What Makes Online Teaching The Talk of Today
When the pandemic took over our lives, education faced a big blow. Almost two years into the pandemic, the debate about reopening schools is still controversial. The thing that saved students and teachers from a much more severe crisis, is online education. Online teaching and learning have taken the education industry by storm. Online learning platforms have made it possible to learn and teach while sitting at home. Social learning platforms have made education a more welcoming field for those who felt constrained in traditional methods of teaching.
Online teaching has given teachers the opportunity to teach from the comfort of their homes. Along with the comfort also comes the reassurance of safety from deadly diseases like COVID 19. Teachers are free to teach without the fear of infection and can be more productive. Online teaching has also opened unseen prospects for students who missed school due to chronic illness even before corona. These students can now access education from their homes and not miss out on anything. This makes online teaching the most convenient way of education in the modern world.
Online teaching platform have also proved to be the best friends of teachers. Online teaching platforms with easy and accessible user interfaces provide a holistic experience even without the classroom. Online teaching has proved to be flexible not just physically but mentally too. Teachers find it easier to clear doubts as traditional constraints are removed. Limitations of time and place are removed and many resources can be made available at one click. The time and cost associated with the physical printing of notes have been removed and any student can access class notes on their screen.
Teachers have also noticed that their students participate in class more than they used to in a physical classroom. Students who felt uncomfortable asking questions and answering in class are now more confident during these activities. Many teachers have observed that students who rarely interact in physical classrooms are very active on social learning networks. They ask and answer questions, converse and learn better.
It is noted that students manage their time better when being taught online. Online learning portals have set deadlines to submit assigned work and that get closed for submissions after the specified time. This encourages students to complete their work on time. Teachers have registered better grades due to this increased and timely performance in online teaching.
Online teaching platforms are also very accessible. Students who were earlier restricted geographically are now free to enter online teaching platforms and learn from the best quality educators. Online teaching platforms are easy to navigate resulting in frequent visits from both students and teachers. Teachers have realised that students who felt limited in traditional classrooms are now more open about their interests. They learn at their own pace and find it easier to connect with peers and teachers on the internet.
Many students mention that social learning networks are a great place to study and learn with peers and teachers. The informal environment is informative and yet relaxed. This has helped many students immensely.
Teachers have also noted that not only are their students getting better, but they themselves are getting better too. Many teachers have observed that they have become better teachers in the online mode than they were offline. As nothing can be left on the face value of a student’s understanding, teachers teach in greater detail than ever before. They tend to omit less and less information unlike in physical classrooms. While sitting face to face, teachers gauge the understanding of students from their reactions, but the same is not possible in online teaching. This makes teachers teach in a more elaborate manner so as to not miss out any important details. All this makes the quality of their teaching better. Online teaching improves teachers’ overall teaching skills and makes them better teachers.
These reasons have made teachers more and more inclined towards teaching online. Using online teaching platforms helps them make the best out of the online teaching experience. Both students and teachers have started to prefer online social learning networks over traditional modes of teaching.