Good Online Teaching Takes Time

Good Online Teaching Takes Time

I have been teaching online for a long time.  One of the things I learned right at the beginning is that  to be a good online communicator, you need to invest time.  In the classroom, when  you stand in front of a group of students and answer questions, either the students are listening or not and you don't have to repeat the answer to the same question over and over.  But when your students are engaged in a learning exercise with you as their guide on the side, you cannot shirk your duties to help them.  Anyone who is a parent knows that learning takes place all day long. Children are curious and ask questions about everything, at any time. You can't be a good parent and limit the time when the questions are asked or answered. The same thing applies when you are working with students online.  If they are doing an assignment when you are in the classroom, they can put their hand up or approach your desk for help or encouragement.  When there is no real desk and no real classroom, they have to reach out and they can do that at any time. I often found myself glued to my desk typing half the evening away.  I let my students know that I would answer their questions as frequently as I was able.  They soon knew that I was true to my word and they could seek responses most of the times of the day.  When you do that, you are also working one on one but with every student in the class. You can not be selective and the more you engage your students in conversations, albeit cybernetically, the more likely they are to learn from you.  You have to give of yourself each time to secure a relationship with your students.  One word or two word answers are not sufficient for that.  Naturally, teaching online takes an enormous amount of time and so when teachers complain today about the time needed to invest in being online because students can't go to school. due to the pandemic, they have a very legitimate complaint.  However, I never felt overburdened because I saw the time I spent with my students online was just the cost of doing my job.  I loved the interaction with them and I loved the trust and affection they had for me because they knew that I was giving of myself. It is at that point exactly when we actually become good teachers.  Good teaching and good parenting BOTH need lots of time. The trick is to learn how to draw the line in the sand so that there is time for you, the person, as well. But that's another lesson.