This year has brought the concept of eLearning to the forefront as most schools and colleges have started offering online classes.  The system of education is adapting rapidly to improve the learning experience for students while ensuring their safety. Many reputed institutions are also offering an array of courses with covetable certification for working professionals.

Online learning has several advantages like learning from the comfort of your study table at home, ample break time, more time for assignments, lower fees etc. For working professionals, this is a great opportunity to get certified for skills they have wanted to acquire but never had the time. Self-paced learning gives you the flexibility to learn alongside your professional and family commitments.

Needless to say, this online learning has its own sets of drawbacks like lack of face-to-face support, procrastination, need for self-motivation, lack of a study room etc. Here are some tips to make the learning experience more enjoyable and productive for you.

ENVIRONMENT IS THE KEY TO PRODUCTIVE LEARNING

Being comfortable is the key to absorbing what is taught. But if you get too comfortable, that doesn’t work as your mind tends to wander and you could end up snoozing. That is why a controlled classroom environment works well.

Make use of a study room if you have one. If you don’t have a separate home study, you can rearrange your bedroom interiors to put together a writing desk where all the related books, laptops, stationery etc., can be organized. 

Place the study table where you get natural light and fresh air, so you stay fresh and alert. When opting for additional light, ensure that it does not glare at your eyes or onto the screen.

Ensure that the table has proper electrical sockets nearby and receives good internet connectivity.

Keep it clutter-free so that you can get at what you want easily. You don’t want to be searching for notes or a notepad or a pencil in the midst of a class. You could get desk shelves or partitions to keep things in place.

Many students don’t have access to a computer but learn using smartphones or tablets.  Create a stand or a holder for the phone. This way, your hands will not have the strain of holding a device for a long time and you are free to take notes. You can create this by fixing a wooden shelf or plank at eye-level or even stacking books, on which to rest the device.

If you are sharing your study room, use earphones so that your lectures do not disturb the other person.

TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR LEARNING

Make yourself accountable for your learning – be it live online classes or recorded sessions for self-learning. One easy way to do this to make a TO-DO chart and set tasks to be completed with specific timelines. This way you will not miss out on any important deadlines. You could fix a whiteboard vinyl sticker to the wall in your room or on one part of your table surface. Put up what you need to do and erase as you complete tasks! By being organized, you can get more value out of your learning. Else, you can find yourself studying last minute before tests or submitting poor quality assignments.

TIME MANAGEMENT IS CRUCIAL

You could be a student who is taking extra courses or a working professional who is learning a new skill. Since this system offers you the advantage of time flexibility, make the most of it! However, if each course is not allocated a specific time based on your learning speed and other commitments, it can be easily forgotten or put off indefinitely.  Schedule a weekly plan on your desk calendar as a reminder for you to complete your course. Allocate specific hours in the week for assignments, video classes, extra research, studying etc. That way you are sure to complete your course even with your regular commitments. Figure out what works for you – some may learn well during the morning hours while others may study well at night.

DON’T GET DISTRACTED

This means turning off your phone (or the notifications at least if you are using your phone to learn), the TV, Music etc. Plan and finish important chores/tasks beforehand so that you can concentrate without any worry.

LAST BUT NOT THE LEAST – SELF-MOTIVATION IS THE KEY!

Just because you are not in your classroom does not mean the classes can be taken lightly. Online classes are as much ‘real’ as classroom sessions. Though it offers you some flexibility, you still have to participate and take the initiative to learn to take advantage of its potential. Motivate yourself by actively participating in online sessions, joining study groups or discussion forums. Consciously collaborate and engage with classmates and professors to gain valuable insights.

What is your study room like? How did you make online studying more interesting and productive? Do let us know in the comments below.

Happy learning!

This is one is for the teaching community – who are tirelessly working to learn new ways to teach so that the students continue their education.

For educators across the world, 2020 has come with a new challenge – of how to ensure safety of the students by keeping them at home, while continuing to facilitate their education. This has given birth to new learning spaces and innovative methods of teaching & learning. While every teacher-student community is unique and will have their own preferred methods, here are a few simple tips for using things available at home to make online teaching more seamless, interesting and to bond with students virtually!!

