One of the key things with any teaching is to keep changing the “eye line.”
You’ll see this with great teachers as they will move around the classroom at strategic points, sometimes at the front, sometimes at the back.
Sometimes they’ll be at the board, sometimes on the computer.
Sometimes they’ll be stood up tall, sometimes they’ll crouch down to the kids’ level.
It is a really powerful skill to master.
When you’re teaching online it’s a little difficult for kids to move their eyes so much.
However you can simulate, or get near, to the effect by borrowing a technique from kids’ TV.
Ninja Tip: Quality kids’ TV like Sesame Street is researched like crazy. They want to know exactly what skits or scenes turn kids off or on. And of course commercial TV uses this too. What has been their biggest finding? That kids don’t turn off when they are bored! They turn off when they don’t understand. So keep that in mind along with the following idea!)
So just like on a TV show where they will have one part of the show in one place and then move to another location in the studio, you can do the same thing.
- Sometimes you sit down for questions or helping explain things.
- Sometimes let’s share the screen with the software or to play some games.
- Be sure to play as many physical games where the kids are running around (see Module 3 of the VIP “How to teach Genki English online course” for lots of ideas)
- Definitely stand up each time we have a song coming up.
- And ….. let’s try some whiteboard games where you are stood up too!
Ninja Tip: If you don’t have a whiteboard at home, a clothes line strung across your room works wonders with flashcards pegged to it!
Some of my favourite whiteboard games to do online are:
* The banana tree game – one of my all time favorites
The Ski Game ( in Winter) or Grand Prix Game
The Spiderman Game or the Disaster Game
Or, of course, Chocolate Monster!
You get more exercise. You get to stretch your legs. And these games open up a whole new energy & attention reservoir in your kids – just by rotating your PC or tilting your camera. It breaks the ice and brings a whole new dimension to the class!
Conversely if you are always writing on the white board then be sure to sit down for some sections, share screens for others and of course get up and dance whenever you can!
And of course all of these also work & and are lots of fun for lessons for professional adults too! (Dabblers, not so much, but professional adults who are pushing themselves will really appreciate these change of scene, especially if you are going on several hours with them. Yesterday we had one course for adults for 3 hours – the dance/exercise breaks were much appreciated!)
Enjoy!
Be genki,
Richard
