About How Effect We Can Benefit From Online Classes (Research Paper Sample)

Online Teaching Methods
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Online Teaching Methods
How can one teach effectively online? What methods must be employed in making sure it is a success? Because of the increasing need for learning and diverse geographical locations of people willing to learn, there is a need to bring them all together and satisfy their needs. With the help of the internet, one can register and learn online courses and even graduate. Online and classroom teaching doesn’t differ in the medium used alone (Ragan, 2009). The delivering of information, student interactions, and learning assessment differ in an environment of virtual learning. Online education requires independence. Independence allows students to learn even when the lecturer is not around. There is also a need for the lecturer to learn to engage a more diverse learners’ group because online teaching attracts different kinds of students. For example, parents, working students, and other students from different regions. The use of right tools by lecturers in the right circumstances helps in addressing the differences using the increasingly sophisticated online courseware. Some content delivery and instructional methods that are used in online teaching are discussed below.
Most lecturers that are new to online teaching at many times adopt an approach that is technology-first in instructional planning. This is risky as it might result in complications of the process of teaching and result in poor outcomes of learning. It is advisable to prioritize the objectives of learning before technology. What do you want the students to achieve at the end of the course? This will help you in choosing tools that will give your students the best learning, socializing and practicing opportunities, with the minimum amount of technical overhead. After identifying what one wants to teach and the methods that will be employed, they can now review the technologies available for online teaching and choose the ones that suit what they want to achieve the best. It should be known that different courses have different structures; some require a lot of flexibility while others want to recreate a traditional environment that is more campus-GIVESbased online. These factors have to be considered when choosing instructional methods and tools (Online Education, 2018).
Synchronous Instruction
This is when traditional coursework is replicated live as closely as possible by an online class. Lecturers employ online instructional tools and methods supporting real-time discussions and learning. These live sessions give the learners an opportunity to interact because of the great diversity of the students learning from different locations. Instructional methods depend on and inform when and how the delivery of the content is. A technology that could be very effective is the one that the lecturer maintains audio and video control when allowing students to ask questions and also discuss using live chat. Small classes could also use two-way video and audio that gives a more personal and classroom-like experience of learning. Lecturers that teach synchronous courses can combine methods of content delivery with additional technologies to help in accommodating a wider learners range. Some tools supporting real-time communication are:
* Live Chats
* Tools of web conferencing
* Streaming video platforms
* Telephone
* Virtual office hours
Each of the above tools encourages live interaction and participation, but lecture videos can still be uploaded for those students who want to review them or those who miss classes. But synchronous methods rely on the above-mentioned tools.
Asynchronous Instruction
These courses allow students to access materials, view lectures and collaborate with other students and teachers on a schedule of their own. The lecturer could upload the recorded lectures or use a program like Microsoft PowerPoint to create slides, and maybe include a voice over of the instructor. These delivery methods can be viewed and reviewed whenever a student needs to. They are very helpful to those who fail to attend scheduled sessions or the ones that want to learn at their own pace. They depend heavily on the technology used, and different technologies might be employed. They include:
* Pre-recorded lectures that are downloadable
* Discussion boards and forums
* Email communications
* Microsoft PowerPoint presentations (with or without a voice-over)
* Google drive
* Off-hour support tools, for example, virtual tutoring and resource centers
Each of the delivery formats above helps a lecturer overcome different teaching challenges, though few programs use just a single teaching approach. Both lecturers and students benefit from knowing how different methods of teaching work online and under what circumstances.
Online Courses Instructional Strategies
Online teaching programs have been designed to pass similar skills and knowledge as the programs that are campus-based; this makes the lecturers to mostly adapt similar instructional methods. The method used to deliver the course is in some cases the only difference, while in others, technology enriches and changes fundamentally the experience of learning. Some of these are:
* Lecture – this is maybe the most prevalent strategy used in campuses and online. The online lecturers transmit information just as they would in a classroom, using lectures to also spark the interests of the students and promoting comprehension. LMSes (learning management systems) permit lecturers to record and/or deliver lectures. They place the learners in a passive role and they could be more beneficial when conjunctionally used with other active instructional strategies.
* Discussion – it can be combined with lectures or separately. It supports active learning for students as they are engaged in the process of learning. They can ask questions and also share their opinions during the discussions. When done online, it helps even those students who do not have the confidence of expressing themselves freely in a course setting that is of a traditional setting to freely express themselves. In asynchronous courses, the enrolled students communicate with instructors and peers using social media tools, web forums, and boards. In synchronous classes, the instructors discuss the course materials and ask questions through the use of web-conferencing tools and real time-chats.
* Demonstrations – this is just as prevalent in online courses as in traditional ones. They are crucial when conveying some processes and concepts. It has been enhanced in a big way by the virtual learning environment. A recorded video demonstration is uploaded learning management systems either asynchronously or synchronously. The videos can be accessed by the students whenever they need to in order to master the lessons.
* Simulations – they are delivered in a realistic environment and permit the students to test practical knowledge and skills remotely. They are used in preparing online learners for fieldwork that was earlier done in a face to face setting. They reinforce key concepts and allow students to in exploring them in the context of a real world.
* Case Studies – this method places students in ...