3 tips for effective online teaching

“When taking stock of the key principles behind our online course designs we realised we were exploring a shift of focus from content to people,” says curriculum expert Dr Sophie Millner;

“There is a tradition of placing learning materials at the centre of teaching. This results in quite a burden on the shoulders of the educator to produce lots of content. Shifting this focus to learning outcomes allows for greater creativity in the classroom and for more student engagement.” 

Not to say that content isn’t a crucial component, but it is one element in a set of other equally important elements. In fact, in the virtual classroom or learning space, these other elements actually grow in importance.

Here are three tips for successful and effective online learning experiences: 

1. ‘Less is more’

As for many other things in life, ‘less is more’ goes a long way. Curate your materials so that what you deliver is short but really valuable and stimulating. 

2. Activate your learners 

It’s not all about content, so why not give more time for learners to interact and engage with the material by designing interactive assignments. These will help learners feel engaged and increase their sense of ownership.

3. Invest in relationship building

Especially, but not solely, in these detached times. Establishing relationships between instructor-students as well as amongst students is not only good for wellbeing but also enhances student learning and skill development.

Learn more about these and more elements like how to set students up for success, creating engaging content in the training ‘Going Virtual’  (9, 16, 23 February) 

What do Virtual Exchange and a potluck have in common?

Over the past 9 weeks, 1131 youth from 84 countries engaged in discussions on the themes of climate change, migration and contemporary political action in the Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange course ‘Cultural Encounters: The Big Climate Movement’. They met for a live two-hour session each week, in which trained facilitators helped guide participants in constructive dialogue that put value and emphasis on participants’ lived experiences, identities, and unique contexts. 

“At first, some participants were confused since they thought it was going to be another ‘course’ where they would be bombarded with data and taught the facts that they could find anywhere online” one of the group facilitators explains.

“(S)tep by step, as they were asked not only what they think about the topic but why and how they think, feel, or believe as they do, they began getting more and more engaged. As participants grasp the idea that it’s not necessarily about what they know, but how they perceive the issue, they begin feeling confident to contribute, get empowered, and the sessions became cozy and rich potlucks where everyone brings the most authentic things they have without fearing if others will like them or not.” 

It is this group and relationship building process in our Virtual Exchange model that allows participants to learn about different experiences directly from the people who lived them, develop empathy, challenge their beliefs and move toward thinking collaboratively about solutions.  

When groups are reaching the ‘potluck’ level of comfort and trust, facilitators also observe a high level of activation concerning the course theme. As they heard stories from their peers about enduring natural disasters and seeing less snow in their mountains every year, they often expressed feeling fear and anxiety about their future. However, there was also often a palpable sense of hope and determination;

“We’re gonna go forward and inform other people about the climate” 

“I was pessimistic and didn’t see any hope. After these sessions, I got my hope back. What I heard from others in the group made me feel like we can get through this.”

“Even though everyone here has different stories, we all care. If all young people care this much we can create change.”

Here are some remarkable examples to illustrate how groups collectively or participants individually continue their engagement with climate action and other crouse themes beyond this Virtual Exchange:

• One group that decided to write a book for kids on Sustainable Development, and have already begun to collaborate on this via Zoom. 
• A group that did a ‘Two Truths and a Lie: Environment Edition’ activity in which they each completed a number of green actions before their session and then tried to guess which one of the three green action ideas presented by each person they had not done (yet!)
• A participant who joined a group of young people in Morocco on a regular basis to clear beaches of plastic waste.
• A participant who is a member of UNESCO Education for Sustainable Development who asked one of his fellows to help facilitate an online event with him, and invited his whole group to participate.
• A participant who is bringing the knowledge and experiences she has gained from the discussions into an initiative to fight climate change in her country.
• A participant who was inspired by this course to do a podcast on the environment, and is now recruiting her fellow group members to be guests in her upcoming episodes. 
• A participant who founded a startup to help girls in rural areas use their voice to speak up about climate change.

‘Designing and implementing virtual exchange – a collection of case studies’

Access the full publication ‘ Designing and implementing virtual exchange – a collection of case studies’, edited by Francesca Helm and Anna Beaven, here > 

How to adapt core learning elements to be effective online

In three sessions of 45 minutes on 3, 4, 5 November, we will provide step-by-step techniques, practical tips and unique exercises modelling online interactivity and student engagement. These interactive sessions are designed for professionals learning how to move their teaching practices into an online environment in an effective and engaging way. 

