Posted on September 9, 2021 by Edsys

Online communication tools have become the new normal since the world started adapting to the changes brought about by COVID-19 pandemic. Google Meet has been a popular communication tool used by business organizations to carry on with their work. Now, educational institutes have also adopted Google Meet for education to hold webinars, video conferences, staff training, online classes, etc.

Though it is a well-known platform, Google Meet for education requires further improvement to make it 100% efficient, to be used as an education app.

Free Class Room Activity Apps (Check it NOW)

Limitations in Free Version

With a limit of 30 participants per video call, Google Meet will not be able to accommodate a bigger team with its free version. This becomes a problem when it comes to classroom management. Some educational institutes opt to split the team and hold sessions for each team separately, which can be a hassle for the educators. Also the option does not really work for staff training because of time constraints. Therefore, the only option left is to buy the paid version.

Multimedia Documents

When we say file sharing, it is not just images or text. It also includes multimedia documents at times. However, it is not possible to share multimedia documents through Google Meet.

Limited Features

Google Workspace comes with various tools and apps that users can put to good use, while using Google Meet. However, the features of Google Meet, in terms of productivity, interaction, and remote collaboration, are limited compared to other applications serving the same purpose.

For example, Google Meet does not have its own annotation feature, which is a necessity during video conferences. Annotations help the users to point out specific parts of a presentation and encourage interactions among participants. At present, such extra features are added using Google Chrome extensions from third party developers.

No Desktop Version

Google meet app has optimized iOS and Android versions for mobile devices; but, there is no specific desktop version of the app. It can only be accessed from a web browser for desktop.

Consumes Hardware Resources

The hardware quality of a device affects the user experience of the apps used in it. Google Meet uses up a large amount of hardware resources, making it difficult for devices with outdated processors and RAM to run a video conference.

Requires Strong Internet Connection

Live meetings and interactions being interrupted due to poor network is a common issue faced by most communication tools. Google Meet also requires strong Internet connection so that the meeting/conference happens without any hindrances.

Free Class Room Activity Apps (Check it NOW)

Accidental Call Drops

Sometimes, technical or network issues cause Google Meet to drop some members from a meeting, especially those attended by a big number of people. However, the app does not have provisions to add back the group members.

Better Options

Most of the above-mentioned issues can be a major let down when it comes to the efficiency of Google Meet for education. It is not wise to wait until the problems would be resolved in the future since the need for an efficient way to communicate has to be met at present. The better option is to go for video sharing and hosting platforms, like Vimeo and YouTube.

Vimeo

Google Meet and Vimeo are entirely different applications that seem to serve different purposes. But if you look closely, both have features can help businesses organizations or educational institutes in achieving what they prefer—to impart knowledge. Now, why does Vimeo seem to be the better option?

Let us find out.

Set Privacy

Maybe the file you share is not meant for the entire group. Vimeo’s privacy settings will help you to share the uploaded video content with a particular person or group of people as required.

Maintain Quality of Videos

Sometimes, live online interactions lack quality due to poor network connections. The interruptions will cause you to miss out certain details discussed, which can be a hassle during online learning

Vimeo allows you to share video content without compromising the quality that the team can watch whenever they want. It is because Vimeo has strict guidelines that users must follow while uploading the videos for the application to accept them. This makes the processing load lighter, and as a result, the user can use the best encoding techniques to upload high quality videos.

Replace Videos Without Losing URL

Vimeo allows you to replace an existing video with a new one under the same URL. This makes it easy for the educators since they just have to share the URL once.

Free Class Room Activity Apps (Check it NOW)

Password Protect Videos

Vimeo is a platform accessed by many. The app allows you to set a password for the video content you upload so that it will be accessible to only a particular group of people you want to share the content with

Groups and Albums

Vimeo comes with social resources, like groups and albums. Groups act as a meeting place to discuss and exchange knowledge. You can gather and share videos compiled through Albums.

Livestream

You can use Vimeo Livestream to hold live sessions. The chat section can be utilized to make the session interactive.

YouTube

YouTube is another video hosting and sharing platform that works better for education. Popularly known as an entertainment platform, educational institutes and organizations have been using YouTube for online learning and information sharing even before the pandemic.

It is free

YouTube, like other platforms, has a free version and a Premium version that provides additional features. Businesses or educational institutes can create and upload videos for free in their YouTube channels that the students/trainees can access for free. Also, YouTube allows integration of the videos uploaded on a channel into any website to ensure efficient learning.

