 Hey there, it's Liza here and I'm super glad to welcome you to a new ITTT live stream. I'm extremely excited to be a host of this session again. And if you guys tune in, please let me know if you hear and see me clearly, okay? So I'm going to wait for a couple of minutes for a moment for some people to join in. And we will get into the topic really, really soon. So let me just quickly introduce the point we are going to discuss today. So basically a new school year is coming and it is probably the best time to discuss what things have to have to be prepared in advance. So I hope that today's session will be helpful. To some extent, I know that these live streams are watched by great professionals and I am 100% sure that you guys know how to do everything and you are prepared. So, but anyway, so let me know if you guys hear and see me clearly. So we have this chat box, we have this comment section, just type in a couple of words like if you see and hear me, okay? Because I want to know that my equipment works and we won't have any issues with the technology, okay? And yeah, so also I would love to know where you guys are from because it is always interesting to learn about people from various destinations and to understand that this community is global. So I am based in Russia, in central Russia, pretty far from Moscow or cities which are big enough. So we don't have many English speakers in here. So yeah, that's pretty much. And yeah, where are you from? So let me know. Okay. Nice to see you for us. Thanks for coming. Thanks for joining the session so for us is from Egypt. I'm really glad that people from different parts of the world have time to come to my sessions. Thanks a lot. Yeah, don't be shy. Let me know where you guys are from. And also, yeah, what's the weather like today there in your destinations? In my place it's actually really nice in terms of the temperature. However, because of these different weather conditions, I mean, these weather conditions are not regular for this part of the world probably so they are pretty extreme to some extent. So we have a really severe smoke in here because we have a lot of forest fires, you know, so it's harsh, but yeah, it's just this nature. All right. Yeah, if you meet and hot in Egypt, yeah, for sure. And from what parts of Egypt are you? Are you from, you know, closer to your capital city or in the south? Okay. All right, I'm glad to see Puvane again. Puvane is from Malaysia. It's such a beautiful country. I have visited Malaysia a couple of years ago, and I loved it so much. I wish I could go there another time and I'm actually really impressed with the Southeast Asia. This destination is just really nice. All right, so I believe we can actually start. There are not many people today, but it's okay. So I hope guys that those who have already joined will benefit from today's session because we're actually going to discuss a really important point. So let's get prepared for this coming school year as online teachers together. And let me change the screen view. So I hope that my presentation is clear and is seen well on your way on your side. And just just a quick mention. These live streams are provided by ITTT. We are a leading internet taffle and TESOL provider. We are presented on various social networks. Right now this live stream is broadcasted on YouTube and Facebook. Yeah, if you are interested in some other social networks, feel free to join in because we try to be as consistent as it is possible in terms of sharing high quality content with you. And we try to be as useful and helpful as it is possible. And by the way, if you guys are interested in taking a taffle course with us, you can see this QR code in the right corner of your screen. So it gives you 30% discount of any ITTT taffle courses just today. So we share this promo code on the live streams only. So if you are thinking about taking a taffle course and becoming certified, just make sure you take this opportunity. And yeah, let's dive into today's topic. Well, actually, here is the first point I've introduced in here on this slide. However, before digging deeper into these details, I want to mention that every summer is just the perfect time to get prepared professionally. So it is always better to work on your self-development and on your professional development as a teacher during the summer period because this time we don't have much classes, we have less work hours, you know. So just before going into some technology details and technical points, I want to mention that teachers have to improve constantly. And if you are not a professional teacher, if you don't have a degree, like I mean an educational degree, it is totally fine. You can get certified, you can find some other ways how to improve your teaching skills. And it is vital to do in advance before you start working with students constantly without any breaks, you know. So make sure that you take this opportunity of getting taffle certified because it's a great start for new teachers or for those people who, you know, transition between different professions. So this is probably a zero point to mention because many people start teaching without any qualifications and from my point of view it is not good because we have to provide the best quality services. If it is not like this, people, I mean our clients, our potential clients, they don't realize what to expect. So I hope that you are conscious people and you know that professional education and professional development is vital, is crucial. All right. And here on this slide, I've mentioned the first point to check before you start actual teaching, teaching multiple classes every day is your equipment. So before you start your school year, make sure that your equipment works well. It's pretty obvious, but I know that many people neglect doing this thing. And then when it comes to work, when it comes to actual teaching hours, some problems start. For example, sometimes people get disconnected because of some Wi-Fi issues or even problems with the internet provider. So it is always better to be on a safe side and to get prepared with your equipment beforehand. So if you also have some problems with your laptop or personal computer, make sure you check it out before starting your school