Conducting a Synchronous Class
CPD: The Teaching Online Handbook (by Courtney Ostaff), topic 1.2.1
Preparing Synchronous Classes
Good teaching is good teaching, online or offline. The same principles apply when creating a lesson to deliver in a face-to-face class or in a synchronous session, with a few twists.
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Pre-preparing
- Courtney usually spends 3 to 5 hours per week preparing slides for one or two 50-minute synchronous sessions.
- By the time she is ready to prepare a synchronous lesson, she will have already selected a curriculum, determined the applicable standards, figured out the learning objectives for the week, and designed the assignments for the module.
- She will be quite familiar with the concepts for the lesson.
Slide deck
- When creating a slide deck, make sure it is carefully timed with extensive supporting notes.
- This is an excellent time to include references to other assignments, including selected quotes from the online, written discussion board.
- Teachers want to make sure that students know teachers are paying attention to their work.
Schedule
- Staying on track when teaching online can be tricky, because teachers should demand students to participate at least once every 3 minutes and change slides every 5 to 10 minutes.
- Courtney sometimes writes notes for herself to help, as exemplified next.
Schedule - Example
Test yourself on Conducting a Synchronous Class
How many hours does Courtney usually spend per week preparing lessons?
Which of these steps is the last one?
Which of these is NOT correct about a good slide deck?
Summary: How to conduct synchronous classes