Four Myths About online-learning You Need to Know

The education landscape has experienced a paradigm shift in the last few years. With the rapid advancement in technology, virtual learning has become more prevalent. According to statistics, more than 30% of American students have enrolled in at least one online-learning course. With virtual learning, being physically present in a classroom is no longer the only option. Now, keen learners can get access to quality education whenever and wherever they want, thus bringing in a new era of learning, infamously called elearning.

What Is Live online-learning?

Live online-learning classes are a trainer-led education model where teachers teach their students in a virtual classroom. These classes require both teachers and students to be simultaneously online.

With this format, you can meet with your instructor and other classmates at a scheduled time. All this happens online, so you don’t have to spend time or money commuting to your institute. You get to enjoy the flexibility to attend your classes from anywhere in the world.

According to a survey, 52% of American students considered online college-level education superior to classroom learning.

Benefits Of Live online-learning

1.      Easy Accessibility and Flexibility

Online classes are available to anyone who has access to high-speed internet and a tech device, such as a laptop or tablet. There is no need to travel to any specific location to attend these sessions. Thus, with no limitation to location, this approach indeed ensures better accessibility for all.

Besides, virtual learning offers a great deal of flexibility. Most of the time, students can factor the coursework into their already busy schedules and study at their own pace.

2.      More Cost-Effective

Unlike traditional education, live online-learning classes tend to be much cheaper. The fee for these classes does not account for accommodation, equipment, textbooks, transport, etc., that contribute to a comprehensive learning experience in a traditional school. Online classes cut down most of these costs, making learning very affordable.

But remember, the low costs of online-learning do not imply a reduction in quality. Instead, it only ensures that a wider audience has access to the courses once reserved only for those with a big budget.

3.      Customised Learning Experience

With eLearning courses, it is easy to set your own studying pace. Also, online education is much more flexible to suit every student's requirements and level of ability.

Most online classes are smaller in batch size than standard class sizes. Often, live online-learning classes allow only one student at a time. Thus, this ensures more significant interaction between the student and the teacher. Also, the availability of diverse study material, including videos, images, eBooks, etc., helps improve the course's effectiveness and ensures a more dynamic and tailor-made education setup.

4.      Wide Selection Of Programs To Choose From

The Internet is a vast space that allows students to learn a wide range of subjects. From copywriting to music composition to cooking or even quantum physics, there are unlimited options for all learners. Nowadays, many colleges and universities are also launching eLearning courses for various levels and disciplines.

Therefore, students can opt for their chosen online course to get an official diploma, certificate, or degree without even setting foot on a college campus.

5.      Time Management Skill Development

Managing your time well is one of the most crucial life skills. Many students have to juggle their family and personal commitments with their professional goals. Many of them also balance a regular job with their education. And all this requires proper and advanced planning.

With online classes, time management becomes a lot easier. When you do not have to spend time on transport, waiting at bus stations, etc., to reach the location of your training school, you get the authority to manage your time well. And this ability to set your timeline helps in time management skill development.

6.      Virtual Collaboration Opportunities

In the last few years, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic, virtual collaboration skills have become more important than ever. Completing an eLearning course teaches these highly valued skills as you engage in virtual discussions, collaborate on group work, and evaluate the standpoint of people from across the world.

This is a great way to broaden your perspective and benefit from an interactive environment.

Experience The Benefits Of online-learning

Live online-learning presents an excellent opportunity for all students to enhance their knowledge base from the comfort of their homes. It improves accessibility and affordability for all students, helping them pursue their dream education.

Similarly, virtual learning has also enabled teachers to monetise their skills and reach a global audience. Thus, it is safe to say that online-learning is the future of education.

If you are an educator, you can benefit from signing up with Kohbee. The online hosting platform allows you to create and sell your eLearning courses to a large audience base. It comes with in-built payment-gateways to ensure easy and streamlined management. So, what are you waiting for? Download Kohbee today.