year. And yeah, you should be fine. Some other points to mention is that webcams, mics and lighting, they are not that they are actually important. But if you have a laptop with a decent camera, it's a place to start. You don't have to buy some expensive equipment. It's not necessary from my point of view because our modern laptops are equipped with all of these systems. And it's actually fine for these regular classes. However, if you notice that something is wrong, it is always better to replace it. For example, I know that on some laptops, mics might be not that sensitive and they may actually catch all the sounds behind you in your room or from somewhere else. However, they are not that sensitive to transfer your speech and it is always better to make sure that this is not a problem in your case. And that's for professional lighting. Yeah, you can actually buy a special lamp, but it's also not obligatory because you can sit in front of the window or you can switch on just this artificial lighting and it should be alright. Just make sure you don't sit like me right now. It is just in my room it is just not convenient to move the desk. So that is why I do like this. But I believe that for high quality online lessons, it is vital to lighten your face and to make sure that the picture is clear. And let's move on to the next point to look at before starting your school year. It is a platform to teach on. So there are many various platforms. So if you don't work for a teaching company, if you're a freelancing teacher, it is always better to see some options because every year new platforms appear, new platforms for online teaching, I mean. And yeah, it is necessary to be updated from this point of view. So here I've listed just a couple of options but there are actually even more ways to deliver online classes. So usually I work with Miro and Zoom. I've never worked with that Jamboard and Google Classroom, but I know some teachers really like Google Classroom, for example, because it allows to add many people in one room and then assign homeworks and stuff like that. So it's pretty convenient, especially for schools, but I've never tried that and I can't suggest anything here. So you have to test it. I just prefer Miro and Zoom. And actually the latest version of Zoom has some new features in plug and it is actually connected with Miro. I haven't tested it yet, but I have like two weeks without any classes because all my students decided to have some rest before the school year. So I'm going to investigate everything and check out how it works. And the last platform I would love to mention is ProgressMe. I have tested that platform. The only disadvantage of this platform is that it is not free, so you have to pay for it. But the fee is really small, so you pay for each student who you add into the platform. It's around $2 or something for students, which is pretty affordable for a month. So if you work with students consistently, if you have regular students, this platform might be an option because it is really, really interactive. I should say it is much more interactive than Miro. And this platform has a lot of pre-saved and pre-made materials for English teachers. If you, for example, consider creating your course, it is also possible, or such options as marathons or short-term courses, they might be done on this platform. And I have this promo code if you want. And this platform offers seven days for free, like just to spend some time looking at the service and checking if it works for you. So, yeah, ProgressMe is really convenient, but you have to test it. If you need a link to this platform, I am going to send this presentation to the Facebook group after this session. So, let me know. Or I can actually send it via the chat box as well. And let's move on to the next point. So, I believe it is also vital to organize one lesson which is devoted to the use of technology only. So, what do I mean exactly? When you start working with a new student, especially with children, but sometimes usually with adults as well, because we all are different and not many people are actually digital with kids, you know. So, you have to prepare one lesson. It might be a short lesson, like a 10-minute lesson or a half-an-hour lesson, where you explain how your platform works or how your lessons are organized. For example, you meet on Zoom and then you explain to your students how Zoom is organized, how to open a chat box, how to share their screen, how to send files via Zoom and stuff like that. If you use some other platforms, for example, if you combine Zoom and Miro, you also have to show how to push the buttons on Miro as well. Like last year when I started teaching online in January, so in the beginning of 2020, when the whole pandemic was just about to start, I was new to online teaching and I neglected this step. And the first couple of lessons with all students were such a disaster. Then I realized that that was my mistake because I just didn't explain how to work with the services, how to work with the platforms. And I decided to spend some time on explaining. And it is also a great opportunity to bond with your students a little bit and to have this clear way of teaching, you know, when you use English but you explain some other subjects. So I believe it's a great opportunity for both students and teachers. Don't underestimate this stage and make sure you explain at least some basics because sometimes when I work with younger students, they don't know where to find an apostrophe, for example. And I have to explain what key is to push. So it is funny. However, you want to save up some time on these issues. So just get prepared. Another way to organize this stage would be to film a video, to film a short video related to the use of technology. So you can also show everything in your demo video, not necessarily a demo class. And yeah, you just vocalize everything and you explain where to push, where to sign in and so on. So you can film a video, record a video and then send to your students. It's an option. But yeah, again, it's up to you. But I believe that it's a great way to provide some high quality services at the very beginning. The next point is your space and resources. So it's pretty clear that it is always better to work