Online classes are the norm. We have been conducting or attending them for over two years now (thank you COVID 😒). The quality of online classes is still to match in-person classes. This is not for lack of good technology - Instrukti already offers you all the tools you need to conduct online classes. Online class quality improves drastically the moment you stop trying to emulate in-person classes and treat online classes as a new category of one-to-many interaction.

When scheduling online classes, it becomes important to understand the lack of ’environment’. Classroom, studio or conference rooms subconsciously set expectations from the participants. These are stimuli to remind people that they are part of an immersive exercise where their attention, focus and engagement is expected. These stimuli are missing when people are on their devices attending a class. There are many other distractions to deal with, a clear absence of guardrails and the freedom to float away from the class at will.

Let us look at online classes with a slightly different lens.

SET EXPECTATIONS.

While scheduling classes with Instrukti, list out your expectations. Do you want participants to have their webcams on? Do you want the students to be ready to take notes? Do you want a hand raised before asking questions or can people randomly unmute and ask questions? When will you ask questions to check their understanding? Is there any etiquette you want to set for breaks or checking mobile phones?

All these habits may be obvious to you, but participants benefit from hearing them listed out. There is also a sense of belonging to one community when everyone hears, understands and follows the decorum that you outline.

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Now let’s look at another challenge - the feeling of being a distinct identity in class. From teachers pointing at you to Yoga gurus gently nudging you into the right pose - in-person classes acknowledge your identity and presence. There is an equal response from the participants. They listen, respond and feel guilty if their mind drifts away.

Online classes need to hold together the psyche of people sitting in different places, looking at different surroundings and yet trying to zoom in to one person teaching. Here’s how we restore that sense of identity -

CALL OUT NAMES.

A person’s name is the most beautiful sound in the universe for them. Right from the day they learn to talk and listen, babies pay attention to the sound of their names. When conducting an online class, take frequent breaks, call out names of the participants. Ask a casual question or a topic-specific question. Acknowledge answers, applaud voluntary participation. This will break them off any distractions and help each student get back into the zone.

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We are humans. No matter what technique you use, people will fall off the thread of discussion. Online classes just have higher risk of that happening. In-person classes usually have a whiteboard that serves as the anchor. How useful these are in an online classes depends on the screen size the attendants are watching on.

Online classes need an anchor - a hook that can help pull back people who got distracted and need to get back on..

HELP THEM BACK ON THE TRAIN.

The way to handle this is to reiterate where you are in the list of topics being discussed. A few ways to handle this are

• Post the agenda for the class at the start of the session
• Highlight or ping the current topic as you speak
• Repeat a summary of the last ten minutes and ask if anyone needs a repetition
• Ask someone in class to summarize at the end of the class and invite others to ask questions.
• Lastly, reassure attendees it is okay if they could not hear or lost the context. It is okay to ask ‘silly’ questions or ask to repeat.

Online classes are here to stay. These and some more techniques can make them more productive and help you, the teacher, expand your student base without having to struggle with the logistics of in-person classes.

Try them in your next Instrukti !