Online classroom management is one of the most difficult tasks for someone who is used to taking face-to-face classes. But, with the pandemic taking over, more than  1.2 billion people are out of traditional classrooms. Therefore,  taking your classes online is the need of the hour. If you are also one of those struggling to manage your online classes, you have landed at the right place. So, let us dive deeper.

Make Your Online Classroom Free From Distractions

Students are able to retain 25% to 60% more information when taking online classes. Therefore, you must make the most of it by keeping the distractions away. While you must be a pro at maintaining discipline in your physical classrooms, managing students in a virtual classroom is completely different. A virtual classroom is prone to multiple distractions that are just a click away. Keeping the students attentive in such a situation becomes difficult. This is one of the biggest challenges of online class management. One of the best ways to make the students put all the distractions away is to make them keep their phones and toys away. Ask the students to find a quiet place and ask their family members to provide them with a quiet environment to concentrate. Also, ask your students to ensure that their pets are away during the class. 

Engage Using a Webcam

Turning off the webcam might sound comfortable, but it is not a good practice as it completely cuts you off from your audience and disengages you from them. Try to make them feel like they are having eye contact with you and look straight into the camera. Make sure that your online classes do not become monotonous or robotic. Try to instil feelings into the virtual classroom with the help of your voice tone, body language and facial expressions. This will make class management easier. 

Test the Technology

It is understandable that as someone who is used to teaching in a physical class, you might not be comfortable using the latest technologies, audio/video tools, presentations etc. But there is nothing more embarrassing than a distraction during the online classes due to technical difficulties. The best way to tackle this situation is to test the technology beforehand and practice using all the tools and technologies present on the online-learning app. Check all the teacher tools on the online app and learn to use them effectively. 

Maintain Discipline

If you are worried about your students either coming to the online classes in their pyjamas or wearing fancy dresses, set up a dress code or simply ask the students to wear their school uniform to the class. This will help maintain discipline during the online classes and also create an environment of equality and get them the feeling of attending a class. Moreover, you must also set out certain rules for the class and include your students in the rulemaking process. Doing this will make it easier for you to make them follow the rules. For instance, you can make a rule for everyone to sit on a chair and table or sit straight, keep their cameras on at all times, speak by turns etc. Setting these rules will make online-learning fun and informative for your students. 

Teach Text-Rich Lessons

While taking online classes, it is evident that some of the students might have issues with their audio and it is very common. Such situations can make it difficult for them to follow the class. Therefore, you must ensure that you use text rich presentations and lessons to provide them with visual variety. This will help them follow what you teach and get a better understanding of the subject. If your students are able to understand concepts, they will find it easier to engage in classroom discussions, ask their doubts, resulting in smooth online classes. Try to include text in every type of subject and make sure you use simple, effective and clear language to build empathy with the readers. You can also consider using online-learning apps like Kohbee to make online class management easier and smoother. With such apps, you can also find students for tuition classes by creating your profile, stating your skills, services and quoting your prices. 

Include Pictures and Videos

Only text lessons can get really boring and can make the students lose concentration and interest in the class. Remember that your audience is school going kids. Kids are much more prone to distractions than adults. As soon as the kid loses interest or concentration, it is enough to derail your whole class. Including a lot of visual content, presentations, infographics, images, and even GIFs is one of the best ways to make your online classes interesting and keep the students engaged throughout the class. More student engagement will ensure better knowledge sharing. 

Get Creative with the Backgrounds

To avoid the monotony of closed spaces and homes, you can get creative with your backgrounds and host the class anywhere you want. You can also encourage your students to change their backgrounds to even different countries to make them feel like they are attending the class there. It is the best way to promote engagement during the class. 

If you are someone struggling to get your teaching career organised in this post-covid era of online classes, the above-mentioned tips will come in handy for you. Apps like Kohbee can get you started with your online classes. Subscribe Now!

Many of us wonder if online-learning will continue post-pandemic. Some fear that a rapid transition to online-learning – with no training, inadequate bandwidth, and little planning – will result in a poor user experience that will deter long-term growth. Others predict that a new hybrid education model will emerge, with major benefits.