Can be Accessed By All

Even if it is for staff training or for online classes at school/college level, the trainers/educators usually have to find time out of their schedule to explain the concepts. With YouTube, they can just upload the videos that can be accessed by anyone from anywhere and learn. Learners can also make use of the platform to search and learn more about the topics.

Mobile and Microlearning

YouTube provides opportunities for mobile and microlearning, in terms of online education. You can upload videos with long time duration as well as shorter videos that last 10 minutes or less in YouTube as per convenience. Learners, especially those with short attention span, usually prefer shorter videos for online learning.

YouTube Live

YouTube Live allows you to create livestreaming sessions. The comments section under the livestream can be utilized for interactions and clearing doubts.

Accessibility

YouTube videos are accessible anywhere, anytime, and across different mobile devices, including smartphones, laptops and tablets. It is also compatible with any screen size and does not affect the video quality.

Conclusion

Google Meet, being a popular communication and collaboration platform, is preferred by many. With the pandemic, the number of users has also increased. But Google Meet for education still has a long way to go to ensure a smooth and efficient online learning process. Therefore, it is better for businesses and educational institutes to choose better alternatives, such as Vimeo or YouTube.

Now, to choose among Vimeo and YouTube, see here.

Edsys is an experienced educational software provider and has been catering to the EdTech requirements of clients around the globe for years. If you need development assistance to create online learning tools, Edsys would be a great choice. Connect with us for detailed discussion.

Posted on September 3, 2021 by Edsys

Microsoft Teams is a popular chat-based collaboration and communication tool. It has been commonly used by organizations for interactions, and file and information sharing these days. Primarily meant for businesses, Microsoft Teams also has an Education version meant for classroom management, live classes, and for online learning. But as a tool for education, as in schools, colleges, or training of employees in an office, Teams still has a long way to go.

Requires Continuous Internet Connectivity

Teams cannot work without constant Internet connectivity. Any issues in connectivity during an ongoing presentation or meeting can cause users to miss out what is being said.

Confusing File Structure

This is one of the main drawbacks of Microsoft Teams. Online learning involves lots of file sharing. It is not really possible to find where exactly these files are stored, considering the different folders created.

Even if you remember the file location, it can be confusing. Whatever files that are uploaded during a Teams conversation are stored in the channel root folder. Finding the one you need among them can be quite tiresome. Trying to organize the files might cause the links with the conversations to break.

Complex Outlook Transition

Microsoft Outlook is commonly used by all organizations and most employees might be used to the email platform. This makes transition to Microsoft Teams a bit difficult. The best way is for all team members to focus entirely on Microsoft Teams and leave out Outlook.

But, at the same time, abandoning Outlook altogether and using only Microsoft Teams is not wise either. Office 365 still depends on Outlook for many other functions. For example, while writing, Teams does not support Group calendars. Also, it is not possible to send links to Word documents through Teams chat. During such instances, email seems to be the better option.

Challenges in Inviting an Outside User

A member from outside of your organization can be added to Teams through External or Guest Access. And then, there are many steps to be followed to make sure that the outside users can access Teams with the right permissions.

Flexibility is Limited

Creating a new Team on the platform requires building everything from scratch. Microsoft Teams is not that flexible when it comes to replicating structures. If you are replicating a Team, everything has to be done manually. This can use up lot of your productive time and affect the efficiency.

Permission Setting Challenges

Most organizations prefer Microsoft Teams because it makes information sharing easy. Though all members can access all channels and all files in the Team and also other features, there are times information sharing has to be more specific. But it is not possible to change the permission settings accordingly at present. For example, you can create private channels in a Team with specific permissions for the channel, but you would not be able to invite guest users.

No Unified Chat

Microsoft Teams does not have a unified chat feature. This makes it impossible to search any information you want from all the conversations. You will have to remember the conversations in each chat and then search for a particular conversation within a specific chat.

Uses up Space

Anyone using Microsoft Teams can create their own Teams and channels. But with each team being created, it takes up space in the institute’s server. Restricting the people to create groups is not a plausible solution, as it requires extra work and maintenance.

No Warning for Similar Team Names

Microsoft Teams does not warn or notify you if you create a team with an already existing name. As a result, more than one team with the same team name will be created, making it confusing to the users.

Channel Limit

In Microsoft Teams, the number of channels you can be a part of is limited. A person can be part of only 200 public channels and 30 private channels. Though it seems enough in most scenarios, it can be a limitation if you want to be part of a few more channels.

Competition

Microsoft Teams is too crowded with many tools having similar or overlapping features. This confuses the users, making it difficult for them to choose the right tool.

