Reviewed by Pamela M. Roggeman, EdD, Dean,College of Education
Did you know that you could teach online from potentially anywhere in the world?With many schools, including K-12 programs, offering hybrid or remote learning these days, online teaching may be an emerging career path for educators who know how to implement effective learning strategies to improve the classroom experience.
Even for those teachers who don’t plan to teach online exclusively, learning theseonline teaching strategiescan be helpful. After all, being able to switch between in-person and virtual teaching environments is a skill that may be required in the future.
Teachers looking to make this shift — or to prepare for a potential return to virtual teaching — may want to considerexpanding their knowledgeof the emerging technology available to them and strategies for developing effective lessons, no matter which modality they use.
Because online learning is a growing pathway inK-12 education, there are many potential approaches to take. From exploring what “online teaching” means today to identifying the most effective strategies to reach online students, here what you need to know.
As you explore the possibilities inherent to teaching online, it can be helpful to review the different formats available.
First, you should consider whether you prefer instructor-led or self-led classes. There is a significant difference between the two. Instructor-led classes are usually “live” in the sense that you can interact with students while the lecture or course is unfolding in yourvirtual classroom.
Another instructional strategy centers on self-led courses, which are the “manual” option for students: They generally watch prerecorded lectures on their own time. This asynchronous instructional format means students can catch up oncoursework or lectures at any point before a certain deadline or before the next one is available to stream online.
These two systems offer different levels of flexibility and focus for both students and educators. Online students who choose self-led classes may have busy work and family schedules. That can make it hard to sit for live lectures at appointed times.
Online teachers enjoy similar flexibility with the self-led format. They can prerecord their lectures and upload them and other course content at any time of day before they are due online. This then frees them up to tackle other tasks, like grading, developing lesson plans or working on research or other projects within in their professional field.
Distance learning is conducted remotely and is often called “remote learning,” as it is usually facilitated entirely online with students and instructors separated by geography.
As explained in Education Corner, students inare instructed in one of four key ways:
“[Distance learning] enables people towithout having to be physically present in a classroom,” notes Education Corner, which is convenient for a variety of people and circumstances. Students juggling a full-time job, for example, or students living in remote areas who depend on home-based education can benefit from the accessibility offered by distance learning.
Fun fact: This is a concept that predates the internet: People once took correspondence courses, with lessons and answers delivered via pony rider!
So, how do you make an online classroom as effective as an in-person one? Here areonline teachers can hit the mark:
No matter where you’re teaching, thecan help you maximize your instructional strategies.
One teaching strategy that can be successfully implemented both in-person and online is the active learning approach. The idea behind this learning style is to engage students in the learning process so that, rather than passively receiving information (and retaining a questionable amount), students connect with the material and master it.
According to theblog, active learning relies on eight main strategies. These are:
In these environments, teachersandstudents can ask questions, lead discussions and learn collectively.
Also known as the three-step interview, cooperative learning is like reciprocal questioning, except that students ask eachotherthe questions and lead discussions among themselves, sometimes independently of the teacher.
With this approach, instructors take a breather every 10 or 15 minutes to let students reflect, discuss or reread materials and then contemplate them so they can better process and digest the information.
This technique involves asking students to concentrate on what is most unclear, confusing or difficult about a classroom discussion point. For example, this might be how to apply a specific rule of grammar to written text. From there, students discuss their struggles aloud or write out their issues with it so a teacher can see what’s wrong or missing from the student’s understanding.
This approach involves taking an opposing viewpoint and then trying to see “the other side” via debate or, more often, essay or other written form. This approach works best with controversial themes in history, current events, literature and related subjects.
By exploring an opposite viewpoint—and then debating or defending it—students learn to think critically and listen actively.
Because you have to learn something thoroughly in order to teach it, this type of activity can be very effective. Students can role-play, “buddy up” to study or actually teach one another assigned content or lessons.
Everyone loves games, right? In an educational setting, games let students learn by doing — and have fun while they do it.
This can look a variety of ways. For instance, students may compete to solve a math problem faster. Or they may submit versions of the ending of a story and have others vote on the best one. (Following the latter, the teacher might ask students to explain why they think a piece of writing was more effective and popular.)
“encouragestudents to actively listen to selected speakers who follow a pattern ofguidingclass discussion andsummarizingprevious points,” explains the Prodigy blog. “Students lead and stimulate class discussion as they ‘rotate’roles, repeatedlyselecting thefollowing speaker.”
In order to transition from an in-person classroom to an online modality, or learn how to provide successful online learning experiences in general, teachers must understand the foundations of virtual teaching. This understanding often requires a knowledge of how to use the same skills, tools and platforms from the in-person classroom and apply them to an online course.
By learning how to design effective online experiences, educators can help strategically foster student engagement and enjoyment in the online classroom. Additionally, it is essential to be able to provide the same level of support to students through distance learning as in-person learning. This requires a fundamental knowledge of the latest online tools to aid learner success.
To answer this growing demand for teachers who can facilitate effective virtual classrooms,۴ýoffers theFoundations in Virtual Teachingcourse. This single, noncredit, professional development course helps teachers transition from in-person, traditional classrooms to virtual, and potentially more flexible, instructional formats.
The Foundations in Virtual Teachingcourse focuses on key skills, including:
Click here to learn all about the Foundations in Virtual Teaching course, which offers an introduction to a valuable emerging skillset with just an estimated 30-hour learning commitment.
For those students who are considering adegree in education, ۴ý offers a nationally renowned program.
Curious to learn more? Read on for answers to some of our FAQs.
Q:When did ۴ý start offering online courses?
A:For more than three decades, UOPX has maintained a focus on online classes to help working adult learners achieve the education they seek.
Q:Can international students take ۴ý courses?
A:Yes. Depending on the degree program/coursework, students living abroad may be eligible to attend online. For more information, please contact aUOPX representative.
Q:Will I need to have a stable internet connection to take online classes or courses at UOPX?
A:To access our courses, you will need to have at least an intermittent connection. For more details about what technology is necessary,visit this page.
Q:What are the benefits of online learning, as opposed to traditional classroom learning?
A:Pivoting to a virtual classroom may give teachers greater flexibility to balance family time or give their students 24/7 access to classes. Teachers who are looking to add or switch to virtual classes might consider ۴ý’s online classes, which offer fixed, affordable tuition and a lifetime ofcareer services support.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brian Fairbanks is a freelance writer with a background in SEO content creation and blog article development
As dean of the ۴ý College of Education,Pamela Roggeman has spent over a decade in higher education teacher preparation in both the public and private sector. Her experience has included national partnerships that help to advance thought leadership in the field of education. Dr. Roggeman also serves as the President of the Arizona Educational Foundation’s Board of Directors.
This article has been vetted by ۴ý's editorial advisory committee.
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