We live in a very unpredictable world. Recently, the Coronavirus pandemic is forcing people to adopt new ways of carrying out their day-to-day activities. The sudden change comes without notice within a short period, and so every stakeholder in every sector has to change their operating styles. The education sector has to improve on dispensing their services and even reaching students who are far away from the institutions. On this website, we highlight tips that will assist you to remain afloat and take online studies a notch higher.
1. Hacks to Use YouTube Ad-Free
When you are doing your research on YouTube, the ads can cause distractions that drift you from the studies. These popup ads, at times, can be annoying, so you have to find a way to deal with them. First, you need to only insert the word “_popup” after typing “watch” in YouTube’s URL. Then, when you click on enter, you only see the video player with no ads visible. Thus, your concentration will be continuous without any distractions whatsoever.
2. Using Mote Extension to relay Audio Feedbacks
From your Google Chrome browser, you can relay easy and quick messages to students who use the extension. In addition, the extension works well with Slides, Sheets, Docs, other Classroom applications to improve student’s engagement. In turn, you do a lot of other essential things as you save a lot of time.
3. Use of Kami to Annotate PDFs
Kami is slowly becoming an essential tool for online students. Using various tools, students can easily markup and annotate PDFs and other documents. All you have to do is access Kami through a web page or install its extension and use it to transform your learning experience into an interactive one.
4. Setting up Double Monitors for Learning and Teaching
Teachers can set up two monitors, one for grid view of the learners and another for camera and slides preview. The setup saves time, and you have enough screen to preview your teaching materials and the students at the same time.
5. Better Organization Using Chrome Bookmark
The method is a total gamechanger in fetching the sites you use frequently. Best for teachers as you can switch from one website to another by clicking on the bookmark that contains what you need. You can go the extra mile when you save the materials in a folder on the bookmark bar.
6. Use of Keyboard Shortcuts
Do you ever close a tab and regret doing so? As for me, yes, I Have. Many a time, we close tabs without intending to shut it. But, worry no more; there is a keyboard shortcut that you can use in reopening tabs. All you need to do is click Command + Shift + T or Control + Shift + T on Windows, and your tab will reappear on the screen. You can then continue working out on the project you were doing.
7. Use of Blanket
It is a game-based tool for learners. Here, you get to play new and exciting review games that are fun. It also allows you to create your quiz style with a set of questions you feed on Blooket, but you can use those in the game’s library if you have none. It has several modes you can choose from, ranging from Battle Royale, Factory, Café, to Tower of Doom. An exciting feature is that you can play with your classmates and compete for tokens that you can use to unlock new avatars or Blooks.
8. Using Unscreen to Eliminate Video Backgrounds
You can use this tool to create personalized stickers and gifs. It is simple to use as you only need to upload a short clip, and the tool removes the clip’s background. The user has the chance to add fun images, colors, and graphics to the clip, or you can decide to leave it transparent.
9. Using Wheels of Names
The tool is handy when it comes to online classes since it makes it interactive. All a teacher has to do is add the learners’ names to the wheel, then spin it. When it lands to a particular name, the student answers questions and so on. It ensures that every student gets to participate as it is a spontaneous and fun activity. In addition, the platform allows you to customize the wheels to your liking by either coloring them, adding images, or adjusting their size.
You can employ this trick in other areas like art, math, or literacy.
10. Change Themes using Slidesgo
Slides let you use its range of professional templates to enhance your slide decks. It acts as a substitute for the themes you get on PowerPoint or Slides. On the same platform, you can download templates for digital notebooks and lessons. Test it for a fantastic experience.
These tips assist all round from learners to the teachers, so it requires one to get modern gadgets that support them. As a result, productivity increases and learning becomes interesting; thus, academics performance improves- a win-win situation for both teachers and students.
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