Whatever model emerges, online classes have their pros and cons. If effectively leveraged, teachers can use online-teaching to create a significant impact. Decoding and comprehending these benefits and drawbacks will aid universities in establishing methods for more successfully delivering lessons and ensuring that students follow a consistent learning path. Let us look at the dos and don'ts of online-learning.

Dos of online-learning:

• Dress appropriately and in clothes that you would ordinarily wear in a classroom. Wear a great top to school and then change into more comfortable clothing afterwards.
• Make the most of your study/workspace. Choose a location in your home where you can free up room for your computer, notebooks, and other tools. Most essentially, make sure you set up your workstation where you can get the best Internet connection.
• Before starting class, test your electronics, including your monitor, headphones, and microphone, to confirm that they all work properly.
• Before class, fully charge your tablet or laptop, or leave it plugged in during the lecture.
• To avoid getting up several times throughout the class, use the restroom beforehand.
• Before the class or meeting, double-check your visuals to ensure your background is as neutral as feasible and not a distraction. Check your camera to make sure you're in clear, direct vision and that you're sitting up straight with your head and shoulders on the screen.
• Inform your roommates about your schedule so that they can respect your privacy. Respectfully ask them not to bother you at certain times or lock your door to prevent interruptions.
• Read the syllabus ahead of time so that you are prepared for the course material and discussions, as well as to meet any deadlines specified in the curriculum.
• Keep a bottle of water and a snack on hand. Although online classes do not require you to participate in physical activity or run to your next session, you may become hungry or thirsty. Rather than getting up to obtain a snack, have food and water close by for convenient access.
• Log in and arrive early for the virtual class, preferably several minutes before the planned start time. When the teacher begins the virtual class, be in your seat with all your resources.
• Take advantage of the mute button. The mute function is your friend in a crowded virtual classroom.
• Take part as much as possible. Take notes, ask questions, and respond to class questions when requested.
• Use the chat tool with caution. Use this space to seek assistance, offer a short response, or provide feedback on a classmate's point.
• Ignore outside online activities such as social media websites, videos, or shopping that may distract you from your lesson or meeting. During your class, block pop-ups and turn off outside alerts.

Dont's of online-learning:

• Avoid being surrounded by distractions. Study areas should be free of distracting elements such as the television, video game system, or a family pet.
• Don't eat anything without first muting yourself. No one wants to hear loud chewing noises. Before you take a bite, put your phone on mute.
• Don't leave your camera turned off for long periods or do activities around your house/space.
• Don't wait for the teacher to tell you to turn off your microphone. If someone or something loud enters your study space, you should immediately silence yourself to prevent disturbing the rest of the class.
• Do not use the chat to post links or memes. It is not appropriate to converse with your classmates in the classroom chat. Save humorous videos, memes, and gifs to send to your friends in private messages.
• Don't claim technical difficulties for late or missed tasks. If you have technical problems, notify your instructor ahead of time and find a solution to submit your work.
• Don't give up if you have a technical problem during a lesson, whether it's a lost Internet connection or mistakenly checking out of a meeting. Before telling your teacher of the situation, make every effort to resume your attendance and involvement in class.

online-learning is a fast-paced, dynamic way to accelerate your learning, and it'll help you meet your academic and personal objectives. online-learning can help you move closer to completing your degree and provide you with the skills and information you need to succeed in your job. If you want to imbibe online-learning and create a profitable business out of it, join Kohbee today.

As the world is shifting from offline to online, education is also moving towards the future with online-learning. Many educational institutions have already made the change from traditional classrooms to online-teaching, and most others provide an option with online-courses. But, with this new way of learning, we face new problems. One of the main issues teachers face with online classrooms is to keep students engaged during the class.

The best solution for this problem is to make the online classroom interactive. An interactive classroom stimulates the learner’s brain and holds their attention throughout the duration of the class. In a meta analysis conducted by Freeman in 2014, it was found that active classes helped improve student academic scores by 6%. Now, the question arises, How to Make Online Classes more Interactive? It is not easy to maintain an interactive classroom; it requires creativity, patience, and a lot of effort.

