{"id":6896,"date":"2019-09-10T05:02:50","date_gmt":"2019-09-10T05:02:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/?p=6896"},"modified":"2019-09-10T05:02:50","modified_gmt":"2019-09-10T05:02:50","slug":"3-myths-debunked-about-teaching-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/2019\/09\/10\/3-myths-debunked-about-teaching-online\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Myths Debunked About Teaching Online"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"\"3 Myths Debunked About Teaching Online<\/h3>\n

Lisa Wood<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIt does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Confucius<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When three years ago I<\/span>\u00a0first mentioned<\/span>\u00a0to friends and colleagues that I was thinking of teaching online, I met with some resistance. And if I’d paid a bit more attention to some of the doubters, I wouldn’t be on one of my most exciting professional journeys yet\u2026<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite my growing excitement<\/span>\u00a0about teaching online (the flexibility it offered in terms of location and\u00a0workIoad, teaching according to\u00a0<\/span>my\u00a0<\/span><\/i>principles and being creative, the possibility to be my own boss), I had to be realistic. I realised that this was something that wasn\u2019t going to happen overnight as I didn\u2019t have much money or time to invest. The little money that I did have was the money which came from my day job, teaching in a school, which also had to put the food on the table – and still does.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Obviously, it\u2019s a good idea to weigh up the pros and cons and there\u2019s always a risk things might not turn out the way you expected. However, my philosophy is, if you find something that ignites your passion, why not give it a go?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>That said, the seed had been planted, the passion ignited and there was no stopping me.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s been three whole years since the seed was planted and I\u2019ve only just started teaching online, so I am still finding my feet and have got lots to learn. What I have discovered over these past three years, however, is that there are many myths floating around about teaching online which almost stopped me from fueling my passion…<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Myth #1: You need to be an expert at using technology.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The naysayers said I didn\u2019t know enough… perhaps they were right? I\u2019m far too old to be a digital native, I\u2019d never done any courses related to technology, all I knew was what I\u2019d taught myself…<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fortunately, they weren\u2019t right! Lots of online tools available these days are designed for\u00a0<\/span>people like me<\/span>\u00a0(not super tech savvy) – and if in doubt, you should never underestimate\u00a0<\/span>the power of YouTube!<\/span>\u00a0There are thousands of videos out there which can help you learn to do absolutely anything. With a little patience and perseverance, you can soon get up and running with little technical knowledge.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m a self-confessed Google fanatic and a super easy way to manage online students is\u00a0<\/span>Google Classroom<\/span><\/a>,<\/span>\u00a0which integrates seamlessly with other Google products and third party apps. If you want your own website, you can use\u00a0<\/span>New Google Sites<\/span><\/a>\u00a0to create your own web page in minutes – it really is that easy!\u00a0<\/span>Weebly<\/span>\u00a0is another good option to create a website quickly in a simple drag-and-drop way. If you\u2019re looking for something a bit more flexible, I recommend\u00a0<\/span>WordPress<\/span><\/a>. It might take a bit more time and patience but there are lots of tutorials and\u00a0Wordpress\u00a0experts out there to help you.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For video-conferencing software, there are many options to choose from depending on the features you\u2019re looking for. I chose\u00a0<\/span>Zoom<\/span><\/a>\u00a0as it works well with<\/span>\u00a0low band-width<\/span>, which is beneficial for attracting more students as low bandwidth is less of an obstacle and in some cases the only option for both students and the teacher. Zoom is relatively cheap (there\u2019s also a free plan) and has an interactive whiteboard and breakout rooms (rooms within the main room.)\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you want to use\u00a0<\/span>a learning management system (LMS)<\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0organise\u00a0and store your materials\/resources so your students can easily access them, again, there are so many to choose from. I opted for\u00a0<\/span>Moodle Cloud<\/span><\/a>,<\/span><\/a>\u00a0which is probably not the easiest to get your head around at first, but it has a lot of inbuilt features I was looking for, such as digital badges, quizzes, forums etc. If you only need something simple to\u00a0organise\u00a0and upload resources, I highly recommend Google Classroom.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Myth #2: Online teaching is colder and more distant and it\u2019s difficult to build rapport with students.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, physically you are more distant but that doesn\u2019t mean your classes will be \u201ccolder.\u201d The first time I taught on camera,\u00a0<\/span>it did feel a little strange<\/span>. I wasn\u2019t used to using the webcam and not having all my students in the same room. However, the more you do it, the more natural it feels and you\u2019ll transmit this to your students. Using the same techniques you use in a face-to-face class (listen, show respect and interest,\u00a0personalise, use\u00a0humour, interact, share, show your enthusiasm and passion, humanize your classroom), you can build rapport with online students and create a positive \u201cvirtual classroom\u201d atmosphere.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Online classes can be just as engaging and dynamic as face-to-face classes. There are various features in video-conferencing platforms that you can use to encourage student participation. For example, students can interact using the whiteboard or a microphone, and the chat box feature can actually help shy students engage more by allowing them to participate in the chat box only, until they feel more confident. Breakout rooms are great, too, as they allow students to work in pairs or small groups, where they can\u00a0maximise\u00a0interaction with their teacher and classmates and build positive relationships.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Myth #3: It’s a lonely life teaching online.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll spend all day alone stuck in the house, nobody to bemoan your misfortunes to or share your joys with…,\u201d<\/span>\u00a0said friends and colleagues who worried for my well-being.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I can safely say this is not true. Since I started delving more into teaching online by joining groups, engaging on social media and doing courses, I have met so many like-minded, wonderful people who have supported and encouraged me along the way. In fact, one such person I met on\u00a0<\/span>an iTDi course<\/span><\/a>,<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and although she lives on the other side of the world, we\u2019ve kept in touch and she recently loaned me her class to practice on!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As for being stuck in the house all day – not at all!\u00a0Everyday\u00a0I \u201ctravel\u201d all over the world and interact with so many amazing people.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When it comes to teaching online, I\u2019m no expert. I am definitely a newbie, and despite the naysayers, a passionate one<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>Who knows what my online teaching future holds?<\/span>\u00a0Maybe it will live up to expectations, maybe not. At the moment, however, I am definitely enjoying the ride\u2026\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>I may not be there yet, but I\u2019m closer than I was yesterday.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jose N Harris<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

3 Myths Debunked About Teaching Online Lisa Wood   \u201cIt does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Confucius\u00a0 When three years ago I\u00a0first mentioned\u00a0to friends and colleagues that I was thinking of teaching online, I met with some resistance. And if I’d paid a bit more attention to … Continue reading 3 Myths Debunked About Teaching Online<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":0,"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":[143],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-teaching-online"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6896","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\/118"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6896"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6896\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6907,"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6896\/revisions\/6907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}