from an, not an empty room but from a quiet space. So make sure you don't have kids running around you if you work from home and if you have children or, I don't know, some noises, like from time to time, I get disturbed by my neighbors above. So they have small kids, they have two small kids, and they eventually start running all around the apartment and they don't have carpets. So I have those severe noises and I'm never sure if my students can hear them or not. So I usually ask, like, is it okay? Doesn't it disturb you or something like that? And they just confirm that it's okay because, yeah, probably my mic is really good because it doesn't catch those sounds. So yeah, as you can see, quiet spaces are better than places where you are not alone and where you can be disturbed. What else? Yeah, you also should prepare some visual aids. It is especially important for teachers working with younger students. But on some teaching platforms, it's obligatory to prepare some visual aids which teacher can use during the lesson to grab some attention on the first place. But at the same time, I know that for some teenagers or even adult students, it's important to keep focused and maybe visual aids, some visual clues might be useful as well. You can decorate your background, for example, and to start with explaining the weather, discussing the weather or the time and so on. And you don't have to use interactive materials on your Miro board, for example, or another teaching platform. You can just get some eye contact using your background or some other visual clues. So just make sure that they are close to you, that they are not somewhere in a different room. It is always better to keep them in one place, like close to your desk or maybe in a drawer at your desk. So something like that. And the last point here is files. So we have a lot of digital files to share with our students during the lessons. To begin with, we have to, yeah, if you use Zoom or Skype only, you usually share your screen and show some, I don't know, coursebooks, some PDF files or presentations. Some teachers just don't prepare in advance, but you want to make sure that everything opened before your lesson and you don't have to search on your desktop for this particular file. The same thing about audio files. Yeah, frankly speaking, I am not perfect as well. Sometimes I just forget to open audio files and then it takes like a couple of moments to find that file. And we have this, you know, moment when both of us are quiet and it's not pleasant at all. I believe that students can get daunting, yeah, can get bored and frustrated, especially younger children who can't focus for longer than like five minutes or so. So make sure everything is opened and your files are in order. Okay. And when you've prepared all of those steps, which I have mentioned previously, it is the time to think about your course design. So, basically, if you're a professional teacher, if you're qualified and certified, you know how to design a course and, yeah, you just follow those steps. However, just a couple of things to mention. Before you start designing a particular course, for example, in such cases when you work with individual students one on one. You have to consider some learning objectives. Well, basically the same point applied to groups. However, learning objectives may vary. So you have to think about different people and you have to consider if they have like similar needs or different needs and so on. So learning objectives before whatever planning you do. And you have to bear them in mind during the whole course, because when you step somewhere else, when you neglect those specific learning objectives, both you and your students may lose this focus and then lessons get really frustrating for the both sides. So make sure you think about the learning objectives before creating any materials, any curriculum, and so on. Then when you're done with the goals, with the objectives, you have to consider what materials might be suitable for this or that student or for this or that group. So course materials, they are depending on the objectives for sure. And so how to pick the right course book is actually pretty easy. You have to just read different course books, descriptions, and you would probably also check out the teacher's books to understand if the book is right in terms of the age, the needs, and the main objective. For example, I usually work with teenagers and adults, so I versatile between course books for younger adults and for adults, and they all have the same content, but it is designed slightly differently, slightly different from the age perspective. So, for example, such course books as perspectives from National Geographic or what else, Keynote, they have the same style, however, they target different age groups. And although the materials are really interesting and engaging for both teenagers and adults, it is still not very nice to take those two books for adults because of the content itself. It is just for some younger audience. So make sure you consider all of these points when you choose your perfect course book. And when you are done with the first two steps, you move on to the actual lesson planning. So probably you don't have to write multiple lesson plans for the whole year. It is probably easier to create a separate lesson plan for each coming lesson, but it's up to you. I know that some teachers just feel safer when they have everything in order and everything prepared in advance, even lesson plans, so it's actually up to you. But just make sure that you take some time preparing because it is so pathetic when you come to the class and you don't know what to teach and you organize this specific strategy. You implement this specific strategy, which is called dogme, when you don't plan anything and you just go with the flow. For some people, it is normal, but not on a regular basis. So it is always better to prepare. And this point might be even more crucial for the, even more crucial in all of the mentioned before. So what do I mean? So when we start teaching, sometimes we explain everything and then students still have this huge eyes and they don't understand. And then we ask them, like, do you understand? And they usually say yes. This is our failure