Challenges faced when teaching/learning online

The main challenges of distance teaching and the strategies used to navigate student with confidence:

• Isolation: Students can feel a strong sense of isolation because learning from home can be lonely due to the lack of face-to-face with teachers and their peers, thankfully we can avoid that by:

1. coordinate virtual group activities for collaboration
2.  show your face and let your students hear your voice instead of communicating via text

• Lack of motivation in online learners: The habitat of a student is a classroom but in the distance learning this process is taken in bedrooms and kitchen which causes a lot of distractions and makes the teaching process boring but we as teachers can increase their level of stimulus of the learning task and keep them prioritizing study by:

1. plan a specific task with clear instructions which has a due date
2. use of gamified apps to remove a lot of hassle
3. implement elements of video games in the online class

• Technical issues: Weak internet connection add a layer of difficulty which results in student frustration, disruption of the learning experience, the only solution for this:

1. look for courses that run smoothly on different operating systems
2. choose an online course that don't require a high speed connectivity

• No practical knowledge: Some subjects can't be focused only on theoretical content. For the desired outcome of the learning process to be achieved, subjects like Biology must be mastered by practicing it through:

1. use of simulators to recreate real life situations

• Having the confidence to speak up if you are struggling with any aspect of your course

• Students interact with each other and work together to strengthen the team work ability but how that normal is going to be when students are learning from a different place.

What students should be taught when working online to avoid problems?

 "Helping students to find a path to purpose is one of the noblest aspects of teaching"

When students encounter a problem, have them use the four-step problem solving method to overcome it. The four steps can be repeated until a solution is found. 

 Problem Solving Teaching Method:

1. Define a problem (to understand what the goal is and what is keeping you from reaching that goal)
2. Make a plan for solving the problem (include information and ideas that will be helpful)
3. Put the plan into action
4. Check the result

DO                                           DON'T

✔be on time everyday, attend the session        ✖be the first person to leave

   before the teacher open the link

How to be a Digital Citizen?

• Digital citizenship is about having positive and confident engagement with digital technologies to communicate with others effectively in an appropriate manner through having full knowledge and skills to promote healthy online communities.

• Why Teach Digital Citizenship with technology in the classroom?

Inappropriate behaviors at school, cell phones disrupting class and cyberbullying can be prevented by teaching digital citizenship how to use technology with a greater sense of self awareness for better understanding in education. Not all students have the same level of access to technology, some of them have fewer digital experience than others so schools can help these students to catch up the correct use of technology to develop healthy practices on the internet.

• Three Principles of Digital Citizenship:

1. Respect: The elements of etiquette(demand more appropriate behavior), access(available in many schools by offering computers through kiosks, community center and open labs), and law(enforcing illegal downloads, hacking and creating viruses) are used to respect other digital users.
2. Educate: To learn about the appropriate use of the digital world through elements of literacy(how to use various digital devices), communication(understanding the variety of online communication medium such as email, Facebook Messenger) and commerce(ability of recognizing that much of economy is regulated online also deal with the positive and negative impacts on buying online and using credit card).
3. Protect: To remain safe in both digital and non- digital world through the elements of right, responsibilities(having privacy and free speech), security(being safe by using secure passwords and backing up data), health(aware of physical stress like headache, eye strain due to internet usage) and wellness. 

• Five tips for good digital citizenship:

1. Remember the Golden Rule: "Treat people the way you want to be treated or have a member of your family treated!" children must be taught that online conservation must be done politely not just only the face to face conservation, avoid heartful speech while conversing online with others
2. Keep Private Information Private: You have to be sure and careful to whom you are giving your information because this has an effect on your surroundings (family, friends) not just on yourself.
3. Think about the Future: The internet makes a little tattoo of everything you searched about so if you deleted something it doesn't mean that it had been erased forever.
4.  Be Mindful of your "Brand": You as a person is considered as a brand by having a clear well-delivered message, be mindful of what you say that it doesn't hurt your reputation.
5. Be Yourself: Keep on mind that you will have a high number of audiences than you thought to be if you are what you are and not the fake version.