The e-Learning industry is projected to have a 20% CAGR as online teaching certification programs gain more popularity among students. This is because digital learning programs offer students better schedule flexibility to maintain work, study, and life balance.
Despite online certification programs becoming the first choice of learners, most teachers prefer traditional teaching methods due to several challenges of online teaching. However, these challenges can be mastered with some simple solutions.
Online Teaching Challenges and Their Solutions
These are some of the main challenges (faced by teachers during online learning) along with their solutions:
Low Student Engagement Levels
Unlike traditional classes, teachers cannot use eye contact or body language to keep students engaged during online classes. They depend solely on verbal lectures that can become monotonous after a few minutes. As a result, students can stop paying attention to the lectures or even skip the class entirely.
Even if unengaged students pass their assessments, they only have surface-level knowledge that they are unable to apply in real-life circumstances. As students need numerous interactions with course material to fully digest and absorb the information, teachers need to think of innovative ways to deliver the content.
Instead of using one teaching approach, teachers can combine multiple techniques to make online learning fun and engaging. For example, they can develop interactive textbooks that are filled with 3D diagrams, videos, GIFs, and chapter quizzes. These digital books can be used during lectures and even to conduct student assessments.
Unclear and Delayed Communication
Communication is another issue during online classes, as teachers cannot interact with students one-on-one. As most online interactions take place through message boards and emails, teachers have a hard time discussing students’ performance in-depth. It makes it difficult for them to know which areas students are struggling in.
Teachers can identify whether or not their virtual classroom is suffering from a communication gap by reviewing how students respond to their questions. If they are receiving lukewarm responses, students may have trouble comprehending the material shared during lectures.
Teachers can resolve this issue by creating groups for course discussion and feedback. Since students are also unable to communicate with each other, they don’t feel a part of a peer group. Actively using discussing course material on one forum will also bring them close to other students. Teachers can occasionally start off-topic chats to ensure students are comfortable participating in class to show their creativity.
Technical Issues with Educational Software
Most people assume that the school and college population is expert at navigating advanced technology and software. Even though the younger generation spends almost 6 hours using smartphones, they are not tech-savvy when using academic tools.
Moreover, online students from underprivileged areas do not have access to the latest laptop or computer models that can support heavy-duty software. This can make students feel isolated from their peers and have trouble keeping up with the course.
Therefore, teachers have to limit technology usage because it will only be beneficial for specific students. Not using online learning tools prevents teachers from using effective teaching strategies to improve the virtual learning process.
To remove this learning block, teachers can create presentations on how to use educational software. This technique is better than giving verbal directions, as they can become confusing and fruitless. In comparison, when students have access to a physical guide, they can refer back to it whenever they want to solve a navigation problem.
Wrapping Up
Online teaching programs are quickly becoming a primary source of education as students can adjust class schedules with their daily routines. This has created multiple challenges for teachers, as engaging students through online forums is difficult. So, teachers need to identify the issues they can face during online classes to create effective solutions.
