The first month of the new academic year is coming to an end. The majority of schoolchildren started classes in an offline format (according to the Ministry of Education and Culture, the share of schools providing physical education is 80-85%). But the remote form remains valid and therefore all the difficulties associated with it still apply.

Problem…

The biggest challenges for interviewees were constant weather alerts interrupting work (40.4%), high workload and work stress (32.2%). However, there were also teachers who did not have the knowledge to use online tools for useful, interactive and engaging distance education.

Among the individual aspects of online courses, the following proved to be difficult:

• Conducting online classes in general (mentioned by 14% of respondents);
• Collecting and checking homework (15%);
• Recording students’ presence (9%);
• Conducting visual brainstorms and using online boards (16%).

…and what to do about it

The researchers also share tips on how to make each of these processes comfortable and motivate students to actively participate in classes. One of the survey organizers developed a list of instructions for using its service in the educational process, since Viber is the company whose Messenger is used by 75% of teachers (according to Kantar Panel Ukraine 2022).

Conducting online classes

To make the process of conducting online classes more convenient, use the group voice and video calling facilities on Viber.

To make a group voice or video call In Viber: On the Chats screen, select the group you want to call – Press the voice call or video call button (top right) – Select up to 39 group members to join the call (if there are less than 39 members in the group) the group will be automatically selected – in this case If one of the students will not be in class, click the check mark next to their name and that person will not be added to the search) – Click “Start search”. Note that the maximum number of participants in a group audio or video call is 60 people (59 students and you).

To hold students’ attention easier and more effectively during online class, researchers recommend the following:

• Explain the material with examples from life and especially experiences with children. For example, while studying physics, explain to children how the knowledge of magnetism is related to the operation of headphones. Therefore, they are more likely to remember and apply this knowledge.
• Alternative formats and/or visuals from the course (e.g. background information, practice, quiz).
• Provide opportunities to students independently choose topics, projects and tasks that interest them and it needs work.

Homework check

Suggest so that information control is not a problem for you A single format for submitting assignments by students — this will allow you to structure the process and make it easier for you to control it. And don’t forget the rules for providing quality feedback:

• Explain to children in detail and clearly In what format will the assignment be sent?. Write a message stating the date by which the assignment is due, the subject and the time frame in which it must be submitted, specify the format (for example, students can send photos or documents), pin this message to the group chat.

To pin a message in a group chat: select the message you want to pin – press and hold until the menu appears – select the “Pin” command.

• Provide feedback immediately after completing the task. Create a survey in Viber – this way you can check students’ knowledge on a separate topic, ask their impressions of the lesson or offer different homework options so that participants have the opportunity to choose.

To create a poll in Viber: Select the community you are an admin of – Select the poll icon at the bottom of the screen – Enter a question in the “Ask a question” field – Enter an answer option in the “Add answer option” fields – Scroll down and click the Plus button to add up to 10 answer options (order of answer options Can be changed by clicking the “Arrange” icon and dragging the answer option up or down) – Select “Create” at the bottom of the page.

• A video or audio message to the student with comments on their work can be a useful addition to the assessment. Individual approach and attention will always motivate the student to put in more effort.

To send a voice message: Look for the purple microphone icon next to the area where you’re texting. If you see a video button there (triangle in a circle), swipe or make a quick tap in any direction as if you were flipping it. Press and hold the microphone button to start recording. Once the text input field turns into a timer, you can start speaking. To send a message, just lift your finger. To cancel the recording, swipe to the left of the timer and then release.

To send a video message: the process is exactly the same, but you’ll see an extra circle on the screen that shows, among other things, what your camera is seeing. Video messages can last up to 20 seconds. After that you can save a new one.

Students’ absence record

There are simple tools to capture online engagement. Check which students are participating in the Viber group video call from the dashboard (select “Participants” at the bottom of the screen to do this). For convenience, you can take a screenshot (screenshot) to later leave a note in the diary.

To take a screenshot:

• Press the volume down and screen lock buttons on your phone at the same time.
• Press the PrintScreen button on Windows (or Fn+PrintScreen on a laptop), open the Paint program, and then click the “Paste” button on the menu bar (or Ctrl+V on the keyboard). Save the image to your computer.
• On macOS, press Shift, Command and number 3 together.

Using visual brainstorms and online whiteboards

• It has been scientifically proven that a person learns the material better when the text or verbal explanation has a visual insert (pictures, graphics, animation). Therefore, using tools such as online interactive whiteboards for visualization during training can be very useful. It allows you to remotely interact with students in real time. Try the popular Miro or Whiteboard Fox services.
• Additionally, Google services (Documents, Presentations, Tables) will help in interacting with students in real time. You can collaboratively create documents, presentations, tables in real time. Information entered on one side will be reflected almost instantly on the other side.
• Give students the task of working in groups, discussing and sharing their impressions on various topics, preparing presentations. Such approaches to learning impose more responsibility on students, and also joint work contributes to better learning of the material, because students can communicate with each other about the content of the educational content.

After you create a document (text or presentation), you can send a link to the document in the group chat.

How to share files on Google services?: To share a link to a document, look for the big “Share” button in the top right. In the “Public” block, select “Anyone with a link” and on the right select “Can Edit” so all students can make changes to the document, or “Can View” so students can only read the document. After that click the “Copy link” button below. Return to your conversation with students and paste the link into the message input box. To send

We remind you that such a message can be corrected; so you and your students always remember your shared file. How to do this is described above.