Improving your lesson delivery when online teaching

Postby **HellyDouglas** » Thu 29. Apr 2021, 09:05

I've never been a drama teacher, but I do love a bit of dramatic touch to my lessons. I don't mean spending hours on props - just that I really give my all to how I talk and present to the class. These strategies have been really useful for online teaching.
At first it was horrible, sat behind a computer screen, instead of standing at the front. I couldn't leap around! But I did still have my voice which I used to great effect.

These are my favourite tricks to keep the students glued to my words:
1: Suddenly and dramatically changing volume. It makes them jump and they love it!
2: Adding in sound effects. If I was drawing a triangle with my Wacom Intuos using a screen share, I make a sound/ whistle as I draw each line and try to make it funny.
3: My normal talking voice is boring. I change up my tone and overexaggerate my usual voice.
4: I reduced how long I talked for.
5: I used my face and hands to show expression- as overexaggerated as possible.
6: I kept them on their toes about who I would pick to answer a question, like a cheesy gameshow host.

In summary, I tried to become a children's TV presenter- and it worked! The students were generally focused and they enjoyed the live lessons with me. It kept us on track and learning.