White Labeling

All features of Microsoft Teams were not developed by the company itself. There are some features that have been bought from lesser known brands and were rebranded by Microsoft. White labeling is legal. But, it is disadvantageous to the lesser known brands that actually developed those features, since they will never be given credit.

Online Classes

Online education has become the norm considering the pandemic situation requires everyone to remain at home. Organizations and educational institutes are relying on collaboration tools, such as Microsoft Teams, to carry out their activities.

Before, Microsoft Teams was a collaboration tool meant solely for businesses. But with the introduction of online classes, Microsoft came up with Microsoft Teams for Education. But, is Microsoft Teams an effective tool for online learning? Maybe not.

The most reported issue about Microsoft Teams during an online class is the technical problems. A large part of this problem is due to poor network connectivity, which can interrupt the smooth running of classes.

In January, students in Scotland had reported issues regarding Microsoft Teams. The students were not being able to use the “Join” button to join their online classes. There were also reports of services and chat functions being delayed. Similar issues with Microsoft Teams were reported in other countries as well.

(Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/some-scottish-students-struggle-study-online-due-microsoft-teams-issues)

In terms of usability, Microsoft Teams is a highly customizable platform. But the teachers/trainers have to work on setting up the class just right even if they are using basic features. Also, grading in Teams is a bit cumbersome.

Alternatives

Microsoft Teams might be a good tool for interaction. But when it comes to sharing content and live meetings, there are few flaws that affect the overall productivity of an organization. That is why using alternatives, such as Vimeo and YouTube, seems to be a better option.

Vimeo

Vimeo is primarily a video sharing and hosting platform meant for the arts and creative industry. But, lately, the application has found its way into the field of business as well. Vimeo allows hosts to password-protect videos, which is great if you are only sending to specific contacts.

Livestreaming

Apart from Vimeo being a platform where you can upload and share videos, it also provides a live stream option that businesses can utilize to hold meetings. The chat option that works simultaneously with the livestream can be used for interactions. You can also record your screen, webcam, or both using Vimeo Record.

Keep Your Videos in One Place

This is one advantage Vimeo has over Microsoft Teams. Sure, you can share content through Teams. But you will have to manually record the live lectures, which might not give a good result in case of bad network or similar issues. Vimeo, on the other hand, allows you to store, manage, and host videos and live streams in the video library, which is secure and easy to search, without compromising the quality.

Host Meetings/Conferences Publicly or Privately

You can embed the player on your organization’s website by setting viewing permissions, and also, password-protect videos and live streams. You can also choose to host virtual meetings or conferences exclusively for your team. The videos can also be replaced without changing the URL.

Accessible to Everyone

Sometimes the videos you share is meant for a larger group of audience, may be including some with limitations, in terms of cognition, vision or physical abilities. Vimeo is accessible to anyone, anywhere making it easy for anyone to access.

Make It Interactive

Since Vimeo is mainly a video hosting platform, there is a common notion that the interaction is only one way. But, in reality, it is possible to make the videos interactive with call to actions, video chaptering, or closed captions despite the device used and thus, create engagement.

Customizable

Vimeo is customizable, thus enabling businesses to create videos that match their branding.

Vimeo comes with a free plan, but it enables only a maximum storage of 500 MB per week. Since businesses need a larger space in the library to store and manage videos, the paid Plus or Pro plan would be a better option, and it is absolutely worth it.

YouTube

YouTube, another alternative to Microsoft Teams, is commonly known as an entertainment platform. It has been around for over ten years and has managed to gather a wide variety of audience for its different video content. Apart from being an independent video hosting and sharing platform, YouTube can also be integrated to other platforms.

Free of Cost

YouTube is absolutely free and is easily accessible to anyone, making it a usable tool to share video content within your organization. You can upload videos, even without having a Google account.

Available Anywhere

Now that the pandemic has transformed work life from offices to the comfort of your home, you will need a platform to connect from anywhere. YouTube allows you to upload videos or go Live from anywhere. A working Internet connection is the only requirement.

Form a Network

Sometimes different teams of an organization have to collaborate for projects and to explain the details to each team depending on their schedules would be a tedious task. With YouTube, you can share the videos containing information related to the projects with all teams at once. They can watch the video whenever they can.

Videos Can Be Watched Again

The best part of using YouTube is that the videos remain there until it is removed by the user. This enables everyone to go back and watch the lessons as required.

YouTube Live

YouTube also has a livestreaming option which organizations can use to hold meetings or conferences, be it for a big or a small group of people. Interaction between the presenter and the team is possible through the comments section.

YouTube has come a long way from being a platform for entertainment to one used for education and businesses. The best part about YouTube is that whatever you upload is going to stay there until you want it removed.

