The current situation has hastened the uptake of online learning (and everything else!), so ready or not, educators have been thrown into teaching online. Here’s what you need to know to do it right.
The benefits of teaching online
For those who aren’t used to online education, this new virtual classroom can feel stressful and inconvenient. However, there are actually several benefits to doing it this way:
A case study in Maori language learning.
We all saw Covid-19 affecting countries overseas and we all knew that it would eventually reach New Zealand’s shores, but not many believed it would impact New Zealand’s teaching curriculum as quickly and dramatically as it did on March 23rd, when it was announced all schools were closed as at 3pm that day.
When the lockdown happened, I don’t think anybody really knew what to do. Certainly getting close to your loved ones and staying safe was step one, but after that, how could educators help the community and parents get through the four week (at least) lock down?
Traditional means of training such as group training often take a long time. It costs a high amount of money and the learning experience might not be the same for everyone. Online training is a quicker and more cost- and time-effective alternative. People can learn and build skills anytime, anywhere.
Having a learning management system can significantly improve the effectiveness and success of online training. E-learning is becoming increasingly popular with medium and large-sized businesses who have their training material well-defined and ready for on-demand learning. Online training can include videos, presentations and documents such as PDF files.
There’s a good chance you’re already using online tools such as Facebook, Twitter and your organisation’s website to recruit your volunteers, so why aren’t you using online tools to engage and train them?