5 Online teaching tips: A simple beginner’s guide

With remote working, remote live events, and even remote parties (!) becoming more popular than ever, teaching going online is the next logical step. So, you want to take advantage of this trend, but don’t know where to start. Here are some useful online teaching tips:

Do I need to have experience as a teacher to teach online?

Online teaching tip #1: Don’t worry about lack of experience.

One of the great advantages of online teaching is that it is welcoming to beginners. Everybody needs to start somewhere. Just choose a subject that you know well and start live streaming some classes. We develop skills by practicing and online teaching is no different.

What can I teach online?

Online teaching tip #2: Be specific and answer one main question.

People teach about everything online. You can find online tutorials and lessons that range from “how to cut your hair at home” to “why is blue the least common color in nature”. When choosing a subject, being specific attracts a larger audience and makes your content easier to understand. Instead of titling your class “Physics 101” you could choose one question and then solve it, e.g. “Is it possible to refuel an airplane in flight?”.

How deep should I go into the subject?

Online teaching tip #3: Think of your audience’s level when preparing classes.

Think of your audience. Are you targeting high school students, college students, or any curious mind? By answering this question, you should be able to define the level of your lesson. Another useful tip is to state the lesson level at the beginning of the class and in the description to make sure everyone is on the same page.

What about online teaching tips to engage my students?

Online teaching tip #4: Interact a lot with students on and off live streams.

So, you chose a great subject and got a lot of viewers. How to maintain that level of engagement? People like consistency. The first tip here is to stream frequently and keep a routine (same day of the week, same time). This way, students come back looking for more content. Secondly, interaction is the key to your students’ hearts. MOOCs lose engagement over time. Live teaching allows you to instantly interact with your viewers to make sure they are following. While streaming, frequently check the chat for questions and comments.

Am I ready to start teaching online?

Online teaching tip #5: Don’t look for perfection, just do it!

If you’re just starting out in online teaching, you may feel you’re not up to the task. Just think of the people who taught you something useful: were they all professional teachers? Didn’t you learn a lot of cool stuff from parents and friends? Among your teachers, were the ones who taught you better the ones that had the most amazing qualifications or just the ones that actually cared?

One of the best things about online teaching is that you can reach almost anyone on the planet. Chances are someone would really love to learn what you can teach.

Where do I go to start live streaming my classes?

There are lots of online teaching tools. You can set up your personal website or use a tool like Zoom to engage with students in a private classroom. These options work well if you already have a big audience. The main downsides are that it takes time and money to set up.

If you want to easily start at no cost, you can go to a platform like LearnPine, a place where teachers meet students without any walls between them. You can start streaming your classes on LearnPine with just one click.

Tags: online teaching tips, how to teach online, online teaching tools, live classes