Teaching live online classes is becoming an increasingly attractive option for teachers who would like to work for themselves, from home and in their own time. However, it’s easier said than done. To be an effective online teacher, and to build up a large and loyal client base, you need to offer a good service. A good online teacher not only knows his or her subject matter, but also knows how to design and deliver engaging live classes that actually help students learn. In short, good online teachers need both pedagogical skills and technical skills. You need a reliable videoconferencing platform to deliver those live classes to your students. And you need to know how to use your chosen videoconferencing platform effectively, to ensure that your students have a smooth, enjoyable and useful learning experience.
At The Consultants-E, we’ve just launched a new Teaching Live Online training course for teachers. As part of that course, we take a good look at videoconferencing platforms – the good, the bad, and not so much the ugly as the benefits, pitfalls and challenges of running live online classes. My colleague Gavin Dudeney has put together this useful five-minute guide about videoconferencing that can help you make decisions about the best platform for your live online classes. He explains what you need to keep in mind when choosing a platform, and describes some of the typical options and features that well-known platforms have. He also describes the advantages of the platform that we are currently using for our videoconferencing training sessions at The Consultants-E – and believe me, we’ve tried them all over the last decade!
Of course, the videoconferencing platforms that Gavin mentions in this video are not the only ones available. What about your own experience of videoconferencing platforms? Are there any other platforms that you would especially recommend? Please let me know in the comments below!
Nicky Hockly
The Consultants-E
September 2016