• Dates: 3, 4, 5 November 2020
• Time: 13:00 -13:45 CET
• Costs: FREE OF CHARGE

*UPDATE: the workshops on 3,4,5 November are full! You can express your interest in this form to get notified on next rounds.*

Agenda

Building Relationships: Overcome the barriers of technology-mediated communication to build meaningful relationships through discovery and dialogue.

→ 3 November 2020, 13:00-13:45CET 

→ Learn about the role of identity in relationship building and get introduced to a learner-led, dialogue approach.

Engaging Content: Optimise technology to present your content in an engaging way. 

→ 4 November 2020, 13:00-13:45CET

→ What are the key distinctions between on and offline teaching? How can you use technology to optimize learning? Discuss these subjects and learn how to adapt your content to be suitable for an online setting. 

Interactive Assignments: Design interactive assignments to strengthen reflective, collaborative and digital skills.

→ 5 November 2020, 13:00-13:45CET

→ Learn about designs and assessments around skill development. We will touch on different methods and keys to success.

Interested but not available on these specific dates? Show your interest for future sessions here >

7 reasons ‘going virtual’ could be your plan A

This year, as schools, conferences, gatherings, and exchange programs,  are having to adapt quickly to COVID restrictions, we certainly have heard these sentiments a lot. We empathize deeply with the load placed on educators and program designers to change course quickly and often with limited resources or experience in online organizing or facilitating. However, while a global pandemic provided the unwelcome push into the deep end of the digital era, a sentiment of disbelief and distrust in online learning formats or online communities isn’t new. 

Across a range of fields and disciplines, virtual learning and interaction are commonly seen as a ‘plan B,’ i.e. “if we can’t get everyone together, then we’ll begrudgingly adapt accordingly”. And often, especially with programs around sensitive issues or specific participants, this is even a ‘plan Z’ as people are convinced “we just can’t do what we do online.”  In many cases, this is likely true, and we fully see the benefits that in-person interaction provides. We are not tech evangelists. However, what this negative sentiment prevents is the ability to ask the more generative question: What is enabled by ‘going virtual’? 

This may not be surprising coming from us (after all, we primarily do Virtual Exchange), but there are some exciting answers to that question that make ‘going virtual’ a consideration for any program to be a ‘plan A’ and not a forced afterthought. Let’s look at a few. 

1. Technology widens the net. Being virtual, we can access people that have issues with mobility, resources, or even interest. 
2. Technology can provide an intercultural experience without the travel. There are benefits here for the climate, clearly, but it also ensures more young people are given the opportunities to interact without geographical or political restrictions. 
3. In a virtual setting, you can meet people where they are. For a young person to have decided to do an exchange or study abroad, they have already crossed several gates in terms of personal interests or cross-cultural skills in order to self-select into that process. With virtual programming, you have met them in their living room from their laptop screen. Many are not yet convinced of the process, and even more so, their new diverse peers also taking part in that process. 
4. Technology enables participants to experience change while embedded in their own context. Conventional exchange and dialogue programs often face re-entry challenges, wherein participants experience change within a container that no longer exists once they return home. A virtual program enables the new relationships and personal change to co-exist with everyday experiences.
5. In many ways, it can be easier to foster a safe space in a virtual world. When participants are barefoot and in pyjama pants while in their own bedrooms or living spaces, personal sharing can come easier. A screen can also act as a transparent shield that participants can initially take comfort in, and pull down with agency as they gain comfort and trust. 
6. Creating a virtual space can enable intention and purpose in relationship building. Or, in other words, I can go on an exchange opportunity in another country yet somehow miss true exchange opportunities because I’ve found a group of like-minded expats I end up spending the most time with. 
7. Finally, a digital program can create a more consonant learning environment with the digital world learners and participants are living within. If doing a training program on countering hate speech, for example, learning online allows for active practice and discussion in the space where hate speech is most often encountered and responded to. 

These are just seven of the reasons we think buts can be turned to ands when designing an online program. Let’s reframe ‘going virtual’ and get comfortable in seeing the opportunities it enables. 

“You can build relationships online, and they can be with a more diverse group of people who are there to share authentically without the distraction of social cues and categorization.”

“Meeting online is great, and you can get a fuller picture of where a person is coming from through the sights and sounds of their unique setting.”

“We planned to have this gathering in person, and then we realized we could deepen their engagement through a hybrid approach that allowed them to form relationships with each other virtually beforehand.”

Julie Hawke, Senior Facilitation officer

learn more about how we support professionals with virtual exchange and trainings here >