Conclusion

Microsoft Teams is a good tool when it comes to interactions. But if you observe it as an educational app, there are many features that need improvement. May be the improvements will happen in the future. But, to wait for it until it happens is not reasonable. So the best way is to look for better alternatives, like Vimeo and YouTube.

Now, if you are wondering which to choose among Vimeo and YouTube, see here.

Edsys is an experienced educational software provider with clients around the globe. If you are looking for a development partner to create online learning tools, Edsys would be a great fit. Connect with us to discuss in detail.

Posted on December 5, 2018 by Edsys SEO

According to expert instructors, learning the name of your students can help to build a better teaching environment. However, the task seems overwhelming if you have a huge class.

Most teachers are advised to learn the names of their students. But they don’t get any real help regarding the methods of learning names.

Though seems impossible for many teachers, it is possible to use unique strategies in your classroom to learn all students’ names.

Students want to feel valued in classrooms. This sense of being valued leads to more interest in the course and allows students to perform better.

So, a small act of learning and using the correct names can take the performance of your students to a whole new level.

Let’s discuss all those strategies:

1. Assign Seats For Initial Weeks

When a new semester begins, you struggle the most to remember names. Moreover, matching names with the faces of every student becomes another task for your mind while teaching.

Your mind creates a map for every name and face with respect to the location in the class you first see a student. You can use this ability of your mind to learn the names of your student.

2. Ask Students to Introduce Themselves Before Speaking

This is another method you can apply while teaching during a new semester.

This is the time when everybody in a classroom is stranger to others. Both students and the instructors want to know each other. This task can help in doing so.

For the first 5 classes, you can request students to introduce themselves with their name before speaking.

This will help you learn names and it will also allow your students to know each other. You can motivate students by introducing yourself every time you begin your class for the first few days.

3. Repeat the Names of your Students

While teaching, instructors are supposed to interact with students consistently. So, whenever you want to ask a question or interact with a particular student, call him or her by the name.

Don’t feel worried about addressing a student with a wrong name. Just apologize and say the right name again. This will actually show that you are interested in knowing your students.

Students like interactive teachers and they definitely love if you open a conversational gate with them.

4. Ask to Submit Assignments with Name and Picture

Assignments are a part of teaching and learning in the classroom. While it helps students practice what they have learned, you can use such assignments to learn the names of your students.

Ask every student to paste a small self-image along with the name on the front of the assignment copy. Do this activity with every assignment and you will start remembering the names of all your students.

5. Conduct a Name Quiz

You can begin your class with a fun quiz regarding the names of everyone in the room.

If your students are young children, they will enjoy such a quiz. You can give about 10 minutes every day figuring out who is who in your class.

On the first day, make a list of all the names after the first interaction with students.

Then, from the next day, you can see the name in your list and guess the face of the student. You will make a few mistakes, but it will be fun for your students.

6. Ask Every Student to Say his/her name along with one Characteristic

You can learn the students’ names faster if you associate them with a unique characteristic. But you shouldn’t characterize students, as it presents the risk of stereotyping.

Also Read: 15 Educational Apps For Students

On the contrary, you can ask students to tell their names and describe themselves with one characteristic.

This activity will associate each name with a character in your mind. So, you can remember the name as well as the face of your students. It might require several recalls of those characteristics in the classroom.

7. Know Students in Pairs

In classes, students tend to sit with their best friends. Most students sit in pairs in the classroom and enjoy sitting in the same order.

This habit can help you remember names in pairs. You can ask students to introduce themselves as well as the partner sitting next to him or her. Then, ask the other student to do the same.

So, for example, a student can say-

“Hi, my name is Stacy and this my friend Crystal.”

Then, Crystal can follow the same process-

“Hi, my name is Crystal and this is my friend Stacy.”

Follow the same process with the whole class.

8. Ask students to describe their best physical feature

When meeting your students for the first time, you can request them to describe their best physical feature.

For instance, a student can say, “My name is Jim, I am the tallest in the class.” Similarly, another student can say, “My name is Jemma and I smile a lot.”

Associating names with a physical feature will help you remind yourself the correct names.

You will have to start calling students with their own physical features. So, “Jim, the tall guy” or “Jemma, the cute smile” will help with learning the names.

However, you have to make sure that students are comfortable with this approach of yours. If you notice any tension, avoid this method.

9. Ask Students to Write their Aspirations in One Sentence

When you know a person better, learning names and remembering faces become easier. This is why you don’t forget the name of celebrities. You can try to know your students better in order to remember their names.

For that, you can interview every student and ask them to write their names on a paper along with their aspiration in one sentence.

