Making HEADway returns with a new series exploring the topic of Enhancing Remote Learning. In the first of three parts, “Enhancing Remote Live Teaching” saw three education professionals sharing methods and tools for creating an engaging and inclusive remote learning experience. The webinar was moderated by Dr Carmela C. Oracion, Director of the Ateneo Center for Education Development, the Philippines.
Creating engaging and effective online learning experiences can still be a challenge for many educators. Our panellists detailed how careful lesson planning and interactivity are key to retaining students’ attention. Dr Fun Man Fung, Instructor at the National University of Singapore opened the session by introducing the Community of Inquiry (CoI) Framework he used to foster student engagement, active learning and collaboration in his remote lessons. A three-pronged ‘Human’ approach, the CoI Framework prioritises strengthening student-student interactions, student-teacher interactions, and creating checkpoints with live responses as cornerstones of an effective remote lesson. Expanding on the importance of interaction during online classes, Mr Adrian Cruz, EdTech coach and Google Certified Trainer & Innovator, demonstrated the use of Google Drawings and Google Jamboard to actively engage students and maximise the allocated lesson time for an effective online learning experience.
Equity in access to remote learning has also been a persistent problem that educators continue to grapple with. Mr Obert Hoseanto of Microsoft Indonesia detailed how Microsoft has developed a suite of tools educators can use to make remote learning inclusive, such as built-in learning tools for students with reading and comprehension difficulties, live captions for the hearing impaired – all of which could be integrated into schools’ existing Learning Management Systems. Regional education offices have also set up collaborations to provide schools with devices and training for effective remote and hybrid teaching, in one instance providing up to 38,000 unique accounts to schools in rural Sulawesi, Indonesia.
Above all however, creativity and the human touch is still paramount to delivering an effective remote lesson.
Above all however, creativity and the human touch is still paramount to delivering an effective remote lesson. Mr Hoseanto emphasised the need for educators to creatively make use of what is available around them and cautioned against simply relying on technology to deliver a good lesson. In Mr Cruz’s live demonstration of Google Drawings and Jamboard, it is clear that teachers can reinvent new ways of presenting lessons that are fun for students and encourage their active participation. Similarly, the core of the CoI framework is about facilitating human interaction — between students themselves, and with educators on the other side of the screen.
We concluded this webinar with fruitful discussions between the audience and panellists, with much to take away from each speaker.
To learn more about the Community of Inquiry Framework and choosing the right tools to enhance your live online teaching experience, watch the full webinar recording.
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