With a move to online learning, the value of the digital coursebook represented through classroom presentation tools has never been higher. While many teachers will have used them in their real-world classroom, they perhaps weren’t seen as an essential component of the classroom, rather a luxury. In contrast, in the
Lesson planning is key when we aim at attaining positive student learning outcomes. However, teachers’ task of anticipating different situations while considering every student’s individual needs, the resources available in the classroom or online, as well as how to help students stay on task is an enormous challenge. In this
It can be tricky motivating learners even in a face-to-face classroom. Each learner has their own interests, their own personalities, their own reasons for being in class, and sometimes, finding an activity that gets everyone engaged and talking can be difficult. This problem is compounded in a virtual classroom where
With schools, colleges, and universities back in classes, the educational landscape is very different to what it was the last time teachers were in the comforting physical confines of their classrooms. However, a return to the physical classroom does not simply mean going back to the way things were before.
As teachers, we want to create environments where our students feel connected with each other and us. We also want students to be motivated and feel empowered to fully participate in our classes. There are many ways to do this, but I’d like to discuss several practical strategies for creating
As I stare at my blinking cursor, stuck on the opening sentence, I’m trying to give myself a pep talk to create my very first blog entry….’just do it, just do it already’. Two minutes later, I am still at the opening sentence. Why is this so hard? I mean,
They say a lot can happen in a year. Indeed, a lot can happen in a few months. Cast your mind back to the start of the year when everything was still normal for most of us – schools were open, classes were running, and a fully online teaching world
In traditional face-to-face teaching, there have always been lots of benefits to recording students in class. For example, if you make an audio recording of a role play conversation, then the two students can listen back. Or a student can make a video recording of their presentation, watch it back
Writing is generally considered to be a solitary endeavor, which can make it challenging to teach at the best of times. When it comes to teaching writing skills online, teachers often find this particularly challenging. And as many teachers have had to start teaching online with little or no formal
Like so many teachers, I recently started delivering my English lessons on Zoom. On reflection, I’ve been pleasantly surprised that so many of the things I do in a normal face-to-face lesson are easily transferable to a platform like Zoom. I can present language by screensharing or using the whiteboard,