Teaching online can be a rewarding experience if you have more and more students with each passing month. Thus, it is necessary that you attract all kinds of students to be a part of the online learning platform. As a teacher, you might need to constantly reinvent your methods and style of imparting knowledge. To command a long term following, here are 5 sure shot ways to attract the curious minds for your online classes:
- Build a community – As an online academic advisor, you need to create a sense of belongingness even if there is no collective or the physical presence of a classroom. One of the best ways to connect and engage, retain and help students prosper is through online open house sessions. These are very helpful for the students who read and study online. You should have a mix of your existing students as well as probable oneswho may join later.Once your online students discuss the study topics freely, the doubts of the hesitant ones will slowly fade away
- Stay in touch – If you are an online tutor, it is also necessary that you are in constant touch with your students and their parents. Congratulatory calls and even appreciation emails can be very encouraging for a student who is not in a physical class participating in the conventional way. You can send the plan of action yourself when new students join and call when required.
- Set the basics right – It is often observed that any learning session works better if there is an orientation preceding it. If you have an online learning plan where you introduce the student first to the basics of your teaching plan followed by an overall learning orientation to video conferencing, learning via the video and Internet, students feel much more excited and prepared for what is in store for them in the future.
- Build a positive word – Always have past students come over to your learning platform and encourage the newbies to do well. Sharing past experiences and testimonials often help in building student morale at the start of a session. If you have students who have greatly benefited from you as their online tutor then that by itself would bring in new students.
- Keep your resources handy – It is important that you also have a mentoring program in place. One that channels the new blood into the direction that will be rewarding not only for the student but also for you as a teacher. There should also be allied resource portals that can help students who are studying online to resort to books and materials online rather than going to a library physically. Networking with other teachers and students who are in the same area and have had previous learning experience is also a good way of finding a new pool of students eager to join the online platform.
