What do you find hardest about teaching online and using technology in your teaching and learning?

 

I have already been teaching offline for over two decades now, and in the past, if I came across some colleagues who had a distinct web presence with their blogs or social network profiles, etc., I would just admire them and think that my "bonding with technology" time is yet to come.

March 2019, however, had different plans for myself and, I believe, the majority of educators. Educational institutions were closed because of global pandemic restrictions, and both students and teachers were left puzzled and unaware of what to do next.

The majority of my students were from remote regions of Uzbekistan, and very few of them had laptops, so we created a telegram channel where it all started.

I would share jpg images, pdf files, and audio instructions, and students would send their spoken answers in the form of recordings and writings as a photo of the notes.

Considering all the waiting, checking, and providing feedback, a normal 90-minute lesson lasted twice as long. But the first step was taken, which was great.

Then I had to learn how to use both Zoom and Microsoft Teams as both institutions I worked for used different platforms.

I would not say that I have full proficiency now, but I am proud to have good working skills in both mediums now.

Teaching online had obviously demonstrated various advantages – from the ability to work remotely and having more personal time, as I no longer had to commute to and fro.

There are amazing opportunities for conducting surveys and collecting instant feedback from students, ability to embed videos/audios into the lesson without the need to use additional multimedia resources.

I have also encountered a few challenges from both my side and the students.

To be continued…….