So, a student can write-

“I am George and I want to become a pilot.”

After all, students complete this task, ask their aspirations one by one along with their names.

Interact more and know why they have chosen an aspiration. So, you can ask- “Wow George! You want to be a pilot. What do you like the most about being a pilot?”

Such exercises will get you closer to your students. You will understand the personality traits of each student.

10. Assign Group-based Classroom Tasks

When you have a classroom of 250 students, learning names get pretty hectic. You can resolve the stress by dividing your classroom into several working groups. Each group can have 9 to 10 students working on classroom assignments.

This group division will eventually help you work on face visualization and remembering a few names.

11. Include students in your teaching process

Generally, you teach and students learn in your classroom. But why not let students indulge in the teaching process as well?! You can share your teaching responsibilities with a few students.

For example, if you are teaching literature and language, you can say, “George, you will point out how many times I use an incorrect pronunciation of words.”

Similarly, you can choose a responsibility according to your subject and share it with your students. This is an effective way of learning the names of your students.

12. Motivate Students to Know Each other

“What a great point, I totally agree with her.”

“What’s her name?”

With such style of interactions, you can motivate other students to know each other. The same process will allow you to associate students and their personalities with names.

“It was a great point raised by Stella yesterday. Where is she sitting today?”

Such interactive statements will help you remind yourself the name and the face of a student on a daily basis.

Are You Ready?!

Teaching is a critical job, which requires you to help students in the learning process in every possible way.

Learning students’ names might seem a difficult task, but you can bring great benefits to your class with this effort.

Your interaction with students become more comfortable for students.

They feel interested in the class and don’t hesitate to ask questions. Plus, if you take interest in learning their names, students start remembering names of other classmates as well. This creates a sense of unity and allows the whole class to learn as a group.

Hopefully, you feel ready to apply some of the methods offered in this article to learn the names of your students.

Also Read: Why Do Students Fail? – Faculty’s Perspective

Posted on April 25, 2018 by Edsys SEO

All those in the teaching line will vouch for the importance of a lesson plan.

A lesson plan is a concise and organized structure which provides answers to important questions. Questions about how a teacher can maintain a standard pattern of teaching.

Access Here More Than 1000+ FREE Educational Apps

Purpose of the Lesson Plan

Brilliance lie in not leaving the schedule at the mercy of shambolic planning and fluctuating resources. Teachers can re-direct their energy in designing an effective curriculum.

The duties of school hours will recline in the lap of this set up. The lesson plan guides the direction in which the teacher can invest her efforts and resources for the day.

On attaining the equilibrium, you can help drive student’s efforts on the right path for the desired learning outcome.

Importance of a Good Lesson Plan:

Call it an essential vitamin for the teacher’s survival. The scant might cause deficient growth as a teacher.

A good lesson plan conveys to the teacher as to what is important for students when it comes to learning. And since prepared under the confines of individual comfort, it is easier to perceive.

It will include the content and activities to be fulfilled for a set timeline.

Lesson planning provides a step-by-step guide to teachers to delve deep into what he/she is teaching.

it tells you how the teaching should progress with the contents of the lecture.

The next big question is whether the students understand what you are teaching.

Alongside planning for these criteria which are crucial for in-depth learning, a lesson plan benefits teachers in more ways than you can imagine.

We shed light on the 10 most important ways in which a lesson plan becomes a teaching and learning aid to both the teachers and the students respectively.

1) Incorporate the Three Arms of Effective Teaching

In order to help faculty maintain a standard teaching pattern that will benefit students of different IQ levels, it is essential that they follow a logical teaching structure.

It is necessary to take into cognizance the three pivotal components of teaching; the three arms of a lesson plan.

They are:

The basic objectives of the course
A collection of teaching and learning activities and
Assessment methods

A lesson plan unveils the basic objectives of the course. Students should walk out the class with a thorough understanding of what was taught in class.

Enlisting the learning and teaching activities is the next step. Here, you will have to strive and come up with multiple explanation methods that will help your students to better understand the topic.

You can include real-life examples alongside citing imaginary situations. This will help students stretch their imagination to extract the essence of what is being taught.

After planning for both objectives and teaching activities, you should work in the direction of assessing the level of understanding of your students.

Here you need to rely on assignments (oral or written) as qualifying tools. A question-answer session should be planned along with well-planned activities that will help you assess the learning abilities of your students.

2. A Perfect Time Management Tool in Classrooms

A step-by-step lesson plan will help you lecture the important sections of a topic within the prescribed time period.

You will not grope in the dark about how a particular query from a student should be addressed. With this tool in your hand you will be able to teach with a better sense of direction and control.

