Key Preparation for Online Learning

Setting expectations at the beginning of a course is recommended, but there is no reason you shouldn’t consider doing this at the beginning of every online session. Expectations for each session will naturally differ. Some will require greater interaction and participation, others will focus on collaboration, presenting, or listening. 

Knowing what you expect of students in your sessions will also make lesson planning easier and more effective. Once you know what you want your students to achieve in a session, creating suitable materials becomes more straightforward. 

Lessons will run more smoothly also. Communicating expectations clearly and concisely at the beginning of a session will aid students in their understanding of tasks, reducing time and attention taken up by questions and misunderstandings.

2. Clear, accessible instructions

Clear instructions reduce wasted time. When asking learners to partici-pate in unsupervised work, such as when in breakout rooms or undertaking asynchronous activities, it is essential that pre-activity instructions are clear, thorough and comprehensible. 

Instructions should be provided in accessible formats. Making at least one of those formats written will give learners the ability to refer back should they find that necessary. 

Once instructions have been issued, you should check that they have been understood.

3. Allow adequate time

While realistic expectations clearly and accessibly expressed will save some time, it is sensible to allow greater time for activities conducted remotely than you would face-to-face.

When preparing your sessions and materials, allocating sufficient time will reduce the pressure on you to rush or to miss out on key elements, such as post-activity questions from learners. 

When setting time limits on breakout room, allocate longer than you need– you are always able to call students back to the main session before the time lapses but, in some live lesson software, unable to add time to a breakout room once the session has begun.

4. Build in breaks / take learning away from the screen

Where possible, plan sessions to take learning away from the screen. For both staff and students, too much time in front of a screen has negative consequences. To combat this, ensure that, where possible, sessions are taken away from the screen (you can access our blogpost about that by clicking here). Encourage students to take handwritten notes and submit a picture of those via your VLE / live lesson software. Audio recording sessions for EAL and other appropriate sessions is another excellent ‘non-screen’ activity. 

If sessions must be entirely screen-facing, ensure that ample breaks are included in your planning. This will keep the students engaged, prevent issues of inattention or fatigue, and give you an opportunity to take a break yourself.

5. Provide examples

Along with providing clear instructions, providing examples of the sorts of out-comes you’re looking for can be invaluable to learners. Examples allow them to frame what is being asked and enable better understanding of instructions provided. Many learners will benefit from examples to provide clarity but be too shy or not know how to ask. Providing examples upfront reduces con-fusion and works towards ensuring learners have a clear brief ahead of carrying out any tasks.

Building these suggestions into your planning stage will assist live lessons in running more smoothly and create a more rounded approach for learners. By having had already set expectations, created clear instructions, and provided examples at the point of planning a session, you will naturally find you save time during the session.