9 effective tips for teaching virtually

You’ll never believe how enjoyable a virtual class can be until you try these nine tips! 

With school going back to virtual learning and lots of feelings of anxiety and frustration coming up, it hasn’t been easy for anyone- the students, their parents and definitely not for the teachers. No matter what subject you’re teaching, here are nine helpful tips that can make any virtual class enjoyable and fun … finally! 

My name is Lauren and I work with Julia, the owner and founder of The Studio Paint Bar. We teach painting, mixology and wine tasting classes at our storefront location in Port Credit, Mississauga. In April 2020 we were in our first lockdown, so we took The Studio virtually and had some hiccups along the way. Teaching is completely different in an online environment- add in young children and no technological training and it’s a recipe for disaster. After almost 2 years of over 250 successful paint parties, Julia and I wanted to share some tips that have our guests logging in session after session! 

1. Set expectations with a 5-minute introduction.
Quickly outline what the agenda will be, what will be discussed and who is leading the class. Going virtual means most people don’t know what to expect. Ease anxiety by giving participants as much detail as you can.

2. During your introduction, tell your participants how to communicate with you.
Typing in the chat box, raising their hand or just stay unmuted and talk (only suggested for smaller groups). There are many other creative ways you can encourage dialogue. Think: talking sticks (when people would pass a stick around a campfire and whoever has the stick can talk).

3. Leave long pauses between instruction so people can have an opportunity to respond.
The reaction time in the online world is delayed by at least 5-10 seconds so keep that in mind. This will also foster an environment for open dialogue and genuine conversation. Once you establish a way for people to indicate when they can speak or ask a question , conversations will flow a lot smoother and it will be less frustrating for everyone. It will feel like you’re pausing forever but it actually works!

4. Quickly outline some possible issues that could happen during a call and how to solve them could save a lot more time and annoyance in the long run.
For example, we tell people if they get disconnected they can call our business number where a moderator is standing by to help troubleshoot and catch them up with anything they may have missed. This allows the group to stay focused on the instructor and the person who got disconnected doesn’t feel behind or left out.

5. Practice muting and unmuting.
This is not just to teach them how to do it. This isn’t our first lockdown, people should know by now. It’s to make them hyper-aware of whether they are muted or not.

6. Provide a lot of encouragement and feedback.
As the instructor, people are looking for you to set the tone. Unlike in-person settings, you can gauge people’s energy and match their energy. Don’t match their energy! Create the energy that you want for the class. Do you want it to be positive and upbeat? Then your tone and voice should match that!

7. Encourage participation by getting participants to share their work or plan an interactive activity where they can respond and react collectively.
Sharing visual images in addition to verbal responses will make your classes more social, personable and lively.

8. Always remember to give as much instruction as possible to allow for flow in the conversation and your participants will know who will speak next.
Conversing online is kind of like communicating with a walkie talkie. Use a phrase to signify that you are done talking and someone else can take the floor or if you have a less talkative group, take initiative by calling out a specific person’s name so they can start talking. For example, you could say “I’m now done my introduction and would like to ask Bob to tell us about themselves. Bob, when you’re done speaking please let us know so I can lead the conversation again.” Then Bob knows the virtual mic will be handed back to you, the teacher!

9. Be patient.
You’re going to have to repeat yourself many times throughout the class without any prompting from your participants. Virtual conversation is a lot of work and it’s like a different language! You can incorporate sight, sound or words, depending on how big your class is or the abilities of your participants. Play around with different methods and see what works best for your class.

We hope these tips might help some teachers out there who might be struggling to foster genuine conversations or get through to their students. Our thoughts are with all the families and teachers who are doing their best at this very difficult time. We see you and we appreciate you! If you have any other tips or suggestions, comment below.

Book your own tickets to our virtual paint parties and see our tips at work! The link is in our bio @thestudiopaintbar or tickets can be purchased at www.thestudiopaintbar.ca.