It is no longer news that online teaching is the”New Normal” in the Education System.
Hence, the need for teachers to update themselves and acquire the necessary skills and virtual teaching methodologies.
What is Online Teaching? Online Teaching is a form of education which is delivered and administered using the internet.
In Online Education, the following can be used to educate, teach, and affect the lives of the learners positively:
- Online Conferencing Softwares e.g Zoom,Skype, Google Hangouts etc.
- The Use of Props, Songs, Videos and Pictures.
- Total Physical Response Method ( TPR): In as much as traditional teaching is different from online teaching,the techniques to be used in online education will be different from that of the traditional teaching. One of the best methods that can aid qualitative teaching of English Language basically to learners (beginners) is the TPR method.
Total Physical Response is a dynamic approach in which students use gestures, drama and body language to reinforce language acquisition. TPR method also helps to create interactive sessions with the learners and at the same time engage them.
Below are some of the Strengths and Weaknesses of Online Education:
Strengths
- Convenience
- Flexibility
- Increased interactions with the learners
- It helps to develop important technical skills.
- Creative Teaching Materials
- It enhances learners’ self motivation and create self – discipline.
Weaknesses
- Bad Network: To handle bad network connection, a recording of the missed teaching sessions can be made and compressed to a smaller size so that they can catch up with the missed lessons.
- Data: Provision of more than one service provider in case there is a poor connection.
- Screen Time: In order to reduce the time learners will be on the screen, lessons should be made short, engaging and precise with a maximum of 40 minutes per lesson.
- Time Management: To make no. 3 possible, planning the lessons before hand and getting the materials ready before the class begins is going to aid good time management.
Conclusion
Since online education creates convenience and the ability to work or perform a given task at one’s preferred time, procrastination comes in and if not well handled, it can reduce the quality of work done. Flexibility can sometimes bring about distractions. Once a learner is distracted it’s going to take self control and self correction of the learners.
Although online education can enhance increased interactions with the learners. The major challenge will be handling a group or groups of learners at the same time and this might lead to the learners learning the lesson through independent practice.
It is of a truth that online education helps to develop important technical skills. It’s bad side is lack of digital literacy which is dangerous. If a learner or the teacher is computer literate,virtual learning could be a challenge. Since online education has long been embraced in some other parts of the world, vast resources are made available online but where the problem lies is the usage and the teaching methodology involved in online education. Traditional curriculum and methods of teaching can’t be applied to online education then the need for teachers to equip themselves though it might not be easy at first.
Although online education can enhance increased interactions with the learners. The major challenge will be handling a group or groups of learners at the same time and this might lead to the learners learning the lesson through independent practice.
It is of a truth that online education helps to develop important technical skills. It’s bad side is lack of digital literacy which is dangerous. If a learner or the teacher are computer literate,virtual learning could be a challenge. Since online education has long been embraced in some other part of the world, vast resources are made available online but where the problem lies is the usage and the teaching methodology involved in online education. Traditional curriculum and methods of teaching can’t be applied to online education , then the need for teachers to equip themselves though it might not be easy at first.
Written By: Teacher Funke (funakp82@gmail.com)
EduPlus 