Are you a teacher looking to expand your reach and teach effectively online? This series of articles will give you a sneak peek into the Effective Live Online Teaching (ELOT) course designed to equip you with the essential skills and knowledge to deliver engaging and successful online lessons using up-to-date methodology while creating a safe and healthy environment for all, ensuring maximum engagement and learning.
The topics in this series will cover the following:
- Optimal set-up for success
- Theory of effective teaching
- Methodologies of online teaching
- Online safety
- Teaching platforms
- Online teaching tools
You may agree that motivation is a major key to success and a teacher plays an important role in motivating learners. Research shows this is even more so in an online environment (Dr Neeta Gupta et al., 2024). However, educators cannot pour from an empty cup and so we need to heed the advice of airlines to look after ourselves first before trying to help others. Content theories of motivation, for example, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, highlight how improved wellbeing is in direct relation to more effective outcomes and higher productivity (Oswald et al., 2015). This is also reflected in previous research (Marks & Louis, 1997). In my own, more recent research, 60% of the teachers surveyed highlighted that one important characteristic in ineffective online teaching is an unmotivated teacher.
So, if teacher wellbeing is related to student performance, teacher burnout and self-motivation, then it seems logical to start with this when beginning to teach online in order to ensure effective teaching and learning. Maslow (1943) refers to this fundamental starting point as physiological needs.
Optimal set-up for success
The first of many things to decide when setting up our online workspace is the location of the workspace itself. One of the many benefits of working online is that you can work from anywhere on the planet including your own home. This home can be static, for example, an apartment or mobile, for example, a caravan. If you can choose where to work you may want to consider the 3-30-300 rule (Browning, 2024) which is known to improve wellbeing (Zhang et al., 2020) and forms part of the UN Sustainable Development Goal 11 (Target 7). This rule recommends that you choose an area to live in where you are able to see three trees from your dwelling, have 30% tree canopy in your neighbourhood, and live within 300 metres of a green space.
Once we have chosen our location on the planet we can start thinking about the details of the workspace itself. This should be a quiet and comfortable location with natural light and access to fresh air, which also offers the chance to move freely. I have the good fortune to be able to analyse online workspaces on a daily basis. Below is a summary of the key takeaways from hundreds of online workspaces. Six key areas have been identified and the checklist will help provide you with an optimal environment for effective live online teaching.
Seating:
- Is your chair cushioned with an adjustable seat and back rest?
- Does it have arm rests?
- Does it have lower and upper back support and head support?
- Is it reclinable?
- Does it allow you to have your knees bent at no less than 90 degrees?
- Do you have a movable foot rest?
Figure 1: Ideal seating and standing positions – notice the foot rest, posture, elbow angle and height of screen
Table:
- Is your table uncluttered and organised with everything at easy reach?
- Does the height of your table allow you to maintain your elbow bent at a 90º angle?
- Are you able to rest your hands and arms on the table?
- Is your keyboard at a positive or negative slope angle and do you have a split, gabled keyboard? Your choice of keyboard could lead to musculoskeletal disorders such as Carpal tunnel syndrome. Most keyboards are tilted positively which means users need to tilt their hands up when typing. Recent research shows that a negatively tilted keyboard is more ergonomically friendly when sitting and standing at your workstation (Eghujovbo & Kim, 2024).
- Do you have space on the table for a wrist rest in front of your keyboard?
- Does your table offer the possibility to sit or stand quickly and easily?
Lighting:
- Can you locate the desk or table so your face is illuminated via natural light, perhaps from a window behind the camera?
- If it can’t be natural light, can you have indirect lighting? Ideally two small table lamps at a 45º angle either side of the camera or a flexible spotlight bouncing off a wall in front of you but not shining into the camera and certainly not into your eyes.
- Do you have a ring light directly in front of you? Be aware that after long periods of time this may create eye strain and also reflects on glasses meaning students cannot see your eyes.
- Is there a light source behind you? If so, you may appear as a silhouette on screen.
Hardware:
- Are you using a desktop PC?
- Is the PC connected to the internet via an ethernet cable to ensure a more stable connection? Wi-fi is useful as a backup option.
- Do you have more than one screen or one large enough to be able to split the screen?
- How many backup plans do you have for a power cut? For example: is an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) or a recharged laptop at hand. Is this standby device(s) connected to the videoconferencing platform while you are teaching to allow for a seamless switch in case of a power outage?
- How many backup plans do you have if your internet connection fails? Can you hotspot using an alternative internet connection? Do you have a friendly neighbour whose internet connection you can borrow for a short time?
- Are all your mobile devices fully charged and plugged in all the time while teaching live?
- Do you have the camera at eye level to avoid neck strain? Remember, for good rapport, look into the camera frequently to give students the sensation you are looking at them and engaging with them.
Sound:
- Are you using good quality external speakers? Research shows the correlation between extensive use of headphones or earphones and ear infections and hearing loss (Ramya & Getha, 2022). The World Health Organisation recommends limiting the use of headphones and earphones to one hour a day (WHO, 2024).
- We cannot do anything about the speakers our students have but we can ensure our voice is delivered in the most optimum way. Do you have a good quality microphone?
- Does your microphone allow you to move freely and comfortably and cancel out background noise? Perhaps a lapel or Lavalier cable mic is an inexpensive option and ensures the sound runs through the cable to the PC. Some Bluetooth microphones may offer poor sound quality and low battery life.
Ambience:
- Remember, students will see only what is behind you. Do you have neutral decoration
behind you with no overly personal information you do not wish to share visible?
- Can you use a corner and position yourself in the middle so the angles focus the attention of the learner on you?
- If using a virtual background, do parts of you disappear while teaching? Can learners always see whatever you hold up to the camera? If not, you might want to consider using a greenscreen.
- Can you use your background as a teaching resource?
- Are you able to get natural light, have good views yourself from where you are teaching and get fresh air and maintain a comfortable room temperature?
- Can you position yourself so that you can apply the 20-20-20 rule for your eyes? The 20-20-20 rule, first proposed by Jeffrey Anshel in the late 1990s, suggests that we should take a 20-second break every 20 minutes to look 20 feet away while using digital devices (Wolffsohn et al., 2023).
While planning and preparing you might want to install apps like Stretchly to remind you to take stretching or screen breaks regularly. For your students you could also build Brain Gym activities into your lessons.
In conclusion, transforming your live online teaching into an engaging and effective experience starts with creating an optimal environment for both you and your students. By focusing on your physical and mental wellbeing and adopting research-backed practices you can enhance your effectiveness and inspire your learners to excel.
