Teaching methods have come a long way when it comes to primary education. However, for senior secondary and adult education, though internet has transformed the learning methods primarily through Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) the meagre 6% completion rate of these programs underline the relevance and importance of classroom teaching even now. But how does one transform classroom teaching?
Learning the new and smart tools of teaching are no longer just a luxury but have become the need of the hour. Technology has become a great enabler for teaching and teachers now have to be abreast of ever improving tools. In fact, the tools are the same, their usages have to be changed. Here are some ways in which teachers can transform the way they teach in class.
1. Creating Assessments on the go: Just imagine wouldn’t it be cool if students could fill their Multiple Choice Question papers on the go or sitting at home? Teachers can create assessments for free (even using their phone) and assign them to students in class using free tools and their Gmail ID. What’s more, the assessments can be graded automatically. Get the auto-generated report in your Drive and that’s it.
2. Inform what will be taught in class tomorrow or next week, or next month: Use the Google Calendar function to inform the students of what will be taught tomorrow. The entire lesson plan can be scheduled and followed by reminders for every student. WhatsApp! Is there. The students are there anyways and I’m sure you’re already communicating with them over WhatsApp for informing updates. Why not take it to class as well?
3. Use Social Media to create polls: if the students are on Facebook, why ask them to stay away. Create polls on Facebook and you can put it to some productive use.
4. Use Prezi to create wow presentations: PowerPoint presentations are always a great tool to present slides. But with Prezi, presentations can be taken to a different level. Create Prezi presentations for free and create the wow factor among your students. The attendance (and attention) is sure to shoot up in class.
5. Create your own channel to attract viewers: Creating a video is as easy as talking to your mom. Just create small videos on your subject using your phone and post them on your Private YouTube Channel. Provide access to your students and be rest assured that you won’t have to worry about them going to tutors for private tuition.
6. Geography, anyone? Geography is a subject that hasn’t fascinated me too much in school. Today, I think if we had Google Earth in school, I would have sure loved it and scored more marks. Use Google earth to show natural pictures of that ocean or lake or plateau on Earth. The Globe is just not that interesting ever!
7. Share your notes on Twitter: Twitter allows just 140 characters. A Great way to share your #keypoints to remember using your hashtag #MsMaliniNotes [the hashtag here is fictitious]
Omnifin conducts workshops for teachers to share more world class methods of teaching. Contact us to know more about the above and much more.