Importance of Online Teaching and Online Teachers
The rapid development observed in the field of digital technology in the past few years has detected that the future of the earth is going to revolve around the internet. The educational sector has also witnessed several changes in the past few years as a result of the revolution of the internet as well as globalization.
It is through the internet that the concept of online teaching has gained importance and was considered as the primary form of teaching in the past two years as a covid-19 pandemic happened. Online teaching helps both the teachers and the students with several benefits in the form of maintaining flexibility and convenience.
It has also played an important role in developing a strong relationship between the teacher and student allowing the students to become more confident in talking about their issues thereby helping in their personality development besides their education.
In this context it is also important to highlight the need for experienced teachers who can effectively convey and implement the methods of teaching through the online teaching platforms. Most educational institutions that are doing course selling on the Internet are looking for teachers who have the true qualities of becoming successful as an online teacher.
This is because the characteristic traits that are required to become an online teacher is very different from the coming in offline teacher. Online teachers have to be more effective and have the ability to properly understand the behavior of the students, it is important for them to be more attentive as well as experienced in handling different kinds of students in a single time through the computer.
In the given section a list of characteristics are highlighted that needs to be developed by prospective teachers so that they can succeed in online teaching.
Characteristics to Develop as a successful Online Teacher
- Making Learning Fun: The most effective and interesting characteristic trait is having the ability to make learning to be a fun activity rather than boring or confusing. It is important to understand that every child is different and thereby while some students may enjoy studying, others may not. It is because of this reason that teachers should adopt the strategy of making use of quizzes, group discussions and puzzles to provide an engaging and interesting environment for the students that makes it enjoyable for them to remain attentive in the online classroom.
- Encouraging Students: It is important for teachers to have the ability to encourage and motivate students so that we can feel confident about their abilities and perform better. In the case of online education it becomes possible for teachers to develop a strong bond with the students thereby providing them with a better insight on the struggles of the student. In this situation it is important for the teacher to remain encouraging and for students to work harder despite the mistakes they have been making. This will provide the students with the much-needed motivation and encouragement and prompt them to work harder.
- Setting Goals: It is only the teachers who have complete knowledge about the struggle of the students and how far they have improved. In the case of online learning it can be possible for teachers to set performance goals for the students by making use of online applications that will allow the students to have complete knowledge about the areas that have improved and the mistakes they have been making. Online learning effectively allows them to have a better perspective about their abilities and push them to work harder.
Methods to Learn
The increasing popularity of online teaching has prompted most course selling platforms to develop courses for teachers to provide them with guidance on how to become a successful online teacher. Most of these courses make use of strategies that are prevalent across the world and have shown effective results.
Through the use of software such as Learning Management System software it can be possible for teachers to learn about the basics of online teaching and thereby become proficient in this method.
Therefore, it can be concluded that it is of utmost importance for prospective teachers to undertake these courses so that they can achieve success as an online teacher.