1. Rebecca Ferguson, Senior Lecturer
Institute for Educational Technology
Teaching in Online Settings
at a Distance

2. Engaging learners at a distance
Teaching at a distance
Assessing at a distance
Developing practice at a distance
Slides at slideshare.net/R3beccaF
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3. ENGAGING LEARNERS
AT A DISTANCE
Engaging learners

4. Pupils have learned
• Where to go…
• What is allowed…
• Where to focus…
• Who is in charge…
• When they can stand…
• How to respond…
• When they can speak…
• When to take a break…
• Where resources are…
…in a physical classroom
Engaging learners

5. You may have learned
Classroom constraints
• Learning takes place at set times
• Learning must be synchronous
• Teacher must see pupils
• Pupils must see teacher
• Class all engage at the same time
• Class all break at the same time
• Pupils should be suitably dressed
• Pupils should sit still
• Technology is distracting
Engaging learners

6. Setting up a study space
What are the benefits
and challenges of their
• physical space
• social space
• technical space
• temporal space?
Build in time to
• recognise benefits
• address challenges.
Engaging learners

7. Community and fun
Trigger interaction with ice-breakers
• Your favourite biscuit?
• Which emoji represents you?
• Your week in three words?
• Which superpower?
• Favourite vegetable?
Engaging learners
Easy, fast, light-hearted, not too revealing
Encourage video use:
• Show your favourite mug
• Disguise yourself
• Silliest hat
Not everyone has video, bandwidth, a happy home to share
Ask pupils to design an emoji quiz
Learning games
https://kahoot.com/

8. Learning to learn at a distance
Engaging learners
https://iet.open.ac.uk/file/iet-teaching-at-a-distance-04-learning-to-learn.pdf

9. TEACHING
AT A DISTANCE
Teaching learners
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10. Distance educators
• Provide structured learning materials
• Support motivation
• Develop study skills
• Facilitate access to resources
• Build and deepen discussion
• Encourage responses
• Help solve problems
• Arrange practice & application
• Test and evaluate
• Provide feedback
Teaching learners

11. Pedagogies
Teaching learners
16 pedagogies
How many are
possible at a
distance?

12. Teaching learners

13. Methods that work
1. Flipped learning
2. Teachback
3. Seamless learning
4. Learning to learn
5. Evaluating information
6. Making thinking visible
7. Personal inquiry learning
8. Science in remote labs
9. MOOCs to support language learning
10. Maker culture
Teaching learnershttp://www.open.ac.uk/blogs/innovating/

14. Flipped learning
At home, pupils watch videos, listen
to audio recordings, read books or
worksheets.
These resources allow them to work
at their own pace, pausing to make
notes where necessary.
Some pupils, though not all, will be
able to access help and support
from family members.
Live sessions become a time to
explore subjects with the support of
teacher and classmates.
Live sessions can be whole-class,
small groups or one-to-one calls.
Set up a place where all
learning resources are
available to pupils.
Put learning in the right
place. Which parts can be
done independently, which
need to be in a live session,
and which involve group work?
Teach pupils skills needed to
learn independently.
Build in time to help pupils
reflect on their learning.
Teaching learners

15. ASSESSING
AT A DISTANCE
Assessing learners
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16. Why assess?
Assessment for learning
Enables teachers to provide feedback and target future learning and
resources on areas in which a learner needs more development.
Enables learners to identify areas that need more attention.
Assessment as learning
Emphasises pupils’ role – helping them to self-assess and to reflect.
Assessment of learning
Confirms what learners know and what they can do.
Checks whether intended learning outcomes have been achieved.
Can be used to rank learners / teachers / schools / areas / countries.

17. Multiple-choice questions (MCQs)
Assertion/reason questions
Begin with a statement and give reasons why it is correct or incorrect. A
correct answer requires understanding of the explanations.
Explain answers in depth
Pupils answer the questions and must then explain why the selected answer
is right or wrong.
Brain teasers
Ask a challenging question that requires understanding of the subject being
studied. The answers can form the basis for class discussion.
Question creation
Ask pupils to create their own MCQs to test knowledge of the subject. Grade
on relevance, clarity, level, answer choices, and answer justifications.
Assessing learners

18. Teachback
Assessing learners
Explanations can be recorded as audio or video, delivered
live using a tool such as Zoom or Adobe Connect, or written
versions can be shared by text or email.
Explain topic to learner
Learner teaches back
If a learner struggles
Check understanding
Teachback can take place by telephone or in a live session
using a tool such as Zoom. You could ask pupils to make a
short video or recording, or send a written explanation.
Share another explanation or a good explanation submitted
by another pupil. Add commentary about what makes this
a good explanation.
Ask pupils to share how they have applied what they have
learned, run an online quiz, circulate questions, or ask them
to devise a test of understanding.

19. Renewable assessment
Disposable assessment
Teacher assigns work
Pupil writes and hands in work
Teacher marks and returns work
Pupil looks at mark, perhaps at feedback
No one looks at work again
Renewable assessment ideas
Write a piece for school newsletter/blog
Create learning resources
Create study questions
Create list of FAQs on subject
Create possible test questions
Create a quiz
Create a short video
Create an explanation for younger pupils
Credit: Gary Chan, Unsplash Assessing learners

20. DEVELOPING PRACTICE
AT A DISTANCE
Developing practice
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21. Developing practice
Open educational resources (OERs)
https://www.futurelearn.com/subjects/teaching-
courses/how-to-teach-online
https://www.open.edu/openlearn/

22. Discuss and share ideas
https://sites.google.com/site/twittereducationchats/education-chat-calendar
Developing practice

23. H
Reflection
What happened?
So what?
What next?

24. slideshare.net/R3beccaF
r3beccaf.wordpress.com
twitter.com/R3beccaF
Any more questions?