The nature of conducting any kind of business remotely online has pros and cons. As the worldwide pandemic of Covid-19 raged, remote meetings in myriad sectors of society began happening in earnest. Remote meetings allowed business to continue. Although there were lots of kinks that people realized needed to be worked out, with videoconferencing sites like Zoom, the conduit for communicating was in place.
Schools also benefitted from the remote meeting scenario. When schools across the nation shut their doors, administrators hustled to incorporate remote learning and teachers and students began to learn how to engage from their living rooms. There were, and continue to be, growing pains as teachers strive to figure out how best to engage all of their students.
Culture of Respect and Trust
Teachers can look for the perfect office background free that can communicate dignity and respect to their students. Respect and trust are imperative in the remote classroom, just as they are in the brick-and-mortar classroom. Students will likely not buy into any lesson if they do not feel respected. Addressing students by name, giving them both a voice and space, and listening carefully to the things they say are all ways to facilitate respect.
Get to the Good Stuff
Students also will balk if they feel as though their time is not being well spent. While you certainly want to have a dynamic range of tones and activities to use as motivators, your content needs to be valuable and valued. This means being prepared and creating lessons that challenge students and teach them things they do not already know. An itinerary will let students know what to expect, which will help to set them at ease and collect the materials that they’ll need for the lesson.
Structure Opportunities for 1 on 1s
1 on 1s are particularly good for checking in on big assignments or before a big examination. Sometimes, students don’t feel comfortable asking clarifying questions in front of the class, so breakout rooms are perfect for more private conversations. Creating a custom office background for your breakout rooms would really inspire students to get into the moment.
Be Active
Whether in-person or remote, a good teacher knows when to switch things up. There are times for students to listen, to speak, to write and to do lots of other things, too. You might even try employing kinesthetic exercises, like students standing or sitting when you say a verb, or an adjective.
When students sit for too long, absorbing a lecture or listening to a book or another student, they’ll tune out. When you’re remote, this could mean that they’re opening other pages and surfing the web. Rather, short bursts of instruction followed by short bursts of activity, punctuated by videos, whiteboard displays and other dynamic videoconferencing elements.
Remote learning is a powerful resource for educators and students, alike. The videoconferencing platforms that exist are constantly offering new and dynamic elements to improve the user experience. From virtual office backgrounds to online whiteboards to breakout groups and so much more, remote learning offers huge opportunities for education, enrichment and engagement. Visit a virtual background website today to get the perfect backgrounds for your classroom meetings tomorrow.