Also Read: 14 Best Parental Control Apps For Kids

There will a lot of free time to focus on improvising your abilities as an educator.

3. Builds The Confidence in Teachers

With a lesson plan in your hand, you will become a confident teacher. You would stay abreast with the novel teaching styles that are currently in vogue.

You will not be following the principles of the old school of thought but will incorporate new teaching mechanisms. A lesson plan helps you adhere to the best teaching practices that deliver effective teaching.

You will be come to be known as a confident teacher who is well-informed and highly knowledgeable faculty.

4. A Clear Route-Map To Effective Teaching

What to teach and how to teach are the two basic questions that should be pre-answered by teachers.

When you are clear about what topics to teach and how they should be taught, you will be able to match your lecturing patterns to the learning abilities of your students.

One important thing to remember!

Teaching from the front cover all the way to the end of the text book does not meet your teaching goals.

A lesson plan here sheds light on what topics are considerable as against those which are secondary.

5. A Boon To Struggling Students

Many a times, teachers either omit or repeat the subjects taught earlier. This situation arises because of the absence of a lesson plan.

With a lesson plan at your disposal, you will be able to avoid casual omissions or repetitions that emerge as a result of students getting promoted from one grade into another.

Once the semester ends, earlier teacher with the new class teacher can review the lesson plan in action. This will help to come up with recommendations to aid struggling students.

6. Gain Recognition as an poignant Teacher

A well-organized teacher will be able to attract the attention of students who will pattern after your planning traits.

Also Read: 15 Best Educational Software Companies in India

You can set an example to students who will follow your footsteps. uncovering the benefits of planning and apply your values to aspects of their lives.

This way, you will be able to lead the students by setting an example of the benefits of planning.

7. A Result-Oriented Practice

You as an instructor will be able to guide your students better if you value spadework yourself.

You will be instrumental in helping your students complete assignments with little or no supervision.

A lesson plan comes handy in assessing the level of mastery of your students. It allows you to concentrate on struggling students.

This way, you will be able to check their level of understanding and match your teaching style with what your class needs.

8. Sets the Anticipatory Mood for Students

Teachers rely on teaching mechanisms like a game, a video clipping or an industrial tour. This creates a sense of expectation among students.

You can also engage your students in a focused discussion about a particular topic. This could be a preparation for what is coming up next.

Imagine the excitement of students of English Literature when they are asked to pen down their thoughts about their failed college love.
Right before proceeding to value the world famous love story of Romeo and Juliet!

9. A Reference Tool Which Facilitates Swapping of Teachers

A substitute teacher will be able to take the position of a class teacher in a much shorter time, thanks to the lesson plan.

The assisting teacher will have all the details of lessons covered and the topics yet to be touched.

A lesson plan helps a supporting teacher be perceptive to the teaching style of the earlier faculty. This fosters easy comfort between students and new teacher.

10. Promotes A Healthy Learning Environment

With a lesson plan as a teaching tool, you can plan your lessons in the most purposeful manner.

Healthy classroom management is driven by a systematic pattern of teaching.

With a well-chalked out plan of learning activities and routines, you will be able to present the subject matter straight and clean.

11. Handing over and professional performance

It is always an advantage to have a clear lesson plan so that, it can be used by substitute teachers at times.

It ensures that time is being used properly, even when the HOD is not around.

The set of lesson plans can be used to handling over to new teachers, it acts as a guideline for them to follow.

Irrespective of all these, it can also be used to support annual performance evaluation of individual teachers.

Even when applying for new job, teachers can attach these lesson plans as a sample to show them your content understanding and organizational skills.

12. Prevent over-reliance on textbooks

There are many excellent guides with good resources using the syllabus that enables a teacher to prepare an effective lesson plan. These guides also have solved problems and notes which helps to save the time of teachers.

Thus, giving them more time to focus and teacher. So, a good lesson plan, prevent over- reliance on textbooks.

13. Ask questions

A properly built lesson plan helps a teacher to ask proper and important questions timely. This will engage the student interaction and communication in an effective way. Thus, it helps in retaining the lesson in the classroom.

14. It helps during class preparation

You teach a specific subject because you are well-versed in it. But preparation is essential even for the masters.

As lesson plans make teachers clear about what they are going to teach, it makes then capable to prepare even more.

Teachers can also research on the topic so that it helps them to gather additional information that can be shared with students.

15. It enables possible changes

During the preparation of the lesson plan, there come certain points which can be reviewed and edited. It helps teachers to use different strategies, methods, make use of different tools to make teaching process more interesting.

