\"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/1-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"1\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/1-1024x683.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Katherine Bilsborough New experiences in cyberspace In June 2016 I taught my first ever fully-online course for teachers. The course was directed at teachers who were interested in learning more about how to create ELT materials. When I\u2019d originally agreed to design and deliver the course, I hadn\u2019t really given it much thought. After &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/2016\/12\/02\/online-tutoring-a-beginners-tale\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Online tutoring: a beginner\u2019s tale<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101,"featured_media":5891,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[111],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-online-teacher"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/101"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5883"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5883\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}