“All human interactions are opportunities either to learn or to teach.” - M. Scott Peck

To ensure the effectiveness of an online class, it is essential to make it as interactive as possible. When lectures are pre-recorded, they tend to get boring as the lecturer who is speaking on the screen sounds monotonous and general, without any personalization. Important nonverbal cues such as eye contact, real-time question and answer discussions cannot take place. This is why, when we are conducting online classes, we need to be more mindful of the learner’s attention span. 

There are tools that can be used to make an online classroom more interactive and effective.

Here are some ways that you can create an interactive classroom online:

1. Use feedback: A smooth running feedback mechanism opens up the channels for interaction between teacher and students. There needs to be a way for students to express their opinions about the online classroom experience and other educational aspects. The feedback system makes teaching a collaborative process rather than a one-sided event. It makes the students feel heard. The feedback mechanism is for teachers as well. They can communicate their needs and experiences to the management.
2. Game-based learning: online-learning can get tedious, and the best way to get rid of boredom is to include games. Depending on the age and education level of the learner, it is very useful to gamify the lesson. It is like the sugar that makes the medicine easy to swallow. These games may be team-based or individual, depending on the size of the classroom. There are some games that the entire class can play together to create an interactive virtual classroom. Learners can be rewarded for winning these games, which will act as an incentive for them to keep learning.
3. Frequent progress monitoring: In traditional or offline classrooms, it is comparatively easier to keep a tab on the student’s progress through regular, on-campus examinations. But this is tough with online classes, as students can give the examination from their homes or some remote location. Thus, it is important to make these progress checks more frequent. This can be done through online questionnaire tests, virtual oral tests, weekly tests, etc. 
4. Use real-time interaction sessions: A faceless voice giving lessons from a computer screen is demotivating in the long run. In a study conducted by Victoria University, Melbourne, it was found that students considered face-to-face communication as more helpful to the learning process and makes asking for help much easier and more interactive. This is why it is helpful to add real-time interaction sessions in between pre-recorded lectures to create an interactive online classroom. 
5. Encourage learners to socialise in class: Socialisation is a very essential part of classroom learning. We have the need to socialise and connect with our peers to feel a sense of community. Online interactive classes encourage socialisation through features like comments, breakout sessions, and discussion boards. Dividing large online classrooms into smaller after class homework groups and project teams will help start a more intimate interaction among peers.
6. Create a positive learning environment: It is a separate thing to teach and a separate thing to create a conducive environment for learning. To ensure that learners are able to absorb the maximum amount of knowledge that is imparted, it is essential to maintain a positive classroom atmosphere. This can be done through a number of ways:

• Make learning a collaborative process by involving students while making lesson plans.
• Ensure communication is free and smooth between teacher and student and peer to peer.
• Encourage class participation 
• Invest in building long-term positive teacher-student relationships
• Use a reward based system rather than a punishment-based system

7. Use the discussion board tool: The discussion board is a very useful tool that allows students to post questions and teachers to answer them, all in one place. A discussion board can come with a class so that the lessons of that class can be discussed there. Most online-teaching apps provide the discussion board tool along with the other feathers. These online apps for teachers also provide other tools like online white boards, planning tools, etc. It helps make virtual classes more interactive.
8. Use interaction enhancing activities: When we want to create an interactive classroom online, we need some interactive activities for online classes. The goal of conducting these activities is to hold the attention of the learner and make the online classes more engaging. There are many interactive activities for online classes available, like virtual pictionary, virtual trivia, crosswords, puzzles, quizzes, etc. 

Conclusion

Online classes can get boring unless they are made interactive with the help of tools and activities that are effective in engaging the learner’s attention. When we compare online education to offline education, the most popular criticism is that it lacks the human touch. Studying from a computer screen or from pre-recorded videos can be quite demotivating. Using Kohbee can allow you to deliver engaging online classes and lectures while conveniently managing your students. Thus, join Kohbee to deliver online classes and create a more active and participative classroom environment.