Distance Learning & Teaching

Marcus Mattia
Educational Consultant
OUP Bologna, Italy
 • Panama
• Portugal
• Sicily
• Naples
• India

About me.... • Jason & Tim

• Carol
• Jennie
• Rusty

• 1992
• 1997
• 16
•3
• 68
Good teaching is good teaching,
whether it is done face-to-face…

...or online
Taking the coursebook online
 Structure of Today’s Webinar
The new context

Challenges of online teaching

The changing role of the teacher

The role of the learner

Practical examples of online activities

Conclusions and suggestions for further reading

 CPT

LMS

Ebook
A recap on Online practice
terminology and Video conferencing tools
acronyms! Platform v site

Synchronous v asynchronous teaching

Blended learning
 Synchronous and asynchronous
teaching

The context – Blended learning

learning & teaching Educational tools v ELT-specific tools

online today
Communicating the new context

Monitoring students
Oxford English Learning Exchange
 Challenges
Transferring good Choosing (and
planning &
classroom practice discarding) suitable
structuring lessons
online material

Getting students to Changing the focus

Structure v creativity
follow (flipped classroom)

Technological
Assessing
limitations
 • The videolessons with the whole class usually finished with
my question:”Any questions?” That was an important
question, like “Is that all clear ?” . I had to know if there were
any problems before leaving the online meeting. I think I'll
Extract from an remember to ask that question at the end of the lesson
when I go back to school.
Italian State
School • The same applies to the use of Forum: the first way to
establish a contact with the students, but also the best way
teacher’s to motivate them to write and read authentic material and,
for me, to evaluate their work.
diary....
• I think that Forum can be used regularly during the school
year, let's say once a week. Students know there are two
(thank you to ways to communicate: to everybody in Forum, or individually
Annamaria Caltabiano) to the teacher in “chat 1-1”. I think that both ways are good
and I'm more and more aware that young teenagers have to
feel free to communicate their needs, if they want to.
 • Keeping up student motivation
• Class management
• Assessing remotely
• Including disadvantaged individuals
• Catering for mixed abilities
• Student and teacher wellbeing
Common • Poor internet connection/ no access to the
concerns internet
• Preparing learners for exams
expressed by
• Fears about cheating
Teachers • Developing learner autonomy
• Lack of proper equipment for teachers
and/or learners
• Advice on planning online lessons
• Advice on task design for distance learning
• Longer preparation time
Suggestions for a ‘Code of Conduct’
Respecting timing – lessons, feedback, delivering homework

Active participation

Online safety, privacy and legal matters (copyright)

Making the effort to understand platforms

Organising studies

Video and document formats

 • Do I intend to use a coursebook?
• If so, is the coursebook available as an ebook,
with extra online practice, and/or can it be used
with video-conferencing tools?
• What features do I need my video-conferencing
tools to have? Chatbox, screen share, break out
rooms, user limit, time limit, cost?
• Do I need and am I prepared to set up an LMS?
Criteria for • If so, should the LMS be a framework to which I
Planning a add content, or with ready-made materials?
• What proportion of my programme will be
Blended activities unrelated to the coursebook? How do
these activities fit in? What is their cognitive
Learning load?
Course • How will I explain the programme to my
students, and how will I ensure they have
understood it.
• What proportion of work will students be
expected to do autonomously?, and how will I
monitor it? Will I adopt a ‘flipped classroom’
approach? If so, to what extent?
• What are my assessment requirements, and do I
have the online resources to fulfil them?
 • Excellent tool for organising
work
• Importing documents and
sharing
• User-friendly - uploading
texts, images and YouTube
Google links very simple and quick.
• Quizzes – have to be
Classroom created by teacher. More
time-consuming, greater
margin for error
• Shares files automatically in
Google drive
My favourite Things
The changing role of the teacher

Support for learners

facilitating interaction

monitoring progress and outcomes

assessing
 Using powerpoint presentations in
videoconferencing

Opportunities for strong visual impact

Teacher can develop a topic well

Regular tasks included throughout ensure student

participation

Follow up tasks can be assignments/projects

 The role of the learner

discipline

organization

participation

creativity
 Examples of exploiting images

My favourite....(people, places, activities...)

My routine

My holiday

Comparing 2 images

Formulating hypotheses (I think it is, it might be, she may be...)

 Engaging the senses

Describe a photo

Describe/guess sounds

Make/describe video clips

 • eBooks & Online
practice
• Say It (app)
• Youtube clips
Listening & • Songs
Pronunciation • TED Talks
• Graded readers for
listening fluency
Listening fluency
 • Online Practice (LMS)
• File sharing
Speaking • Turn taking online (eg
5m presentations)
• iSpeaker (OALD)
Recording speaking with Online Practice
 • eBooks & Online
Practice
• Graded Readers for
Extensive reading
• Dictionaries (text
Reading checker & articles)
• (graded) newspaper
articles with exercises
OALD Text Checker
 • eBooks & Online
Practice
• Dictionaries (iWriter)
Writing • Marking Schemes
• Peer correction
Guided writing practice
Homework Correction
 • eBooks & Online
Practice
• Oxford English
Vocabulary Trainer (app)
Vocabulary • Online dictionary work
& • Online quizzes
• Grammar Animations
Grammar (QR)
Online vocabulary worksheets
 • Formal: Placement, Progress
and practice tests
• Informal: Review – practice -
check your progress
Online • Quiz tools – quizlet, kahoot...
• ‘Creative’ assessment with
Assessment existing course materials -
projects, portfolios, self and
peer
• Online proficiency test (OTE)
Monitoring Progress on Online Practice
Exam Practice online
 Conclusions
• Prioritising organization both for teacher and students
• Coursebooks as a framework
• eBooks and LMS features
• Video conferencing also for non-interactive materials
• Be realistic when preparing own materials
• Make creative use of coursebook materials
• Encourage creativity in students and student autonomy
• Create bank of materials for asynchronous learning
• Make a (low-tech) Plan B
• Share your experiences with colleagues
 • Ask students to choose a
photo from their phone
and either write or
Plan B – some (low record a description of it
tech) examples
• Email story chain
• ‘About me’ audio
recording