Online Lessons: Best Practices for Students
Switching to online lessons at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic was, in a word: rough. Even with my experience in technology, it was a struggle to make the transition. However, my students took it all in stride. Together, with a little perseverance and patience, we have worked through most of the kinks. At this point, it almost feels normal.
What have we learned?
Following are what my studio families and I have found to be best practices for online lessons:
If you have a choice of which device to use, laptops are preferred. Phone and tablet versions of video conferencing apps are typically not as robust as the PC versions.
Place the camera so that both the student and the keyboard can be seen. A side-view is ideal and is very similar to the in-person format.
Use earbuds, headphones, AirPods or something similar to improve what the student hears and to reduce interference.
Younger students get distracted by seeing themselves on-screen. Make sure they have selected speaker-view and/or have minimized their own image.
As with any class, make sure students have all their materials. This means music and any worksheets that were assigned.
Students should have a pencil for marking the music. A colored pencil and highlighter are helpful too.
If stickers are important, make sure they are close at hand for lessons.
I may have made the move to online lessons reluctantly, but it has definitely been worth it. Students come to class less frazzled from the logistics of getting to lessons. Carpools, traffic, conflicting schedules and competing activities are rarely an issue. Students have also taken more ownership of lessons. Logging on to lessons themselves, getting their materials together and more. There is a newfound independence that is a very good thing.
Stretching beyond what is comfortable and familiar is something I stress with students. The pandemic has forced me to practice what I preach.
“Out of adversity comes opportunity.”