Are virtual classes a benefit or a detriment?
I have spoken of my many years of experience in teaching and tutoring, but virtual teaching is a completely new concept to me. As an MEd student during COVID, many of my classes were virtual, but I had never taught a class or provided one-on-one tutoring in that setting before. I will readily admit that I took to the virtual universe for many activities like a duck to water from the very beginning, eagerly exploring that merits of the many applications that were rapidly developing and improving to assist the world in connecting. I very quickly developed a list of some of my favourite applications to make my virtual existence more efficient and enjoyable. The advancement of technology for the purpose of easing and assisting human interaction was astonishing, and I took as many opportunities as I could to learn about anything that was offered.
With respect to virtual teaching, I found a number of online tools that improved certain aspects of the learning experience. Yes, there are indeed drawbacks. For example, I personally do not believe that online classes are conducive to teaching young children; I believe there are substantially more challenges to virtual teaching for children younger than the age of 10. Moreover, students with technological anxieties or living in remote areas with weaker connectivity would find this type of learning even more inaccessible than usual. While online existence has brought many around the world closer together, and made education more readily available, it has increased the gap of accessibility for those who are least fortunate.
Video On or Off
One of the greatest issues of contention amongst many is whether video conferences should be held with videos on or off. Some teachers feel that it is absolutely imperative that all students have their videos on to ensure that they were paying attention to class or, indeed, even present at their device. However, there are many reasons why a student may prefer having their video off. For example, students with weaker connectivity may experience fewer technical challenges without the video bandwidth. Others have expressed discomfort of seeing themselves on video or having their visage appear in recorded classes. For these individuals, the choice of having video off is a choice of inclusion.
Personally, particularly for one-on-one tutoring sessions, I prefer my students to have their videos on. I feel I can develop a stronger connection with my students, and therefore be a more effective teacher, if we can see each other. However, I never ask my students to turn them on because I never want them to feel obligated to do so. If my student begins the lesson with video off, I proceed as normal. The comfort of my student is more important to me, because if they are not comfortable, they are not focused on learning. For some, the technology poses enough of a challenge; if the online tools make them too flustered to learn, having the video on when they would prefer to have it off would only add to the obstacles.
Chat-based Tutoring
Following along the path of minimal technology being used in online teaching, there are companies that offer chat-based tutoring. This is not something I have ever tried before. The basic concept is that the student and tutor meet on an online whiteboard, where the student displays their homework and the tutor uses the whiteboard to teach. Communications occur across the whiteboard chat and both audio and video remain off.
I may be wrong, having never tried it, but it seems to me that this type of tutoring is more conducive to homework help than to original teaching. I can see why there would be some who would value this type of tutoring, with a stronger focus on just the homework or project at hand. Neither student nor tutor have to be as focused on personal interaction and can simply work on whatever has been presented on the whiteboard. Communication may take longer, as it needs to be typed, but that may also cut down on extraneous conversation as both parties only communicate what needs to be said.
For my personal style, I believe I am more effective with more personal interaction with my students. I think many of my strengths as a tutor would be hampered through chat-based tutoring. I prefer having more personal interaction, using voice intonation and facial expression to help determine how my students are faring in the session. While I take nothing away from the value and benefits of chat-based tutoring, particularly for those who excel at learning in that manner, I think not having audio and video would make it more challenging for me to teach.
Telephone-Based Tutoring
I have tried tutoring via telephone on a couple of occasions. At the beginning of the session, the tutor calls the student and the lesson is conducted through a pre-determined text that is available to both parties. I have already written previously about pre-set teaching materials and I find this type of teaching to be too restrictive for my methods. From the little experience I had, this was simply assisting a student in making their way through a workbook, but even without the visuals of a shared whiteboard as for chat-based tutoring. There is even less connection to the student and, in my experience, one tutor is interchangeable with the next.
I am sure, however, there are many benefits to some students and tutors. While there may be tutors who teach original materials and conduct sessions with permanent students by telephone, I have only been told of experiences similar to my own. For tutors, with the materials pre-determined, there is no extra preparation involved. They are also guaranteed a steady stream of students whenever the tutor is available. For students, they already have their workbook and can look ahead or not as they choose. To my previous point on accessibility, this method of learning could also be more accessible for those who are anxious about using technology or who live in a remote area where the internet is not as available to the general public. And, this type of tutoring also means there is no need to be concerned with the availability of both parties.
How Best to Teach Online
In the end, I am impressed by the numerous developments in technology that suit a variety of teaching styles. Technological advancement is not a linear path and it has been a great learning experience for me to discover all the different ways that online pedagogy has evolved, to be able to suit the needs of many different types of students. The fact that telephone-based tutoring has developed along with numerous technologically-advanced online teaching tools, like whiteboards and retrospectives, shows that ingenious minds are intent on connecting and providing access to education for everyone around the world.
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