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Live lectures

Tips on creating effective live lectures

You may be a lecturer who prefers live lectures.
Discover how to make the most of the positives and manage the negatives: 

  1. Some lecturers find live lectures a more natural way to communicate their passion for their subject. However, approaches that work in a traditional lecture hall do not always translate well on video. You don’t need to transform your style and tone – these are part of what makes you unique and genuine, but you may need to make alterations. You may find it strange not being able to move around, or that your gestures don’t translate online. Record your lecture and play them back to assess what needs to change – and ask for feedback from colleagues.

  2. You may find that concerns about using the technology distract you and undermine your confidence. Start by keeping things simple – you can introduce more complexity as you build your skills. Practice using any technical aspects until you are comfortable with them. If you are not familiar with video conference technology, use it as much as possible for social calls or speaking to colleagues. This will help you relax.

  3. If you feel uncomfortable about the lecture it is tempting to put off thinking about it. Instead, make sure you are prepared. Plan out how you will spend the time, bearing in mind that activities may take longer to set up or explain. Expect to lose at least 10 minutes at the start of the lecture as you manage housekeeping and technical issues – if possible, arrange for IT support to sit in for at least your first call. Use the checklist to work through some practicalities too: Setting up your Video Lecture: Getting it right first time.

  4. Your opportunities to connect synchronously with your students in live sessions are likely to be limited, so plan how to get the most value from them. Rather than passive transmission of information, use them to support higher level learning; applying, analysing, evaluating and creating. Set students a task ahead of the lecture; reading, responding to a case study, working on a problem. This will allow them to contribute to the lecture.

  5. Even if your students have their cameras on, it will not be the same as having students in a lecture hall in front of you. It will be harder for you to read cues such as body language and facial expression. Most virtual meeting software has feedback tools so make sure your students know how to ‘raise their hands’ for attention. If you are confident using the software, it can be useful to run a live chat through the lecture so that students can ask questions. If you do this, plan in time to check the chat thread and respond to questions.

  6. Students may initially feel vulnerable and be reluctant to participate so it can be helpful to start with low-risk activities. If you have a traditional style of lecturing, you may find that adapting it to incorporate interaction helps keep students engaged. An hour is a long time for uninterrupted concentration.

  7. Live lectures offer the opportunity to engage directly with your students and create spontaneous learning moments. By recording your live sessions, you can extend the impact to those students who were unable to join.

 

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