Students are returning to college once again and the adjustment period from virtual zoom to physical room begins. However, there are some digital aspects to teaching that have proven themselves useful and worth bringing back to college with you.
01 / Reusable resources
Use online services such as Google Classroom to store resources and allow your students access to lesson content. This could be useful for revision, homework or if they need to resume learning from home at any point. Might cut down on all that paper too…
02 / Don’t ditch the desktop just yet
Technology has been used for distance learning way before the pandemic made it a necessity. However, this experience has shown us that young students have the capacity to learn from home if it’s necessary. So, what’s to stop them being Zoomed into the classroom if they need to stay off college in the future for situations such as a broken leg? A long-term benefit for any accident-prone students.
03 / Learning platforms for the win
Let’s be honest, everyone loves the lesson where you get to play games and quizzes online, so why not continue to incorporate them into your assessments for learning? Platforms such as Quizizz and Kahoot are a great choice and would be a useful re-engagement tool to boot.
04 / No ones like the sound of their own voice, but…
Nothing beats being able to provide students with verbal feedback in the classroom, but online apps where you can record your feedback, such as Mote on Google Classroom, made it easy to provide the same level of response across the web. This useful tool could save time and marking by continuing to provide recorded feedback for homework, just don’t play it back to yourself to avoid cringing…
05 / Is it time to start typing?
Although this one depends entirely on your college's access to laptops or tablets, it's worth considering allowing students to type instead of write when it’s suitable.
06 / Keep on calling
Over the course of lockdown, contact with parents increased and became crucial to maintaining and monitoring student engagement. Regular interaction with home can improve parent – lecturer relationships and ensure that disengagement is challenged when work isn’t completed to a good enough standard.
07 / Chalk and talk
Okay, this one isn’t a techno-tactic, but it’s definitely something to remember and reintroduce. Digital learning has its benefits, but it also has its downfalls. Don’t be afraid to reign it all in and lay off the screens for a while – we’ve been on them enough as it is! Peel it back and chalk and talk. Students have been in desperate need of this physical interaction and will be craving some conversation, so allow more discussion time in your lessons.
Originally published on Eteach.
About the author
Tammy Lane
After completing a BA in Creative Writing and a Masters in Creative and Critical Writing at the University of Winchester, Tammy worked as a Learning Support Assistant, with a focus on helping students develop their literacy skills. She then taught as an English teacher at an all-boys comprehensive school in Berkshire. Now she has turned her sights to a career in writing, with education at the heart of it.
