Online Microteaching: A Reflection

As we all know, when we were hit with COVID-19, it completely took over every aspect of our lives, out day-to-day living, social-life, health, education etc. Thus, it is important for teachers to be educated on teaching through the use of technology, as most teachers and schools struggled to adapt to this new way of teaching during the COVID pandemic. I underwent such an experience during my teaching experience in my final year of studies and these are my thoughts:

What did you like and dislike about online teaching?

I liked that I could see different ways of teaching online and the creative ways one can use the tools provided online, to support your lesson. There is nothing really, I disliked about the online teaching, other that it can be stressful, if something does not go as planned. As well as I prefer to teach face-to-face as I feel more comfortable doing it this way.

What new skills did you learn through this experience?

I learned how to use the different online tools when teaching. I also learned how stressful it can be to teach a lesson and not knowing if your learners understand, because one cannot see their reactions on certain things. I also learned the value of good planning, because without thorough planning and considerations, it can have a big effect on how learners’ interpreters what is being taught.

What would you do differently?

I would add a more abstract activity, as my lesson was on phonics blending sounds, and I did not include an activity where the learners use the blending sound words in sentences. This could also help the learners understand the use of blending sounds in sentences. I would also like to add flash cards as an introduction to my lesson.

Did you choose appropriate tools to teach your online lesson, explain why?

Yes, I think I did choose appropriate tools to teach my online lesson, because the tools that I have chosen to use, was not only easy and appropriate for me, as a teacher, to use, but as well for the learners to use within the lesson. The tools that were used supported my lesson as well as made my lesson more interactive with the learners.

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

This experienced has given me a glimpse of how teachers managed to teach learners during COVID-19. Thus, making me aware of how online teaching can be used not only in a pandemic, but within the classroom as well. I would use online teaching as a method to teach if it is needed. It also made me appreciate face-to-face teaching more, to see the importance of face-to-face teaching and how different it is to teach online.

I hope that I will never have to teach this way, although it is helpful and innovative, it does not deliver the same quality teaching as face-to-face and can cause a the lack of human interaction. I will leave you with this quote from Minster Albert Einstein, "I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiot".