Education

Must-Have Features for Online Teaching Apps

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Ever since the pandemic started, the trend of online teaching has increased dramatically, the number of online teaching apps has skyrocketed throughout the world. India has been a hot market for Edtech companies even before the pandemic, owing to the unique set of challenges of a high student population, inefficient traditional education system, large socio-economic divide, etc.

We are witnessing so many online teaching apps coming into the market every day. People looking to teach online are confused with so many options available to them. In this lucrative environment, many teachers willing to teach online hastily tend to pick the first online teaching app they can get their hands on and stick to using it even when their experience is unsatisfactory, and there are much better online teaching apps out there that can help them extend their reach to a larger number of students. Two main reasons are, they don’t know what the essential features are against which the quality of online teaching apps must be evaluated and second is the element of habit, i.e., they spent too much effort in learning the complex features of the first app, that they develop a fear for new tech and are unaware that there are simpler and more effective online teaching apps out there.

So, what exactly are the features that a teacher should be looking for in an online teaching app? These are some of the must-have features that will definitely make the life of an online teacher easier-

1. Interactive Sessions-

The key to effective online teaching is student engagement, and the well-researched way of developing student engagement is through two-way communication and interactive lessons. Therefore, a teacher must check whether the online teaching app provides a two-way communication feature or not. Interactivity and effective communication is the foundation for an effective online class and should never be compromised.

2. Automated attendance-

An online teaching app should be both, effective as well as efficient. Features like an automated attendance recording system, automated fee collection system, etc. make an app truly efficient and time-saving for both teachers and students of the online teaching app. Imagine the sheer amount of time and effort saved in each class just from not having to take individual attendance. It helps to make your class more productive and finish your course timely.

3. Simple and easy to use-

Every teacher need not be tech-savvy to teach online. Even a proper overall working knowledge of computers need not be a pre-requisite to online teaching. The User- Interface must be simple and GUI-based features like Whiteboards, drawing tools, etc. must be integrated so as to make teaching as simple as possible. A teacher not well-versed with modern technology should not worry. They just need to choose an online teaching app that is simple and easy to operate, at the same time not compromising with other essential features of online teaching apps.

4. Administrator Tools-

Scheduling classes, batch management, sharing study materials, student database, notice, attendance, grading, and likewise, take up a lot of time and effort. The effort, which would be better utilized on mentoring students. A good online teaching app should provide a built-in, one-stop solution to support all these tasks of an online teacher. A teacher willing to teach online should look for a platform in which administration is easy and effective.

5. Internet data consumption-

For a vastly populated, developing country like ours, internet congestion is a problem that will stay with us for the foreseeable future. Therefore, while choosing the best online teaching app, an online teacher must keep in mind whether the app will support him in teaching where the internet speed is low. An app that provides for teaching in low video quality mode must be chosen as video consumes the most data and is integral to effective communication and interactivity of the online teaching app as well.

6. Privacy

With so many students connecting through video conferencing, privacy and security is a major concern in online teaching. While choosing the best online teaching app, attention must be paid to how well it handles user data and that any user data is not sold to a third party or be misused in any manner by any stakeholder on the online teaching platform.

7. Pricing

A teacher must ensure that the price of the online teaching app fits his budget at the same time proving all essential features mentioned above. There are many online teaching apps in the market but, they charge a hefty price for their premium features. Teachmint has all the necessary features mentioned above and many more and is absolutely free.

In a nutshell, you need an all-in-one app for your online classes to run in a smooth manner. You might face issues like bad internet connection, and in such situations, you are better off with an app that runs on low internet data. Teachmint can support your online classes even if you have a slow internet connection. Choose wisely, live well.