in terms of giving the right instructions. So when you instruct students, you want to make sure they get you clearly. However, asking them, like, do you understand is not useful at all. So what you have to do on this stage even before this happens is think about ICQ and CCQ. So ICQ instruction checking questions and CCQ concept checking questions. So instruction checking questions are important for that part of your lesson when you give actual instructions and when your students are just about to start some activity. So at this stage, you ask them a couple of questions to check out if they got your instructions correctly. And as for the concept checking questions, they might be applied when you explain some specific concepts like some vocabulary or grammar, for example, or something linguistic. So probably it's a great idea to think about some specific ICQs and CCQs before you start teaching. Just when you create your lesson plan, it's a great idea to write down a couple of questions like that close to the task or, I don't know, maybe in the lesson plan itself, so on some stage. The next point is evaluation. So when you work as a freelance teacher, you are not the same teacher as that one working in a real classroom at school. So you probably don't have this need to grade your students, to give them specific scores or marks. But still you want to motivate your students and you want to give them this understanding of what they have achieved already, what they have accomplished. So probably it's a great idea to think of your special grading system. It may be really helpful when you work with younger children because they still need this, you know, marks or stars at least. They don't have to be, you know, A's or B's or C's. Grades might be just some stars or stickers you give to celebrate students' achievements together and to praise your student. Because this is the only way to cheer your students up sometime when you work online because they don't have the same experiences in the real classroom when you can give them a gift or something like that. So maybe it's a great idea to create some specific system and to keep it somewhere on your, you know, platform, on your teaching platform. For example, I do this with my younger students. I create this chart. And if I work with groups, I write down the names and then I keep the score of the stars they get. So basically the same as teachers do in real classrooms to see the progress, to see their achievements and to celebrate together. And the last idea which is crucial as well is the feedback. So I know that especially some, yeah, just let me collect my thoughts quickly. So many teachers believe that feedback is only about correcting errors. That's not true. Feedback should be reasonable and ecological in the way it is given. So when you think about giving some feedback to your students, think about some different strategies, some psychological strategies to make it in a nice and friendly manner in a nice and friendly way. Because if you only correct their mistakes, if you only, you know, mark everything red, it is not pleasant and they might feel bad about themselves because they would see it that they've done everything wrong only and that's all. So think about the way to give them some nice feedback first and then probably draw their attention to mistakes. Actually, last time, so a couple of weeks ago, I asked my student to give me her feedback on my work. And that was the point she mentioned. She said that she liked that I never said that you are wrong here and you did it incorrect here. She mentioned that she appreciated that my feedback was always cheerful and motivating. So because I didn't focus on the mistakes only, I actually never focused on mistakes. I focused more on something that has been done really well. And only after that I pointed some gaps, some issues that might be corrected. But after that, after that positive feedback, students usually corrected themselves and they explained everything like what mistakes they did and how to solve all of those problems. So this is also a teaching strategy. Feedback may be not just your feedback, but also a tool to make your students think and to make your student self-correct. And I believe this is the last slide for today. So classroom management, when we work online, it is not easy to manage classrooms sometimes, especially if you work with bigger groups. So basically before starting any teaching, for example, if you work with parents, it is nice to suggest them that they have to be in a quiet room as well, that they have to sit down, not lie down. They have to have a laptop instead of a cell phone. You know, everything happens in this world and I actually had such cases. A couple of days ago I agreed to teach one girl and her mom asked, is it okay to study from a cell phone? And I was like, no, it's not okay because it's absolutely inconvenient for the student. The screen is small and if I share any materials, she just doesn't see it. So classroom management begins before the actual teaching. So make sure you discuss all these points before the lessons with your clients. However, when you work in an online way, so when you teach, you have to also consider some problems that may happen. They usually depend on some concept checking questions or instructions you give. However, at the same time, there is this specific pace you have to control. Some students may work faster than the other students. So you want to make sure that they are busy all the time and they don't have this breaks, these periods when they can look somewhere else, when they get disturbed with their cell phones or something like that. So consider some problems before your course, discuss everything with your clients, explain some rules which you have in terms of managing your classroom, and then you should be good. So we do have classroom management during online classes, but it's not the same as in the real classroom, right? So you have to consider some strategies, but they are always subjective. Sometimes there are some issues we may anticipate. However, it is always something else happening, so you have to be really flexible. But at the same time, you know, at ITTT we have this new course related to online teaching, and we have this part related to