Creating a foundation on which to begin online teaching can be difficult to establish. Using a virtual teaching strategy can help you become an effective virtual educator. Learning helps others learn. Let’s get started creating your virtual teaching strategy.

1. Choose your platform

When choosing an online learning platform for virtual teaching it is important to know what you are choosing. The type of online learning system you choose should depend on what you feel comfortable using. This increases your confidence when teaching your students online. In addition, when using a virtual platform, keep in mind what is accessible and easy to use for other students to communicate with you. Here are some examples you can use which are popular with teachers and students nationwide:

• Zoom
• Google Meet
• Skype
• Microsoft Teams
• Discord
• Vimeo

These virtual platforms will allow educators to connect with their entire class at once, and provide more engaging online instruction.

Keep in mind, your online platform should be able to provide both synchronous and asynchronous classes, and other online learning activities.

Make sure what you choose is secure, keeping personal information private/confidential. It is important to follow guidelines for cybersecurity by establishing usernames and passwords for meeting links and recorded videos, which can help keep class time running smoothly and prevent unwarranted disruptions.

2. Clear Content

Provide clear and straightforward content when virtual teaching is taking place. Clear content ensures your students understand their expectations for the class and can complete their work with as little assistance needed as possible.

Educational content should focus on teaching your students learning objectives. In addition, educational content should be informative in providing valuable and useful information to the audience.

3. Communication is important

For many students, virtual learning is a new landscape. Proficient communication in the online classroom environment is quintessential for successfully teaching virtually.

Should a teacher not exercise efficient communication, the students will not be able to fully retain and grasp the information and knowledge being shared with them. When you are preparing to teach an online course, you need to make sure that you have a medium with which you can converse with students both individually and as a whole, and with which students can converse back with you.

4. Create your own teaching style

Make your teaching style a priority. Every mind works differently, so you need to find a teaching style that works best for you while meeting the needs of your learners. People learn through different modalities and it is important to adapt. Know your audience when you are preparing to teach a class- not every age, gender group, or ability group learns best in the same ways.

5. Compile accessible resources

Finding extra easy and accessible resources is important to creating a growing learning environment for your students. This can be helpful to aid students in finding necessary information they need when class is not in session. Items in this category include homework, study guides, practice problems, hands-on activities, videos, articles, infographics, exploratory assignments, group work, self-assessments, and other extra resources to ensure your students do well in their own time during their online learning experience.

6. Consistency is key

Being consistent is key for starting your virtual teaching strategy. The more consistent you are, the more organized and productive you become. Keeping your students engaged and on a regular schedule is very important to online teaching. It has been proven that, without regular interaction, students in online learning will become distracted from their studies, fall behind on work, and make lower grades. Make sure to always keep your class on a schedule and try not to deviate from the schedule you have set forth for your students. If they see you deviate and bend the rules you have set for them, chances are they will try to stray away from the rules as well, making the class less efficient and less beneficial to learning.