Learn how the platform works

For many of the teachers who are not computer savvy, using the internet to teach can seem daunting. Not only is the method new, you have the added pressure of an audience in the form of parents. In many cases you also have the challenge of converting a part of the home interior into a virtual classroom. The first thing is to do is master the method by understanding the platform or app that you are going to be using. Spend time to watch videos on how the platform works, run mock sessions where required to familiarise yourself with all the functions & presentations, and always be prepared to handle surprises!

Create a comfortable space

As mentioned in our earlier post in the WFH series, it is important to identify and create a space where you can work without disturbance. This is all the more important when you are teaching – if you are distracted then chances of you making an error or not communicating clearly is increased.

Choose a room like a study or a spare bedroom that offers you privacy and that can comparatively be shut out from the noise of the rest of the house. Others in your house who are not learning or working from home could want some amusement. An entertainment unit in the living room with a blaring TV or music in the background will obviously be distracting to your students. Hence, the need for relative quietness.

Create a comfortable work space with an ergonomic chair, a spacious desk to accommodate your books & notes and power sockets close-by. You could also put up a peel-off whiteboard sticker behind your desk if you prefer to write as you teach. Keep supplies that you may use to teach within reach like markers, reference books etc. Since you will be speaking continuously for some time, it is a good idea to also have cool glass of water or a water bottle handy. Ensure the room has good light and ventilation.

Set out basic rules

As you are starting your session, set ground rules. These could be standard ones for all your classes or for each session based on the activity that you have planned. Rules could include answering when questions are asked to gain attendance or taking breaks or level of overall participation. You could also insist on students being present on camera to gauge their receptiveness. In this case, don’t forget to have neutral décor as your backdrop and of course be presentable & professional.

Get creative with your teaching

While in a face-to-face session you could use the classroom décor itself to inspire or as a learning tool, this would prove to be a challenge in a virtual classroom session. So look for creative ways to capture the students’ attention. If you are teaching younger kids, use bright colours around you. You could use vinyl wall decals that are easily removable to make your virtual session more vibrant. For older kids, ensure engagement by asking them to take over small presentations or asking questions. If you are using audio-visuals on any particular day, you could temporarily move the virtual classroom in front of the TV Unit. You could also use a few videos to teach or make your presentations interactive and interesting.

Understand the shortcomings

Not everyone has a laptop for each member of the family. There are many of us who share a computer within the family and it may not always be viable to invest in another one for online sessions. Understand this as a reality for both you & your students and work around that. The solution that most of us turn to is smartphones. Keep this in mind and optimise for screen size while creating your teaching material.

If you yourself don’t have access to a laptop and use your phone for teaching, make the most of the available home décor – like creating a stand for the phone or projecting it to a TV for better readability. You could also speak to your students on a one-to-one basis and share these tips so that they are comfortable and hence more focused during class.

Many students will need handholding during virtual sessions as they may have problem relating to what you teach when they don’t have physical support of a teacher or classmates. Understand this and put in extra effort with such students. At the end of each topic, check if they have understood it. Ask questions to confirm their understanding. More importantly, be approachable so that the students can stop you and ask you to repeat if they have not understood anything. You could also assign a “buddy” classmate who can help them out.

Structure your sessions

Set a routine and try to structure your sessions in terms of standardizing how you present, what audio-visual aids you include, participation needed, assignments to be delivered etc. This will help both you and the students as you know what to expect and can be prepared accordingly.

Record

Most of the tools available for online teaching now allow sessions to be recorded. Make use of this feature, but don’t forget to inform your students that you are recording. On many days the internet connectivity is not very good and the students may not be able to log in or may get disconnected midway. Having a recording helps in these instances. Also, a student may need to revisit a lesson to understand if they are not comfortable with virtual sessions. You could set guidelines on how you share these recordings and with whom, to protect your own copyrights.

Did you find these tips helpful? Do you teach online too? Share some of your best practices, ideas and views with the Flapto community. We would love to hear from you.