classroom management online. So if you feel like it is something you would improve in your teaching, yeah, you can check out that course. So basically that is it for today, and let's now have a quick Q&A session. Here you can see this QR code, but I'm also going to send a link to the chat box. So if you feel like it's time to get TAPL certified, feel free to use the link from the chat box, or feel free to scan this QR code. Now I'm going to check out the questions from the chat box, and if you have any questions or any concerns related to today's topic, which is getting prepared for a coming school year as an online teacher, let me know. So let's do a quick Q&A session. And by the way, guys, thanks a lot for joining in. I am really, really grateful for having you all here. I see there are 12 people, so some people come and go, but it's okay. I hope that the things that I discussed today were useful for you. Yeah, so let me check out the questions. That's a great question, Puvana, thanks a lot. I am not confident in suggesting some specific area because it is really subjective. You know, it depends on many factors, and probably one which is above all of them these days is the pandemic situation. So you have to check out different countries, different governmental sites, like where you check out the visa requirements and so on, if the countries are opened or not, because I know that countries like, let me see, like China for sure, what else, Thailand. So some countries in the Southeast Asia are still closed. They don't open borders for tourists, for expats, so it is subjective to this situation. But at the same time, if you look for some quick experience, if you look for some easy ways how to get your first teaching experience, I would definitely suggest you going online. Start teaching online as soon as it is possible, because it is the easiest way today, and the demand is huge. You can work for an online teaching company. They don't have strict requirements. Some companies do. Some companies want to hire native speakers only, but those companies that understand that ESL teaching is not just about proficiency in teaching, in proficiency in English, they actually hire non-native speakers really well. So, or otherwise, you can work as a freelancer. My general suggestion is to create social media, to choose a perfect social media in your country or, I don't know, in some nearest countries, and start promoting your services. So, just show everyone that you are confident, that you know how to teach, that you are creative, and I believe that you will be really fine and you won't wait for students too long. And let's move on. So, basically, I have already mentioned all of the tools and all of the equipment you need for teaching online at the beginning of today's presentation. If you were absent at that time, I would suggest you watching the recording of this live stream, because I have already mentioned everything. So, I do mind explaining everything again, because it took me like an hour. Yeah, I am going to share this presentation. It actually has some links and, you know, it contains the names necessary for this use. Let me just quickly copy the link, and I'm going to share it. So, yeah, check out the presentation from the chat box, see if you can open it. I think it should work. So, this is the same presentation I've used during the session. Yeah, just let me know if you see it. Okay. Do you guys have any further questions related to today's topic, or to Tefl in general? Let me know. By the way, if you are interested in online teaching, make sure you check out my previous live streams, because I talked a lot about online teaching. I overview different teaching platforms, teaching companies. I also did some overview of the best coursebooks of materials. I also showed how to create materials with your online tools. So, make sure you check out the previous live streams. Let me send you a link. So, I'm going to send a link to the YouTube channel, because I think YouTube has the most convenient way to store live streams compared to Facebook. But we do have the same folder on Facebook, so just feel free to check out. Okay, let's see. Just one second. I haven't prepared my files before this live stream, but I didn't expect any questions related to the previous... Well, actually, I usually refer to my previous live streams, so I had to prepare in advance, but I'm sorry. I'm not perfect too, so where it is. By the way, our YouTube channel contains a lot of useful presentations and videos related to all possible topics in online teaching and what else. So, there are a lot of things which might be useful. I have found this folder, but I'm not sure how to copy the link. So, let me see. Okay, I think like this. No, I'm not sure how to do that. Okay, I'm going to send the link to one of the videos, one of the first videos. Yeah, so I think if you follow this link from the chat box, you will see the whole folder full of previous live streams. And yeah, it is here. So, you can check it out. And by the way, did you manage to open the link to the Canva presentation? Can you see everything? Let me know. Yeah, I think that today's topic was really interesting to discuss and I hope that you found something useful for yourself in today's live stream. I hope to see you guys next week. I am not completely sure about the topic for the next week, but if you have any suggestions, feel free to comment right down below. Yeah, I think that is all for today. And yeah, let's wrap up and I hope to see you next week. Oh, and by the way, I have a Facebook group for English teachers. If you want to join this community, this small community, feel free to follow this link from the chat box as well. So, the community isn't that big yet. And for some reason people are not active there. They probably expect me to, you know, share content, which is my plan for future. But if you have any questions related to teaching to the use of materials or something like that, you can actually write your question on the group. And I hope that somebody out of the community will reach you out. Yeah, so it's a great way to network as well. Yeah, just feel free to join in the group. And thanks for coming today. As I mentioned, see you next week. And yeah, that's all. Bye bye guys.