Online Microteaching

My online microteaching I taught a Grade 3 Mathematics place value lesson and it took place on the 17th August 2023. It was a completely different experience compared to teaching inside a classroom face to face with the learners, however it was an enjoyable experience. The following is my reflection on my lesson.

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What did I like and dislike about online teaching?

There were aspects that I liked and disliked about online teaching. I enjoyed the idea of using the quiz game Kahoot as a fun and interactive way to get the learners engaged which is a tool that I would not be able to use in the classroom, as learners do not have access to devices such as a cellphone to participate in the Kahoot. I disliked the fact that I could not see any of the learners in the online session, which made it very difficult to ensure the learners understanding of the content as well as spot the learners who did not understand and needed some extra attention and help.

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What new skills did I learn through this experience?

I learnt some new computer literacy skills such as how to upload my PowerPoint slides in order for the learners to view them as I taught. I learnt how to problem solve because when I tried to upload my PowerPoint slides, the slides and words moved around therefore I had to quickly upload the slides in PDF format in order for all the words to be seen on each slide. I learnt how to share my screen in order for the learners to see the questions on my Kahoot because when they just had their cellphones and scanned the code, they could only see the colour options and not the questions and answer options.

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What would I do differently?

I would make the activity that I presented slightly longer as it did go faster than I was anticipating. I would also try and explain place value in a different way such as using columns for the hundreds, tens and units to make the understanding of place value even easier than the way I had demonstrated it.

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Did I choose appropriate tools to teach my online lesson?

I used PowerPoint and Kahoot to present my lesson on place value. I believe that I did choose appropriate tools to teach my online lesson as the PowerPoint presentation was an easy way to present and teach the content as I could create a slide show and proceed to the next slide easily for ease of access to the content. Kahoot was an easy to use app to create a fun and exciting way for learners to be tested on their understanding of place value and was an appropriate way to test the learners knowledge online as I could not test their knowledge using a worksheet as we were not inside a classroom.

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How has this experience developed you for teaching in a school?

The online microteaching has allowed me to experience how online teaching works. In future online teaching may become a reality as our future generations are becoming more technologically inclined. Online microteaching has also shown me that as a teacher I need to be able to think on my feet and problem solve when the lessons do not always go as planned and be able to adapt the lesson as need be.