Teaching on zoom is hard. I get it. I’ve had lectures where the students looked bored out of their minds, or one by one I will start to notice my students shutting down their cameras.
1. Sharing your screen all the time
A common mistake teachers make is constantly sharing their screen and talking over it. After a while, your face gets lost in the corner, and a student may zone out. Break it up by stopping your screen share and addressing the students face to face.
2. Speaking in a monotone voice
“You are 50% instructor, 50 % entertainer” - Wes Kao
The best teachers today are edutainers, bringing the fun to a classroom. Be excited about topics, change your tone as you go through your material, and use your body language to express points. (I find that I speak with my hands quite often)
3. You’re the only person talking
If you’re doing this, you’re making a big mistake. Engaging the audience is critical. This can be simple as having moments where you ask “any questions?” or use the Socratic method to call on people to discuss an idea.
4. Not having activities that will encourage engagement scheduled in the lecture
This point builds from my earlier three points. Having a simple activity that forces the students to act will make them stay alert. An example can be a short 10-minute breakroom where they are to discuss an idea or solve a problem before coming back to the main to share that.
5. Lecture have gone too long
Anything above an hour is stretching it for an online lecture. Zoom fatigue is real. If it goes any longer, utilize 5-10 minutes camera off & audio off breaks at the 1-hour mark to give students time to recoup their energy.