Thus, a proper lesson plan helps teachers to avoid mistakes and clarifies beforehand.

Key Takeaways

A lesson plan is a mandatory tool to tread the path of comprehensive education. No matter how experienced a teacher is.

With a step by step guide to at their disposal teachers will be in a position to better control the class and address anticipated situations with a strong sense of preparedness.

Access Here More Than 1000+ FREE Educational Apps

A lesson plan is a ready-reference guide to all the teachers. Teachers willing to deliver the curriculum in a sensible and well-informed manner, this tool is just for you!

Posted on April 19, 2018 by Edsys SEO

Students follow their teachers’ footsteps in almost everything. So, a good teacher is supposed to demonstrate only those things which they can ask their students also to do. If the teacher can do a similar project what his/her students have been assigned, then students can come up with better work. It means if the teacher is not interested in the thing he/she teaches, then students will not show any interest towards the information that they have been taught.

Free Classroom Activity Apps (Check it NOW)

A teacher should fairly make time to listen and help their students. If they show kindness and love toward their students, then students will become more comfortable to share their problem and stories with their teachers. If teachers only deliver a lecture and leave the class, then students will lose the trust that is required for a positive student-teacher relationship. Gaining such trust is one of the most important qualities teachers must have.

Posted on October 6, 2016 by Edsys

“Children should be able to live a life free from bullying and harassment and it is time that we all took a stand against this.” – Katherine Jenkins

Student bullying is one of the most frequently reported discipline problems at schools as well as colleges. According to the report from National Education Association, 21% of elementary schools, 43% of middle schools, and 22% of high schools reported problems with bullying in 2005-06.

Types of bullying may include teasing, leaving someone out on purpose, and taking or breaking someone’s things. Classroom management strategies play a crucial role in preventing bullying. Teachers can make their students read certain anti-bullying books that keep their students stay active and reduce stress.

Here is a list 14 anti-bullying books every child should read.

Must Read: Smart Classroom Management Strategies to Tackle Bad Behaviour/Attitude

1. Chrysanthemum

Written by Kevin Henkes, Chrysanthemum is a school story about teasing, self-esteem, and acceptance. The story is about a young girl Chrysanthemum, who is teased for her name at school. Student at her school teases her to be named after a flower, which makes her hate the name. But later students began to accept her after learning that a teacher who they admire also has a long first name and is also named after a flower.

2. Edwardo: The Horriblest Boy in the Whole Wide World

Edwardo, an ordinary boy is the main character in this book written by John Burningham. Though he is occasionally rough and noisy, he was pointed out as the cruelest boy in the world. But later his actions were considered positively and he was called as the loveliest boy in the world.

3. The Recess Queen by Alexis O’neill

Mean Jean is the schoolyard bully, whom every other students are scared of. She is the one who kicks, swings and bounces before anyone else. But this gets changed after a new student Katie Sue arrives. Not aware of the ground rules Katie kicks first and them invites Mean Jean to play together, which changes the situation.

4. The Juice Box Bully

Written by Bob Sornson & Maria Dismondy, the story is more about the unity in a classroom and how Pete, who has a bad behavior, finally decides to give the group’s promise a try.Despite Pete’s rude behavior class treats him kindly which changes the boy.

5. Enemy Pie

This story by Derek Munson is about Jeremy Ross who feels slighted by the new neighbor. Jeremy accepts dad’s offer to prepare a new recipe to get rid of the enemy, which is Enemy Pie. However, the part of this secret recipe is to spend an entire day playing with the enemy. The games turn his best enemy into his best friend.

6. The Hundred Dresses

This childrens’ book by Eleanor Estes centers around Wanda Petronski, a Polish-American girl who is teased by her classmates for wearing the same old faded blue dress every day to school. As she can’t bear the teasing any more she lies that she owns one hundred dresses at home, which makes others bully her mercilessly. Later her father decides that she must leave that school. But later the students who felt kind towards her writes a kind letter to her old address, but she has already moved away.

7. Each Kindness

Written by the Newbery Honor-winning author Jacqueline Woodson. Chloe and her friends dislike Maya, who wears old dress, eats odd food and behaves quite strange. And one day Maya leaves school. It’s when Chloe’s teacher teaches a lesson about kindness, Chloe realizes the value of lost opportunity for friendship.

8. The Invisible Boy

This Trudy Ludwig’s book is the story of young Brian, a quiet boy, who was ignored by other students and even the teacher. It is the new boy Justin, who notices Brian’s kindness and his talent in drawing. Justin turns into Brian’s savior and this provides him a way to shine.

