Tips For Excellent Online Classroom Management
Written by: Hrishikesh Pardeshi, Founder at Flexiple, buildd & Remote Tools.
Last updated: Sep 03, 2024
Online learning is a whole different platform for educators and students. The responsibility remains the same for teachers, except there’s more focus on managing the classroom than in a traditional educational setting. The pressure to learn becomes heavier because of the distance between teacher and pupil, making classroom management more challenging.
Classroom management is a term teachers use to define the process of ensuring that lessons run smoothly without disruptions from the students that can compromise the delivery of instructions. It comprises various skills and techniques teachers use to keep students attentive and academically productive during class. But, as previously mentioned, it’s quite a mountain to climb due to the distance and the limitations of technology in a virtual classroom.
Since it’s a responsibility that increases its importance for teachers who shifted to a distance learning setup, they must learn how to manage their classrooms well. Moreover, their students’ learning experience and their satisfaction as educators, depending on how great they can do it. With those things in mind, here are tips for excellent online classroom management.
Strategies for effective online classroom management
Forget about the things you can’t do online
The first thing you need to do to best manage a virtual classroom as an educator is to disregard the things you can’t do online. As aforementioned, you and your students are limited to what technology can do, so don’t think about the limitations. Instead, you should focus and take advantage of the possibilities.
Whether you’re in the field of ESL teaching or whatever subject of expertise you teach in, you shouldn’t overuse the traditional classroom management method of getting your students to follow as a group. Instead, it’s better to make your students understand the reasons behind your directions. Remember that you can’t just demand compliance without having them buy into your reasons.
If you’re demanding compliance from your students without them understanding why it will diminish their internal desire to do well or intrinsic motivation. The impact of decreasing virtual classroom management techniques is prevalent, and being demanding when it comes to following directions will only make it worse.
Test the technology before your lessons
One of the issues that can disrupt online learning is the technology used for it. So regardless if you’re teaching synchronous or asynchronous lessons, you should make sure that all your tech is working properly.
The first thing you need to test is your internet connection. If you’re having trouble with your internet connection, then you can’t do anything. Likewise, you can’t put into action whatever management style you want to implement if you can’t go online, so make sure your connection is reliable.
The next piece of tech you need to test is your video conferencing app. Check if the features you need to work on are functioning, such as the audio and the chatbox. Besides that, you should also check your presentation app and see if everything is a-okay before you share your screen and present it to your students.
Another thing you can do is explore new software that may provide the solutions you need all in one. You can check out some online classroom management software here.
Start slow
The world is moving at a fast pace because of the continuous advancements in technology. However, this doesn’t mean that you should follow it when it comes to teaching your students in distance learning. You have to give yourself and your students the time to adjust.
Don’t overwhelm your students by giving them too much homework. You can start picking up the pace once your students are comfortable with you and with the setup. You should be patient with them, especially if they’re young.
Young children should have a fun online learning experience. You must support them, particularly at the beginning of your journey together. The virtual classroom is different from what they’re probably used to, so you should take it slow and develop a timeframe as to when you can start speeding up.
Involve your students in establishing an online classroom culture
Every learning environment has a culture, regardless of its size. You should involve your students in coming up with norms for your classes. That way, you can make them feel involved, and they can easily understand your reasoning behind your rules and directions.
You can do this by discussing the importance of setting norms for your class. Let them know that you value your inputs to show them your willingness to listen to their ideas and thoughts. Doing that will also establish that your class is a safe space where they can express themselves freely.
Online Classroom Management: The bottom line
Managing a virtual classroom won’t be seamless if you don’t listen to your students, think about their welfare, and don’t have the technology to help you teach well. So focus on these important things, and you’ll help your students get the most out of your time together.
Angelo Castelda is a freelance writer from Asia. Besides writing, he also spends his time traveling and learning about diverse cultures, which opened his heart more to learning and imparting knowledge about ESL.