Organising your work in offline

How to organise offline lessons for teachers; Tech-free study tips for students; Personal experience - Anna Plotnikova.

Sep 27, 2021

The world is slowly but surely going back to normal, the borders are opening, and people are coming back to the offices. What does that entail to us, educators? More and more students are requesting offline lessons, and as more than a year ago we had to get used to teaching online, now we must reaccustom ourselves to classrooms and offline lessons. If this is not your case, then we suggest you read our article about new online tools for teachers; the rest of you - read on!

HOW TO ORGANISE YOUR OFFLINE LESSONS

Advocates for live communication will spend hours enumerating the benefits of having lessons face-to-face with a teacher. However, it also puts a strain on us, especially when it comes to having group lessons. There are so many things to consider - the seating, copies, lunchtime, notes, and so on.

Preparing for the lesson

We are not going to talk about planning your lesson here, but other things every teacher has to consider. First of all, you must arrive at the place in advance, make sure there are enough chairs, the board is clean and you have plenty of working markers or enough chalk. Air the room for at least 10 minutes, because teaching in a stuffy space will only yield yawns and sleepy stares.

Make sure you have enough copies for all students and an extra one just in case. Ordering the copies beforehand will also save you some precious lesson time. It is always better to leave one copy for yourself, otherwise, you will have to look at the computer screen more than necessary.

Check the devices

Turn on the digital board if you are using one, test the speakers, connect the computer to wifi and mute your phone. This way you will feel more confident and won’t worry that something may not work during the lesson.

Prepare a backup plan

If your lesson involves using devices - watching a video, listening exercises, games, and such - have a backup plan, that does not require the use of electronics. It can be a board game, role-play, debate, or something fun - just in case there is a power cut.

Own the room

Move around during the lesson, come closer to your students, do not hide behind the laptop, chair, or table, or students will think you are afraid of them - if you give off confidence they will be more attentive, and it also boosts rapport.

Keep notes

You can have one big notebook for all your students or many smaller ones, but keeping notes during the lesson is essential. Of course, you may opt for typing instead, but that may be seen as if you are texting in class.

Our rule of thumb is to take note of the date of the lesson and everyone present so that you can fill in attendance later having your notes with you.

Do you have your own tips for teachers who work offline? Feel free to share them in the comment section!

9 Study Tips For Tech-Resistant Learners

If you search the Internet for study tips, you will certainly find a lot of results. One thing that you will notice about many of those results is that they largely focus on technology-based solutions. Students are given a wide variety of apps, tools, and websites that they can use to keep themselves organized and focused, and that can help them to understand concepts better. These are great suggestions for people who love technology and constant connectivity, but what about those who don’t? Thus far, they seem to have been ignored, at least until now.

If you are technology resistant, but still want to improve your study methods, here are 9 tips for you.

Go Old School With SQ3R

This method of studying has been around for decades, yet many students aren’t aware of it. SQ3R stands for Survey, Question, Read, Recite, and Review. Here’s how it works:

Survey: Skim the material to be read. Read the titles, headings, and subheadings. Review items that have been bulleted or put into numbered lists.
Question: Write down a list of questions you believe should be answered in the content you will be reading. If questions are provided, e.g., end-of-chapter review questions, use those.
Read: Read the material and take notes.
Recite: Read your notes out loud.
Review: Go over your notes until you have everything down patе

Use a Distraction-Free Text Editor

If you avoid technology because it tends to be full of ‘noise’ and distractions, you may want to consider replacing your standard word processor with a distraction-free text editor. These provide you with an environment in which you can simply type your notes or homework without being bothered by the intrusive elements in other writing apps. Even technology lovers use these because they find it is easier to be more focused and creative.

Color Code Your Notes

If you use different colors when taking notes, you will have a much easier time when you actually want to use those notes for studying. There are many options for doing this. For example, you could use one color for facts and figures to be memorized, one to highlight what will be on an upcoming test, and another for actions to take. One of the most frequently missed points for successful writing is to have distinctive, well-written notes, and color-coding can help with this.

Read Your Notes Into a Voice Recorder

A good study session should involve as many of the senses as possible, and you should be as actively involved as possible. Reading and writing are important, but there is more that you can do. If you read your notes into a voice recorder, you give yourself an auditory study option, not simply a visual one.

Find Out The Study/Note Taking App Your Peers Are Using and Learn The Basics

Yes, you prefer to avoid technology and that’s fine. However, you cannot be so resistant that it works to your detriment. Let’s face it, you will work on group projects, and that will probably require that you and your peers use some type of software for note-taking, communicating, and collaborating. The best way to deal with this is to simply accept it, and then choose the app that seems to be most popular among those around you. Then, take some time to learn the basic functionality, so that you aren’t too far behind everybody else.

Join a Study Group

What better way to have a stimulating, interactive study experience than joining a study group? Just because you aren’t a tech person doesn’t mean you should be stuck in your room hitting the books. If you join a study group, you will learn so much more through discussions and listening to others’ perspectives than you will by yourself.

Watch The Movie

If you are having difficulty understanding something or are struggling with boredom, try to find a movie on that subject. It could make it more interesting, easier to understand, and more meaningful. Just be sure it is factually accurate and not a fictionalized account. You can also find podcasts and presentations on topics that you are studying and watch or listen to those. You never know where you might find an explanation of something that really clicks with you.

Create a Study Schedule and Stick With It

Don’t make the mistake of planning to study whenever you have the time. Instead, designate specific periods of time in your weekly schedule for studying, and working on projects and assignments. Once you do that, you will be able to turn regular study into a habit.

Get Out of a Study Rut by Changing Your Location

Here are some great things about studying without technology:

You don’t need Wi-Fi
You don’t need to be plugged in
There are no batteries to recharge
Pens, pencils, and notebooks are very portable

You can take advantage of all of this, plus keep yourself alert and focused by changing your location. Wouldn’t it be nice to spend several hours reading in the park on a nice day without lugging around your laptop?

Clearly, there are many study tips that work well for people who aren’t really interested in technology. There are also a few ways to use technology to study in ways that aren’t too complex or intrusive.

Read full article here

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

Hello, my name is Anna Plotnikova, I am 21 years old. Recently I have graduated from HSE University. I majored as a teacher of foreign language for kids especially. I already have a five-year experience in teaching English as a foreign language.

Being a teacher is quite a complicated and emotionally hard profession. Such a job is only for those who have a strong desire to teach, listen and do the best to make students feel they can learn everything. Moreover, due to the worldwide pandemic change, online formats have become more popular. Still, offline one has started to be missed by most of the tutors because of their constant presence at home with their electronic devices. So, I will tell you about tips for organizing work when having normal offline lessons.

1) Buy a diary. Believe it or not, writing everything you need to do is a key to a successful teacher’s life! Organize it the way you’ll see your schedule of the lessons, goals you need to do, and things not to forget. When you visualize your tasks and lessons on paper you better understand and evaluate your abilities to finish everything on time.

2) Be ready for your lessons the day before the exact lesson. There is nothing better than understanding that everything is prepared for your teaching day when you wake up in the morning. So, the plan is the following: look at your schedule and prepare for the following day and the day after it. In this case, you will always be sure that you are ready for everything😜

3) Inspire your students. Allow your students to talk about lessons. By this, I mean that your goal as a teacher is to say minimum phrases and just navigate the students. Tell them about their success and the result will be incredible.

That’s all for now!
Stay amazing ♥

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