What did you like and dislike about online teaching?
I enjoyed various elements of online teaching. To begin with, digital tools are amazing at engaging learners in the lesson content. Watching videos, playing online games or researching the lesson content, is a great way to ensure the active involvement of the learners throughout the lesson. Learners also learn how to use various digital tools and learn how to use laptops and computers to research things they do not understand. By using digital tools, they are able to gain a better understanding of the lesson content. What I dislike about online teaching is the absence of physical interaction and engagement with the learners. While learners do have their cameras and microphones on, learners are less willing to engage in discussions with teacher. With online lessons there is also always the concern that learners or the teacher will have connection or technical issues causing them to miss out on certain parts of the lesson, or miss the lesson in its entirety.
What new skills did you learn through this experience?
This experience has taught me how to effectively use digital tools in my lessons. I learnt a lot about how to set up digital quizzes and create digital resources to aid the learning process. I also learnt a lot about the benefits of incorporating digital tools into lessons to make them more engaging and interactive. Learning how to adapt lessons in a way that promoted the use of digital tools proved challenging at first, but in the end I was able to create a really fun and interactive lesson that I hope to teach to the learners in my class some day.
What would you do differently?
The lesson I planned incorporated learners having to do lots of reading. While I included pictures to aid in their understanding of the content and the questions, I feel as though some learners would struggle with the reading element of the quizzes and the resources I created for the lesson. If I had to plan this lesson again, I would definitely add a voice box element to the quizzes and the resources that will act as a text-to-speech tool for the learners to gain a better understanding of the content and the questions.
Did you choose appropriate tools to teach your online lesson, explain why?
I think that the digital tools I incorporated were appropriate for the lesson I created. Having learners use their cameras as digital tools in the lesson, by raising their hands and doing different actions, definitely kept them engaged in the lesson content. The Power-point presentation explained the content well, and learners really enjoyed taking part in the online quiz. The online quiz platform also allowed me to track the learners progress, and it highlighted areas which learners found challenging
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How has this experience developed you for teaching in a school?
I think that many teachers often neglect the fact that incorporating digital tools into lessons can enhance the learning experience for learners. This experience has shown me that the incorporation of technology in lessons promotes engagement from learners and makes the overall learning experience more fun and interactive. After experiencing the positive effects of digital tools, I will definitely be incorporating digital elements into my lessons in my classroom.
Technology is a great tool for effective teaching, that is exactly how you used it to enhance the learning for the learners.
Often times technology can be something new and if you had not worked with any type of digital tool you would not be comfortable, the experience was great, and I too will be using digital tools when I teach.