We’ve made it to the final installment of the Virtual Teaching Is Easy series. In this last segment we’re going to walk through tips five through eight.

Don’t Skimp On Equipment:

This is not the time to be cheap. Frugal maybe, cheap definitely not. Seems like a no brainer however this happens all too often and the audience pays the price. In short, you might be the next Walt Whitman however if your machine doesn’t have the horsepower to compile your voice properly or your Internet connection is flaky you might as well be a mute.

Make sure to arm yourself with a higher quality microphone headset combination. Being that you’re going to have it strapped to your head for hours on end, make sure that it’s as comfortable as it is functional. I use the Logitech ClearChat Pro USB. Hindsight being 20/20 I should’ve purchased the wireless version for convenience sake but this one works just fine.

Location, Present in a Quiet One:

Find a location without background noise. It’s surprising what microphones will pick up. Echoing kills quality by making it hard for the audience to hear you. Add to that, a globally dispersed audience of non-native speakers and you’ve created a perfectly horrible learning environment. Improve sound quality by putting a pillow in front of you but behind your monitor to absorb sound. If you’re near a window, think about putting up a heavy blanket to absorb your voice from the inside and any street noise from the outside.

Be A Student:

Do this from two perspectives. Work in the environment as if you were taking a course. Pay attention to how the instructor shares applications, interacts with the class and moderates lab sessions. Also, see how he handles Q&A in both the chat window and live from the microphone. Second, take the opportunity to sit with the instructor who developed the course you’ll be teaching. Talk to him about his style of teaching and determine if there are any pitfalls you should avoid.

Have A Personality:

Be yourself. If you’re snarky by nature, use it in your instruction. You’re not a robot. Your one-liners and sidebars add color to the conversation, don’t be afraid to use them. The combination of building a compelling presentation, expertly manipulating the presentation application and keeping your vernacular conversational will keep the audience engaged.

Lastly, there’s no silver bullet or magic elixir that will ensure a successful teach. Rather, it’s a combination of doing a number of things right. There will be malfunctions and students will ask tough questions. Remember to stay calm, expect the unexpected and talk to them as if they were directly in-front of you.

Posted by Amin on 11.15.2009 at 9:40am   Tags: distance-learning, e-learning, elearning, instruction, learning, logitech, virtual
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