You May Also Like: 4 Essential Parts of Classroom Management Strategies

9. Bully

The book by Patricia Polacco is about cyberbullying and will be a good one to read for increasingly digitally-savvy students. Lyla, who is new at school become friends with another new comer Jamie. By scoring top grade on an essay, Lyla manages to get attention of three popular girls in school. Slowly she leaves Jamie behind. But when she is wrongly accused of stealing a test, she finds herself being bullied on Facebook and online.

10. Wonder

The book written by R.J. Palacio, the story centers on August Pullman (Auggie) who is born with a facial deformity. For the same reason, his parents home-schooled him. But later he’s being sent to a real school in his fifth grade. The story includes certain sentimental situations where some kids use hateful language, and some people suggest that Auggie is mentally deficient.

11. Thirteen Reasons Why

This book by Jay Asher provides positive messages about the importance of treating people with kindness. A mysterious box that Clay Jensen finds while returning home from school includes few cassettes that discusses thirteen reasons that makes a girl in his school commit suicide.

12. Dear Bully

A must-read book for teens written by Dawn Metcalf, it includes 70 heartfelt stories about bullying in this collection. The stories were shared by top young adult authors.

13. Tease

The book by Amanda Maciel includes real-life incidents, where a teenage girl named Sara Wharton faces criminal charges. The charge she faces is for bullying after a classmate Emma Putnam commits suicide. Now she feels guilty as her peers, community and media points out her mistake.

14. Side Effects May Vary

The book by Julie Murphy features the life of the 16 year old Alice, who decides to take revenge of her classmates after being diagnosed with leukemia. Realizing that she won’t leave for more, she hurts people for what they’ve done in the past. But finally she has to face the consequences.

Posted on August 31, 2016 by Edsys

If you want to help students motivate themselves, there should be a balance provided intrinsically and extrinsically. Autonomy, competence, relatedness, and relevance are the four qualities that are critical for this process. They are the 4 essential parts of Classroom Management Strategies. Let’s go through these 4.

Free Classroom Activity Apps (Check it Now)

Read Also: 19 Smart Classroom Management Strategies for Teachers

Autonomy

For promoting learner autonomy, one strategy is to provide your students with the freedom of choice. Generally, us educators think of this idea through the view point of organization and procedures. As an example, an organizational choice might enable students to speak out for seating assignments or make teams for their learning groups. As for procedural choice, it gives your students a chance to select from a given list of homework choices.

Cognitive choice is a third point put forward by some researchers. They believe that this would be a better approach to provide student autonomy. Cognitive method would include ideas such as:

Students developing ideas for homework related to the topic
Students sharing different approaches and thinking processes for solving problems
Problem based learning – where a class splits in to small groups to come out with solutions to issues
Teachers making use of the thinking routine to initiate the students to think and ask questions and learn by becoming inquisitive

Competence

Feedback is highly important to boost the morale of students, and a crucial part of classroom management strategies as well. When a student does well, we should praise their effort. Praising effort has a significantly higher impact than praising intelligence. The latter forces the student to not risk their genius status. But when you praise the effort taken, it makes them understand that one learns through hard work.

For healthy learning, providing critical feedback is also necessary. Plussing is the strategy to be used here. It is a concept used by Pixar animation studios with a high rate of success.

Recommended Read: 7 Awesome Creative Classroom Ideas

Relatedness

A key factor in developing intrinsic motivation in students is by creating good quality relations with tutors they respect. When you or your teachers take a genuine effort in developing these relationships, it pays off really well. Here are some steps to go forward in this path:

Be genuinely interested in the students – Take an interest in their dreams and interests. Keep an open communication which is two way. Share your stories with them and hear theirs out too.
Be flexible – Understand their needs, read their minds, and become slightly flexible in what you demand from them. Being gentle and lenient with them could help off rather than being too strict and adamant. It could be alright to change the rules once in a while. Keep eyes on the learning goal prize.
Become more friendly – Make some small jokes, laugh with them, give a good smile, and also give a gentle supportive pat on the shoulder.
Do not give up on your students – Be positive and do not give up on your students. They will strive their best to meet your expectations, but if they fail, motivate them. Encourage them to grow.

Relevance

The students need an understanding of how learning the syllabus is when it comes to application in real life. Have them write about it. It would definitely encourage growth and positive learning gains. . This makes the students connect to it at a personal level as well, which leads to a better learning.

Making real life connections to what they teach is one of the most common Classroom Management Strategies by teachers. But, this could have a negative impact for students who have low skills. They tend to under-perform. As such, it is important to let the students make their own connections and learn from them rather than forcing them to follow exactly what the teacher thinks.